| "C.R.E.A.M." | ||||||||||
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| Single by Wu-Tang Clan | ||||||||||
| from the album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) | ||||||||||
| Released | January 31, 1994 | |||||||||
| Format | 12" single, CD5" | |||||||||
| Recorded | July 1993 Firehouse Studio in New York City |
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| Genre | East Coast hip hop, Hardcore hip-hop | |||||||||
| Length | 4:12 | |||||||||
| Label | Loud Records | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Robert Diggs Jason Hunter Clifford Smith Corey Woods David Porter[1] Isaac Hayes[1] |
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| Producer | RZA | |||||||||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||||||||
| Wu-Tang Clan singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"C.R.E.A.M." ("Cash Rules Everything Around Me") is a song by the New York hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, from their 1993 studio album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). The song was produced by Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA, and samples The Charmels' 1967 song, "As Long As I've Got You", but only the beginning. "C.R.E.A.M." was released as a single through Loud in early 1994.
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"C.R.E.A.M." features a verse from Raekwon, a long verse from Inspectah Deck and the hook performed by Method Man: Cash rules everything around me, C.R.E.A.M./Get the money; dollar, dollar bill, y'all.
The hook performed by Method Man has been sampled by many rappers. The phrase "Cream" has become a slang term for money. C.R.E.A.M. is one of the highest charting Wu-Tang Clan singles, reaching #60 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The music video for "C.R.E.A.M." features the members of the Wu-Tang Clan starting off at the projects in Staten Island and moving on to a more lavish lifestyle of champagne and Mercedes. The video for this single also features classic early '90s urban New York styles of dress, as the majority of the people in the video are wearing goose-downs, Champion hoodies, black skullies, and either wheat or black Timberlands.
Several artists including The Notorious B.I.G., Willy Northpole, Wyclef Jean, 2Pac, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, 50 Cent, Lil' Wayne, Akon, Fabolous, Fat Joe, Game, Transplants, Pat the Bunny, Nas, Swizz Beatz, Rakim, Jin, Mos Def, M-Flo, Young Jeezy, Common, Deez Nuts, and Freeway among others have mentioned it in their songs.
It is featured on The RZA Hits compilation.
On January 29, 2009, "C.R.E.A.M." was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 units, 15 years after it was first released.
The song is in the movie 8 Mile and also in the More Songs from 8 Mile soundtrack.
The rap group UNI sampled C.R.E.A.M., as well as Lupe Fiasco's Kick, Push, for their track KREAM (Kicks Rule Everything Around Me).
The song is referenced in Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill) by Wyclef Jean, Akon, Niia, and Lil Wayne. In the chorus Akon sings: "Ima tell u, like Wu told me, cash rules everything around me, singing dolla dolla bill y'all" Raekwon, himself, made an appearance on the song's remix.
Mos Def repeats the line at the end of the song New World Water on his debut album, Black on Both Sides.
The song was sampled two months after the single with the 1994 remix of "Anything" by SWV and themselves from the Above the Rim soundtrack.
Time included the song on its list of the All-TIME 100 Greatest Songs.[2]
It was voted #20 in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs.[3]
The "C.R.E.A.M." single made The Source Magazine's 100 Best Rap Singles list.[1]
The song was voted #13 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.[4]
The verse by Inspectah Deck encapsulates his entire life growing up in the ghetto so far. Topics covered include growing up without a father, resorting to drug dealing and being arrested. After being arrested, Deck has a new and profound view on society, as he believes society is "no different from a cell." Towards the end of the verse, Deck talks about how going to prison has matured him, and after reaching out to his grandmother or mother ("The Old Earth") for advice, he tries to encourage the "young black youth" to stop affiliating themselves with the street life. As he in turn feels ignored he sums up "Neglected for now, but yo, it gots to be accepted / That what? That life is hectic".
In late 2010, an ice-cream sandwich shop named C.R.E.A.M. opened in Berkeley, CA. A play off of the popular Wu-Tang Clan song, the shop's initials stand for "Cookies Rule Everything Around Me." [5]
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