"Kream" is a song recorded by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea featuring American rapper Tyga. The song was released on 6 July 2018 by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

and serves as the lead single for her extended play '' Survive the Summer.'' It was written by Azalea, Tyga, and Ronny J. Production was handled by Ronny J, GT, and Wallis Lane. The song samples Wu Tang Clan's "

C.R.E.A.M. "C.R.E.A.M." (an acronym of "Cash Rules Everything Around Me") is a song by the American hardcore hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, released on January 31, 1994 by Loud Records, as the second single from their debut studio album ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 ...

" and Raw Beat Mafia's "Dead End". The song passed 100 million streams on Spotify in February 2020, becoming Azalea's most recent song to do that since 2014's "No Mediocre" with T.I.

Background and release

In early July 2018, Azalea tweeted "Since I cant seem to speak about anything without being asked - when is the EP dropping" and "S.T.S is dropping 6 July. #TheMoreYouKnow". The song was originally for an album titled ''Digital Distortion'', but the album was eventually scrapped. Furthermore, the song was delayed after

appointed

Darcus Beese Darcus Beese OBE (born 1969) is a British music executive and the former president and Chief Executive Officer of Island Records from his appointment in 2018 till his departure on 3 February 2021. During his time at the label, he signed severa ...

as president of the label in May 2018. Teasers of the music video featured Iggy Azalea and Tyga during the filming process before release. The song was released alongside a promotional single titled "Tokyo Snow Trip" on 6 July, the same day as the scheduled release of Azalea's EP ''Survive the Summer''. On 12 July 2018, Azalea took to her Twitter account to say after the success of "Kream", her label, Island Records decided to send the song to impact radio. The song was originally meant to just act as a promotional single before it went viral across the Internet, helping jump start Azalea's new era. Almost exactly a year later, the song saw a mild resurgence as a snippet of the song became part of an internet challenge called Open Up The Safe Challenge (a play on the opening lyrics of the song) In July 2019, a TikTok user, Johnny McKay, had uploaded a clip where the song was accidentally played instead of the US national anthem at a baseball game. The video quickly became an

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

and subsequently went viral, causing the song to regain popularity. Later that month, the TikTok user claimed that the incident was all just fake.

Composition

"Kream" is a spare, slow-bounce track with mentions of

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

band member Sid Vicious,

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

and model Bella Hadid, referencing her

viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...

"homeboy" interview, with "Keep that energy, gon' up that Hennessy (ass)/I need my bag quickly/Separate six-degrees, bitches said they know me/ Sex pistols, Sid Vicious, wet you when it's horny/Hit me on my

Cash App Cash App (formerly Square Cash) is a mobile payment service available in the United States and the United Kingdom that allows users to transfer money to one another (for a 1.5% fee for immediate transfer) using a mobile phone app. In September 2 ...

, check it in the morning" ."And it's perfect timing, dream with the tanny/ Bella Hadid, homie could get it". Kream contains an interpolation from the Wu Tang Clan's "

", written by GZA, Ghostface Killah, U God, Ol' Dirty Bastard,

RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name the RZA ( ), is an American rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer. He is the ''de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums ...

, Inspectah Deck, Method Man and Raekwon and also from Raw Beat Mafia's "Dead End", written by Nima Jahanbin, Paimon Jahanbin,

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

and David Porter. The song's title is an acronym that comes from the line "cash rules everything around me".

Music video

The music video, directed by Colin Tilley and filmed in Los Angeles, California, shows many women, including Azalea, twerking in a dark house with neon lighting. After a brief potential legal issue regarding the music video, which Azalea dubbed "Ovengate" on Twitter, the music video was released at 7 pm EST on 6 July 2018. As of February 2020, the music video for "Kream" had surpassed 215 million views making it Azalea's seventh video to achieve this milestone. Azalea twerks in the video and wears a revealing

leotard A leotard () is a unisex skin-tight one-piece garment that covers the torso from the crotch to the shoulder. The garment was made famous by the French acrobatic performer Jules Léotard (1838–1870). There are sleeveless, short-sleeved, and lo ...

and fishnet. Azalea twerks near an

oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been us ...

with money inside of it and writhes in bed with Tyga. The music video has a

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

theme to it.

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 96 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Digital Song Sales charts each dated 21 July 2018, respectively. It became Azalea's first entry on the Hot 100 since her 2016 top 50 hit " Team". It was certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) in February 2019. Outside the US the song peaked at number 26 in Hungary, number 54 in Canada and number 96 in Ireland.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. * Iggy Azalea – vocals * Tyga – vocals * Ronny J – production * GT – co-production * Wallis Lane – production * Christian "CQ" Quinonez – engineering * Mike Seaberg – mixing assistance * Rashawn Mclean – mixing assistance * Jacob Richards – mixing assistance * Jaycen Joshua – mixing

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2018 songs 2018 singles Iggy Azalea songs Island Records singles Music videos directed by Colin Tilley Songs written by Iggy Azalea Songs written by Isaac Hayes Songs written by Ronny J Songs written by David Porter (musician) Songs written by RZA Songs written by Tyga Songs written by Ghostface Killah Song recordings produced by Ronny J