"Street Dreams" is a 1996 single by American
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
Nas
Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones.
Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to:
Aviation
* Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea
* National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia
** Nas Air ( ...
. The song was ''
It Was Written
''It Was Written'' is the second studio album by American rapper Nas, released on July 2, 1996, by Columbia Records. After the modest commercial success of his debut album ''Illmatic'' (1994), Nas pursued a more polished, mainstream sound for ''It ...
's'' second single, following "
If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)
"If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" is a song by American rapper Nas featuring fellow American rapper Lauryn Hill, released on June 4, 1996 as the first single from his second album, ''It Was Written'' (1996). Produced by Trackmasters, with som ...
". "Street Dreams" contains an
interpolation
In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points.
In engineering and science, one often has a n ...
from the
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...
song "
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is a song by British new wave music duo Eurythmics. It is the title track of their album of the same name (1983) and was released as the fourth and final single from the album in early 1983. The song became t ...
" and a
sample
Sample or samples may refer to:
Base meaning
* Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set
* Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal
* Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...
from
Linda Clifford
Linda Clifford (born 1944) is an American R&B, disco and house music singer who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", " Bridge over Troubled Water", " Runaway Love" and " Red Light".
Career ...
's "Never Gonna Stop". A remix, including an appearance by
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses.
During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...
, was released shortly after the original. It featured samples from the
Isley Brothers Isley is an English surname. The name can also be used as an anglicized variant for the German surnames Eisele and Eisler. Notable people with the surname include:
*The Isley Brothers, American musical group
**Ernie Isley (born 1952), American mus ...
' "
Choosey Lover
"Choosey Lover" is a 1983 soul song by The Isley Brothers (Originally titled "Juicy Lover"). Released on their T-Neck imprint, the song was their second consecutive top ten R&B hit after their seminal " Between the Sheets" hit No. 3 on that chart ...
" along with some elements from
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
's "
Mercy Mercy Me
"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" is the second single from Marvin Gaye's 1971 in music, 1971 album, ''What's Going On (Marvin Gaye album), What's Going On''. Following the breakthrough of the What's Going On (Marvin Gaye song), title track's succes ...
." The remix version was performed live on an episode of the
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
series ''
All That
''All That'' is an American sketch comedy television series created by Brian Robbins and Mike Tollin. The series originally aired on Nickelodeon from April 16, 1994, to October 22, 2005, lasting ten seasons, and was produced by Tollin/Robbins P ...
'' in February 1997.
The song's big-budget video, directed by
Hype Williams
Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter.
Early life
Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adel ...
, was an allusion to the
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
film ''
Casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
''. It was filmed in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
around the time
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 Li ...
was murdered and featured a
cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
by
Frank Vincent
Frank Vincent Gattuso Jr. (April 15, 1937 – September 13, 2017) was an American actor. During a five-decade career, Vincent often portrayed mobsters. He was a frequent collaborator of filmmaker Martin Scorsese, appearing as Salvy in ''Raging B ...
.
Kenya Moore
Kenya Summer Moore (born January 24, 1971) is an American actress, model, producer, author, television personality, and entrepreneur. She is best known for winning the Miss USA pageant in 1993 and being a main cast member on Bravo's reality seri ...
of
The Real Housewives of Atlanta
''The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' (abbreviated ''RHOA'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on October 7, 2008. Developed as the third installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen season ...
is also featured in the video.
The song was Nas's first to enter the top 50 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching number 22. It was certified Gold 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 ...
on January 8, 1997.
Music video
There is a music video for both the original and the remix featuring
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses.
During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...
. The original music video was directed by
Hype Williams
Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter.
Early life
Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adel ...
and was filmed in September 1996. It was released in the fall of 1996.
The music video was released for the week ending on October 6, 1996. The video is an homage to
Casino (film)
''Casino'' is a 1995 American epic crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Barbara De Fina and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is based on the 1995 nonfiction book '' Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas'' by Nicholas Pilegg ...
and features
Frank Vincent
Frank Vincent Gattuso Jr. (April 15, 1937 – September 13, 2017) was an American actor. During a five-decade career, Vincent often portrayed mobsters. He was a frequent collaborator of filmmaker Martin Scorsese, appearing as Salvy in ''Raging B ...
. The video contains an additional sample of
Love Is Strange
"Love Is Strange" is a crossover hit by American rhythm and blues duet Mickey & Sylvia, which was released in late November 1956 by the Groove record label.
The song was based on a guitar riff by Jody Williams and was written by Bo Diddley un ...
by
Mickey & Sylvia
Mickey & Sylvia was an American R&B duo composed of Mickey Baker and Sylvia Vanderpool, who later became Sylvia Robinson. They are best known for their number-one R&B single "Love Is Strange" in 1957.
Baker and Vanterpool began recording toget ...
, which can be heard at the beginning and at the end of the song.
Single track listing
A-Side
# "Street Dreams" (Album Version) (4:08)
# "Street Dreams" (Bonus Verse) (4:08)
# "Street Dreams" (Instrumental) (4:08)
B-Side
# "Affirmative Action" (Remix) (4:09)
#*Produced by
Poke & Tone
The Trackmasters are an American hip hop production duo composed of music producers Poke (Jean-Claude Olivier) and Tone (Samuel Barnes), best known for their commercial hit records in the mid-late 1990s and early 2000s. Frank "Nitty" Pimentel joi ...
# "Affirmative Action" (Album Version) (4:19)
#*Produced by Dave Atkinson
# "Affirmative Action" (Instrumental) (3:44)
Charts
Certifications
References
{{R. Kelly singles
1996 singles
Music videos directed by Hype Williams
Nas songs
Songs written by Nas
1996 songs
Songs written by David A. Stewart
Songs written by Annie Lennox
Songs written by Samuel Barnes (songwriter)
Songs about drugs