"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, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...
. It was released on January 24, 2005, as the third and final single from his album ''
Suit'' (2004). The song uses a musical
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 ...
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, so songwriter
Gary Kemp 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 and screenwriter from Roosevelt, New York.
Biography
Casseus, born in New York City, is of Haitian descent.
Casseus was nominated for the 1995 Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut ...
(from ''
Lockdown
A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison ...
'') as the patron of a homeless and
Faune A. Chambers (from ''
White Chicks
''White Chicks'' is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contributions by and starring Marlon Wayans and Shawn ...
'') as the mourning widow and the
St. Lunatics
St. Lunatics was 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.
Career
After graduating from high school, the band members w ...
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 vinyl
: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)
* Mixed at Platinum Sound Recording (New York City)
Personnel
* Nelly – lyrics, music, vocals
* Jayson "Koko" Bridges – music,
drums, production
*
Gary Kemp – 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