“To this day, nobody would think to play an intro as the hottest hip-hop song in the club until after that record came out,” offers Martin. I didn’t think they was gon’ catch it the way they caught it.” “But you know, that’s why I made that song in that manner. “I didn’t think would respond to that song like that,” Meek revealed on Hot 97’s Juan Epstein podcast in 2013. The song rang off in clubs and arenas, and instantly became Meek’s go-to outro at every performance he had, showing the wide cultural impact a non-radio single could have in 2010s hip-hop. In 2014, Meek’s on-again/off-again rival Drake tweeted how the song was “one of the best rap moments of our generation.” And in 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles embraced the record as their anthem during their shaky route to the Super Bowl.

Meek Mill's 'Dreams and Nightmares' Earned 1.4 Million U.S. Though Meek’s initial attempt didn’t fully wow Ross and company because the song was unfinished, two weeks later, the Philly lyricist had the last laugh at Miami’s Ocean Sky Hotel. “He rapped the first part with the piano for me and Ross at Ross’ studio in Miami… he was like, ‘Then, I’m gonna have Beat Bully change the beat right here, and I’m gonna be like, ‘Hold on, wait a minute, y’all thought I was finished…’ But the beat wasn’t changed yet. “When he first played it, the music was all the same, because Beat Bully did the beat,” recalls Dallas Martin, svp of A&R at Atlantic Records.

86 on the Hot 100, behind the scenes, Meek was readying his sonorous intro “Dreams and Nightmares,” which he knew would serve as his real introduction to the spotlight. Though the AutoTune-tinged record peaked at No. While recording in Miami, he came to relish the city’s club atmosphere and doled out his first Dreams single “Young & Gettin’ It,” featuring Kirko Bangz. Fresh off the success of his acclaimed 2012 mixtape Dreamchasers 2, the 25-year-old Meek looked to graduate into the big league of rap with his first official album under Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group imprint.

Meek dreams and nightmares