"A Nightmare on My Street" | ||||
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Single by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince | ||||
from the album He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper | ||||
Released | August 1, 1988 | |||
Format | 12" Vinyl. cassette | |||
Recorded | 1987 | |||
Genre | Horrorcore, pop rap | |||
Length |
6:09 (LP/cassette copies of album) 4:53 (45 length/CD copies of album) |
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Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Smith, Townes, Harris | |||
Producer(s) | Smith, Townes, New, Harris | |||
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince singles chronology | ||||
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"A Nightmare on My Street" is the third single from DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's second studio album, He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper. The song became a crossover hit in the US, reaching #15 on the Hot 100. The song was released as a single in early 1988. The single was released on Vinyl and Audio Cassette Tape. The song was considered for inclusion in the movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, but the producers of the film decided against its inclusion.
New Line Cinema, copyright holders of the A Nightmare on Elm Street film franchise, sued DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's record label for copyright infringement, forcing the label to destroy a music video produced for the song. Both sides eventually settled out of court. But as a result, vinyl pressings of the album He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper contain a disclaimer sticker that says, "[This song] is not part of the soundtrack...and is not authorized, licensed, or affiliated with the Nightmare on Elm Street films." The song samples Charles Bernstein's musical motif from A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Will Smith starts the song off by telling a little story about Freddy Krueger (whom he addresses as "Fred") and then begins to recall his encounter with him. The story starts off on a Saturday evening when Smith, Jazzy Jeff, and Ready Rock C go on a triple date with three girls where they catch a movie. After Smith gets home he lies down for the night and supposedly wakes up sometime after 12:30 from the unusually hot temperature from the heater which has melted his alarm clock. He goes downstairs for something to drink, and as he gets downstairs he notices the TV still on which he finds strange, as he is home alone. He turns off the television, then he hears a voice from behind him, and without looking to see who it is, he runs out of the house. He gets half a block before he stops and comes to the realization that what he's experiencing is nothing more than a dream. So he returns home where Freddy grabs him and offers a homicidal team-up. But Will turns down the offer and Freddy slashes Smith's chest. Smith, fearful for his life, runs up to his room, and hides in his bed under his sheets. Freddy then hops on the bed on top of Smith and starts slashing away with Smith trying to fight back. But everything stops with the sound of Smith's alarm clock. Smith looks to see that no one is there and scoffs at what had happened, assuming it was all just a bad nightmare. But when he see rips on his sheets he realizes what has happened and quickly calls Jeff to warn him. As the song ends, Smith warns Jeff to stay awake, and Jeff suddenly starts screaming with Freddy laughing in the phone's background telling Smith, "I'm your DJ now, Princey!"