"N Dey Say" is a song by American rapper

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...

. It was released on January 24, 2005, as the third and final single from his album ''

Suit A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit, is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt su ...

'' (2004). The song uses a musical sample of "

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

" by

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet ( ) were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids (New Romantics), ...

, so songwriter

Gary Kemp Gary James Kemp (born 16 October 1959) is an English songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the new wave band Spandau Ballet. Kemp wrote the lyrics and music for all 2 ...

was given a writing credit. The song reached number 64 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and entered the top 20 in Australia, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Music video

The video directed by Chris Robinson presents comparison of different lifestyles while putting an accent on their similarities (like war is equal with street gang rivalries in the civil life). It is brought into effect with a comic-like city background with strong strokes that seems like a merge of a photo and a drawing. This "in-between" feeling is realized by masking the background with a non-lifelike orange pattern. Using Bluescreen technology to separate the actors/artists from the background the performers remain realistic and stand out from the whole picture. The casting includes

Gabriel Casseus Gabriel Casseus (born April 28, 1972) is an American actor from Roosevelt, New York. Biography Casseus was born in New York City and is of Haitian descent. At the age of 23 Casseus was nominated for the 1995 Independent Spirit Award for Best D ...

(from ''

Lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

'') as the patron of a homeless and Faune A. Chambers (from ''

White Chicks ''White Chicks'' (stylized as ''WHiTE CHiCKS'') is a 2004 American buddy cop crime comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contrib ...

'') as the mourning widow and the

St. Lunatics St. Lunatics were an American hip hop group formed in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1993. The group consisted of childhood friends Nelly, Ali, Murphy Lee, Kyjuan, City Spud, and Slo Down. Their first single, "Gimme What U Got", gained popularity in ...

as cameos.

Track listings

UK CD1 and Australian CD single # "N Dey Say" – 3:34 # "N Dey Say" (Shake Ya Cookie remix) – 3:31 # "N Dey Say" (Craig Groove remix) – 3:54 # "Another One" – 4:39 UK CD2 and European CD single # "N Dey Say" # "N Dey Say" (Shake Ya Cookie remix) UK 12-inch single :A1. "N Dey Say" :A2. "Another One" :B1. "N Dey Say" (Shake Ya Cookie remix) :B2. "N Dey Say" (Craig Groove remix)

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the Australian CD single liner notes. Studios * Recorded at Derrty Studios (Los Angeles) and Basement Beats Studios (

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

) * Mixed at Platinum Sound Recording (New York City) Personnel * Nelly – lyrics, music, vocals * Jayson "Koko" Bridges – music, drums, production *

– music * Carl Nappa – recording * Rich Travali – mixing * Chip Karpells – mixing assistant

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:N Dey Say 2004 songs 2005 singles Music videos directed by Chris Robinson (director) Nelly songs Songs written by Gary Kemp Songs written by Nelly Universal Records singles