"Dreams" is a song by American rapper the Game, from his debut album, ''The Documentary''. It was released as the fifth official single from the album in all territories except France, which saw " Higher" released there first. The song was produced by

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

and features a sample of "No Money Down" by

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

singer

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame i ...

. The song is dedicated to Yetunde Price (the elder half-sister of tennis stars

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

and

Venus Williams Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is ...

), who was shot dead on September 14, 2003. The Williams' also came from the Game's hometown of Compton, California. The lyrics cite the Dr. Dre album '' 2001'' being released "in 2001", when it was actually released in 1999. The song was placed 5th on

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

's Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2005. Dreams "Dreams" debuted at No. 97 and peaked at No. 32 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and at No. 1 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. The single was also commercially successful in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 8 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Music video

The music video was directed by

Phillip Atwell Philip G. Atwell is an American music video, television commercial and feature film director. Starting out as a music video producer, he took up directing in 1999. Often co-directing with Dr. Dre, he has helped out with many music videos for ...

and it features cameos by R&B singer and actress

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

, Dr. Dre, veteran singer Jim Gilstrap and comedian Michael Colyar. It also features Art graffiti to show memory of deceased artists.

Tributes

Aaliyah Dana Haughton Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and "Q ...

(January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) * Lisa Nicole Lopes (Left Eye) (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002) *

Jam Master Jay Jason William Mizell (January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002), better known by his stage name Jam Master Jay, was an American musician and DJ. He was the DJ of the influential hip hop group Run-DMC. During the 1980s, Run-DMC became one of the big ...

(January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002) * Yetunde Price (August 9, 1972 – September 14, 2003) *

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

(January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) *

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

(June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996) * Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), * Christopher Wallace (The Notorious B.I.G.) (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997) * Marvin Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984)

Remixes

A remix of the song was released on the Game's mixtape, '' You Know What It Is Vol. 3''. It is a mix between "Dreams" and "A Dream", which is a track featuring

the Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

from Jay-Z's 2002 album '' The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse''. It combines a

chopped and screwed Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It developed in the Houston hip hop scene in the early 1990s by D ...

version of B.I.G.'s a cappella verse on "A Dream" (which is Juicy's first verse) with the

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

of "Dreams". There is also another official remix of the song with

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, '' Trey Day' ...

in which Trey Songz sings the second verse. An unreleased version of Dreams leaked onto the internet in October 2011. This version features similar lyrics to the final version with revised themes and content, with the Game reflecting on events in his own life as opposed to reflecting on the legacies left by rap legends. It leaked labeled as "Original Version".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{authority control 2005 singles The Game (rapper) songs Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by The Game (rapper) 2003 songs G-Unit Records singles Cultural depictions of hip hop musicians Cultural depictions of soul musicians Cultural depictions of pop musicians List songs