On Monday November 6, 2017, Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill was sentenced to two to four years of incarceration for violating terms of his probation. The announcement comes exactly one week after the fifth anniversary of the release of Dreams and Nightmares, Meek’s debut album, that dropped through, Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group and Warner Bros.
The rap universe offered an outpouring of support for Meek, with names like Nipsey Hussle, T.I. and Jay-Z jumping on the verdict.
That the ruling comes just after Meek brought 35 members of a Philadelphia area Boys and Girls Club is troubling. Not without his faults, Meek is regularly active in philanthropic efforts. He donated 60,000 bottles of water in response to the Flint, Michigan Water crisis in 2016, as well as donating an undisclosed sum of money and soliciting further help for the victims of a fire in Philadelphia in 2014.
Oddly enough, the duality of Meek Mill is most accurately summarized on the intro track of Dreams and Nightmares. Sharing its name with the album’s title, the cut sees the rapper quite clearly lay out his album’s premise, beginning with the hopeful aspirations of a career on the rise. “I don’t say a word, I don’t say a word/ Was on my grind now I got what I deserve!” ends the “Dreams” section which then flips into the aggressive and flagrant “Nightmares” portion, in which Meek raps about whipping “Lambos” and looking out for the opposition.
Despite Meek dropping two full length albums and a host of mixtapes since Dreams and Nightmares released, the 2012 title track remains among Meek’s most appropriately concocted tracks. Five years in the making, the cut continues to foretell Meek’s personal story, one of lavish successes and drastic downfalls.
Stream 2012s Dreams and Nightmares below.
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