What was intended to serve as a tone-setting opening statement for Dreams and Nightmares unexpectedly grew into a special moment - an instant classic that Drake once described as “one of the best rap moments of our generation,” back when he and Meek were on good terms. READ: Meek Mill Joins Colin Kaepernick’s #10For10 Challenge “I’ve known Meek since 2005 or 2006, and that record was really a sign of his progression in the game.” “I really couldn’t believe I was hearing a record of that magnitude coming from a new-school Philly artist,” Harris tells Billboard. Foxx” on 100.3 FM, recalls hearing “Dreams and Nightmares (Intro)” about a year before when The Beat Bully, the song’s producer, played it for him during a meeting. Quincy Harris, host of The Q on Fox Philadelphia and “The Quincy Harris Morning Show with K. “It’s kind of reversed, but when you hear it, the dream part is a little softer and when we go into that nightmare, it turns into a massacre,” Meek told hip-hop journalist Shaheem Reid in 2012. It’s extraordinary because of how Meek’s urgency mounts, his volume gradually increasing before he erupts into unbridled adrenaline. It unfolds in two acts: Meek chronicling his ascent over somber keys before reveling in the success no one expected from a kid from Berks Street, as the beat abruptly turns sinister. The “Dreams and Nightmares (Intro)” is an intense juxtaposition of extremes: being stuck at the bottom, then rising to the top against the odds. READ: Court Clerk In Meek Mill Case Fired After Asking Rapper To Pay Son’s Tuition But for Meek Mill, the opening statement of his 2012 debut album, Dreams and Nightmares, will forever be regarded as his manifesto. What’s perhaps even more rare, however, is for an intro to become arguably that artist’s signature record. Regardless, it's a cool coincidence that gives that line of lyrics an almost-prescient review of the 2022 Eagles - and that only further cements the song as the team's anthem.It’s uncommon - and, typically, unfortunate - for an intro to be celebrated as an album’s defining moment. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Quez Watkins have taken on the mantle of swole, skinny and fast Batman, respectively. There are no Robins on this Eagles team, however: only three Batmans (not Batmen). The track also includes homages to Berks Street in Philadelphia, where Mill grew up a shout out to the the city's NHL franchise, the Flyers and another line of lyrics that take on even greater importance this season: "We young n-, we mobbin'/ like Batman and we're robbin.'" MORE: Eagles' Darius Slay gifts Cooper Rush interception ball to Meek Mill during 'Sunday Night Football' Darius Slay even gifted the rapper an interception from that same Week 6 game:ĭarius Slay found and gave him the INT ball □ #DALvsPHI on NBC The Eagles likewise have shown appreciation for Mill's song, even outside playing it at Lincoln Financial Field. Meek Mill just performed Dreams and Nightmares on the sideline. the Cowboys (which the Eagles won 27-16, of course): The song has remained in use in Philadelphia since that season Mill even gave a live performance in the Eagles' Week 6 game earlier this season vs. MORE: Patrick Mahomes boycotting Meek Mill ahead of Super Bowl "The Eagles have also motivated me with the way they've overcome tough situations and injuries to succeed this year." "It really lifted my spirit to hear the team rally around my songs because that's why I make music - to inspire others and bring people together," he said in a 2018 statement to Bleacher Report. Mill appreciated the Eagles' use of his song through their run to the Super Bowl, even as he was jailed for violating probation in relation to 2008 convictions of firearm and drug possession charges. The Eagles first made use of "Dreams and Nightmares" in their 2018 playoff run, which saw the team beat Tom Brady and the Patriots 41-33 to be crowned Super Bowl 52 champions: MORE: Watch Super Bowl 57 live with fuboTV (free trial) How 'Dreams and Nightmares' became Eagles anthem Its menacing and exhilarating tune touches on Mill's rise to the top of the game: not unlike this Eagles team that has adopted it as the theme song to the season. It not only pays homage to Mill and the team's hometown of Philadelphia, but serves as one of the best hype songs in the league. The track, taken from his 2012 debut album of the same name, has been a recurring theme for the Eagles in recent years. It's fitting, then, that the anthem to the team's run to the 2023 Super Bowl comes from none other than Philly-based rapper Meek Mill: "Dreams and Nightmares." Indeed, the 2022 NFL season has been nothing short of a dream for Philadelphia - and a nightmare for its opponents. The Eagles used to pray for times like this.
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