"Ice Cream Dream" is a song by American rapper MC Lyte in 1992. The song was used to promote the 1992 motion picture ''

Mo' Money ''Mo' Money'' is a 1992 American comedy -drama film directed by Peter Macdonald, and written by Damon Wayans, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Stacey Dash, Joe Santos, John Diehl, Harry Lennix, Bernie Mac (in his film debut), and ...

''. It was written by Lyte with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, famous primarily for their work with

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, and released as single from the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

of the movie on October 27, 1992, through Jam & Lewis's label

Perspective Records Perspective Records is an American record label, launched in 1991 by the producing team Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, through a joint venture with A&M Records—which Jam & Lewis had had a prosperous working relationship with throughout the 1980s, wit ...

. With a production oriented to the

New Jack Swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...

sound, in the song Lyte talks about her preference for men, metaphorically comparing them to ice cream cone. Ice Cream Dream has more sexual lyrical content than their previously released singles.

Conception and composition

With a production oriented to the

sound, in the song Lyte talks about her preference for men, metaphorically comparing them to ice cream cone ''"Dark, handsome, six feet tall/Thirty-one flavors, I believe he’s got ‘em all."'' Ice Cream Dream has more sexual lyrical content than their previously released singles ''"Forget the chase--I'm prepared to get a taste/Licky here, licky there cuz I like it/Too much to eat--so I guess I'll bite it."'' In 2018 Jam & Lewis spoke to ''

Okayplayer Okayplayer is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by ''Rolling Stone'' as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The community was founded by The Roots' drummer ...

'' about some of their most prominent production work, commenting on the song: The song also has

Lisa Keith Lisa Keith (born 1960) is an American contemporary/ pop singer, probably best known for her work as a backing vocalist for other artists and lead vocalist on Herb Alpert's hit single from 1987, " Making Love in the Rain". In 1993 she released her ...

, who had previously collaborated as backing vocalist on songs by Herb Alpert, Janet Jackson, and The Human League, singing on her hook.

Samples

It is built around a sample of

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. ...

hit song "

So Wat Cha Sayin' "So Wat Cha Sayin'" is the first single released from, EPMD's second album, '' Unfinished Business''. Produced by EPMD with scratches provided by DJ Scratch, "So Wat Cha Sayin'" made it to three Billboard charts, peaking at #5 on the Hot Rap Singl ...

". The single features a Jermaine Dupri remix which in turn contains samples of multiple elements from the previous song " Lyte as a Rock",

T La Rock Terrence "Terry" Ronnie Keaton known by the stage name T La Rock, (born September 16, 1961) is an American old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 single "It's Yours." Biogr ...

and Jazzy Jay's "It's Yours" and Uncle Louie's "Like Funky Music", plus vocals of "Pee-Wee's Dance" by Joeski Love, "Put Your Love (In My Tender Care)" by

Fatback Band The Fatback Band (later, simply Fatback) is an American funk and disco band that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. The Fatback Band is most known for their R&B hits, "(Do the) Spanish Hustle", "I Like Girls", "Gotta Get My Hands on Some (Mone ...

and "The Breakdown (Part I)" by

Rufus Thomas Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Rec ...

Critical reception

In his book ''Reflecting Black: African-American Cultural Criticism'' (1993), academic and author Michael Eric Dyson described the song as "a delicious ode to erotic desire" in which Lyte "seductively embellishes a conceit drawn from quotidian experience". In 2013 Cedric Muhammad would analyze the trajectory of Jam & Lewis for '' Forbes'' magazine, in which he would describe the song as "risque" and ask "how perfect is Lisa Keith’s voice in chorus?" In 2017, in a retrospective review of the soundtrack album, Todd Stereo Williams of '' The Boombox'' considered Lyte's song "One of her most underrated cuts", highlighting as in its artistic maturation "she wasn't afraid to embrace R&B" even though made her first appearance as a battle rapper in the 80s.

Track listing

US 7" Vinyl

A-Side # "Ice Cream Dream" (7" Radio Mix) B-Side # "Ice Cream Dream" (Remix Radio Edit)

UK 12" Vinyl

A-Side # "Ice Cream Dream" (Album Version) # "Ice Cream Dream" (12" Remix) B-Side # "Ice Cream Dream" (Straight Pass) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Remix Radio Edit)

12" Vinyl

A-Side # "Ice Cream Dream" (Remix 12") (5:42) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Album Version) (4:25) # "Ice Cream Dream" (12" Remix) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Remix Radio Edit) (3:49)

CD Version

A-Side # "Ice Cream Dream" (7" Radio Mix) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Remix Radio Edit) # "Ice Cream Dream" (12" Remix) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Straight Pass) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Album Version)

Cassette

# "Ice Cream Dream" (7" Radio Mix) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Remix Radio Edit) # "Ice Cream Dream" (12" Remix) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Straight Pass) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Album Version)

Personnel

Credits are taken from the liner notes. *Executive-Producer – Nat Robinson *Mastered By – Dennis King (D.K.) *Producer, Written-By – Audio Two (tracks: A2 to B2), King Of Chill (tracks: A1) *Programmed By, Engineer, Music By usic Performed By– Audio Two *Written-By – MC Lyte

Charts

References

{{authority control 1992 songs 1992 singles Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis MC Lyte songs Perspective Records singles A&M Records singles Songs written by MC Lyte