![]() Because, once again, the energy on that record. “When he sent me ‘Willy Wonka,’ I was snappin’ on that. “He sent me ‘Dreams & Nightmares,’ ‘ Amen,’ and ‘ Willy Wonka’ - which was off one of the mixtapes, because he had done those records early,” Cosmic Kev says. According to Cosmic Kev, the intro wasn’t the song from this initial batch that Meek was the most enthusiastic about. I didn’t think they was gon’ catch it the way they caught it.”ĭJ Cosmic Kev, a legend at Philadelphia’s Power 99 FM and one of the most respected voices in the local hip-hop community, says “Dreams and Nightmares (Intro)” was one of three records Meek sent him well before his debut was released. “But you know, that’s why I made that song in that manner. “I didn’t think would respond to that song like that,” he admitted on Hot 97’s Juan Epstein podcast in 2013. Meek Mill said he’s long felt the record was special (“Me and my homies, we always thought that about the intro,” he told Complex in 2014, in response to Drake’s praise), but he’s acknowledged that he had no idea it would adopt this extended cultural afterlife. Therein lies the root of the song’s popularity: it’s become an anthem because it channels a relatable narrative into raw energy - something any listener can feel. ![]() But being written off or doubted is not exclusive to Philadelphia - that’s a narrative many can relate to or, at the very least, understand. They, like Meek, succeeded despite being written off. Hence why the Philadelphia Eagles have embraced it as their anthem during a rocky journey to Super Bowl Lll. It’s deeply rooted in Meek Mill’s North Philadelphia upbringing the grit and chip-on-your-shoulder ambition that characterize the city are evident throughout the song. As far as graduations from mixtapes to major-label releases go, this one is still satisfying and a step forward, plus slicked up and pimped out in a way that's entirely Maybach.Much of that impact comes from the feeling “Dreams and Nightmares (Intro)” evokes. Blige backing he gets on "Who Your Around," but his stories of growing up in the concrete jungle lack insight or angle, as turning to a life of crime is just a way to afford "Polo & Shell Tops," because that's the way it goes, and it makes for a damn good hook. He's cocky enough to kick off "Amen" with "I just wanna thank God, for all the pretty women he let into my life" and then respectful enough to deserve the rich Mary J. Any shuffle button could do just as well, but sliced off into little bits, this is the glittery gangster feeling, big boss stuff that Ross and Maybach fans expect, delivered with Meek's love of combining Twista fast with Rick Ross force, making him the MVP of the star-studded "Maybach Curtains" (with Nas, John Legend, and Ross) by sheer force of will and volume. Check how the hooky swagger anthem "Young & Gettin' It" with Kirko Bangz gives way to the heartbreaking "Traumatized" without a pause, and while Meek's a strong enough, smart enough, and, most of all, determined enough rapper to make these two sides happen, the album doesn't sort these cuts with even a mixtape's sense of care. Having torn it up on the first two volumes of Maybach Music's Self Made compilations, Philadelphia rapper and former Grand Hustle artist Meek Mill finally busts out on his own on Dreams and Nightmares, an apt title for an album that haphazardly bounces between the two.
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