Street Dreams (film)

Street Dreams is an American film directed by Chris Zamoscianyk, produced by Rob Dyrdek, Jason Bergh and Sal Masekela and written by Elisa Delson, Rob Dyrdek, and Nino Scalia.

Derrick Cabrera (Paul Rodriguez) has a dream of being sponsored and one day going pro. He is an up-and-coming street skateboarder from Chicago with all the talent but has the world against him. Parents, friends and schoolmates can't understand how Derrick has so much passion for something that has no future in their eyes. As everyone pushes him around, including his own father, girlfriend, and even one of his closest friends, he doesn't give up on both achieving his dreams, and proving everyone wrong.

Plot

Derrick Cabrera (Paul Rodriguez) has a dream of being sponsored and one day going pro. He is an up-and-coming street skateboarder from Chicago with all the talent but has the world against him. He and his fellow skateboarding friends Cash (Ryan Dunn), Reese (Terry Kennedy), and Troy (Rob Dyrdek), as well as filmographer friend Mikey (Adam Wylie), spend their days skating at spots around the city, being pursued by cops for skating where they shouldn't be, and planning how to make names for themselves. In Derrick's case, this means landing one special trick on-camera for a sponsorship video that has never been done before, affectionately dubbed the N.A.C. (Not A Chance) by his friends. Unfortunately, the handrail at the local university he needs to practice his trick on has been skate-proofed, preventing him from making that goal a reality.

Street Dreams (song)

"Street Dreams" is a 1996 single by American rapper Nas. The song was It Was Written's second hit, following the success of "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)". "Street Dreams" contains an interpolation from the Eurythmics song "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and a sample from Linda Clifford's "Never Gonna Stop". A remix, including an appearance by R. Kelly, was released shortly after the original. It featured samples from the Isley Brothers' "Choosey Lover". The remix version was performed live on an episode of the Nickelodeon series All That in February 1997.

The song's big-budget video, directed by Hype Williams, was an allusion to the Martin Scorsese film Casino. It was filmed in Las Vegas around the time Tupac Shakur was murdered and featured a cameo appearance by Frank Vincent. Perhaps as a show of appreciation, Scorsese later used Nas' "Thief's Theme" in a scene from his 2006 gangster/cop drama The Departed.

The song was Nas' first to enter the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 22. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1997, his only single to achieve this feat.

Nas

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (/nɑːˈsɪər/; born September 14, 1973), better known as Nas /ˈnɑːz/, is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, record producer and actor. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas has released eight consecutive platinum and multi-platinum albums and sold over 25 million records worldwide since 1994. He is also an entrepreneur through his own record label; he serves as associate publisher of Mass Appeal magazine and is the owner of a Fila sneaker store. He is currently signed to Mass Appeal Records.

His musical career began in 1991 when he was featured on Main Source's track "Live at the Barbeque". His debut album Illmatic, released in 1994, received universal acclaim from both critics and the hip hop community; it is frequently ranked as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.

Nas' follow-up album, It Was Written, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, stayed on top for four consecutive weeks, went Platinum twice in only two months, and made Nas internationally known. From 2001 to 2005, Nas was involved in a highly publicized feud with rapper Jay Z. In 2006, Nas signed to Def Jam. In 2010, he released a collaboration album with reggae artist Damian Marley, donating all royalties to charities active in Africa. His eleventh studio album, Life Is Good, was released in 2012, and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.

Untitled Nas album

The untitled ninth studio album by American rapper Nas was released by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records on July 15, 2008 in the United States, with earlier dates in some other countries. Its original title—Nigger—was changed due to controversy surrounding the racial epithet. The album is distinguished for its political content, diverse sources of production and provocative subject matter.

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, Nas' fifth to do so. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics; it holds an aggregate score of 71/100 from Metacritic.

Background

Title controversy

The original title of the album—Nigger—was mentioned by Nas several times, as well as on an October 12, 2007, performance at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City where he announced the title and release date.Def Jam made no comment on the title. This was similar to attempts to name his 2006 album—eventually titled Hip Hop Is Dead—both Nigga and Hip Hop Is Dead... The N. On May 19, 2008, it was confirmed that Nas changed the name of the album to an untitled one (although on iTunes, the album is self-titled), stating that "the people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it." The cover of the album shows the back of a shirtless Nas with flagellation scars forming the shape of the letter N, a reference to the racial slur and how slaves were tortured. Fort Greene, Brooklyn assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries requested New York's Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to withdraw $84 million from the state pension fund that has been invested into Universal and its parent company, Vivendi, if the album's title was not changed.

Nas (Ikaria)

Nas is a small village on the Greek island of Icaria. It is famous for the beach which is located near the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis.

Coordinates: 37°37′19″N 26°03′36″E / 37.62194°N 26.06000°E / 37.62194; 26.06000