Dreams and Nightmares (song)

"Dreams and Nightmares" is a song by American rapper Meek Mill, released as the opening track of his debut studio album of the same name (2012). The song's production was handled by Tone the Beat Bully, who served as a co-writer with Mill, Maurice Jordan, and Mack Maine. It was recorded at the Ocean Sky Hotel in Miami during the late sessions for the album in September 2012. After rapping his first part, Mill requested a beat switch and finished writing the second verse once it was added. A hip hop number with maximalist and grime elements, the resulting song contains piano in the two parts and moves between them with the beat switch.

Mill raps his verses uninterrupted, moving from a light tone in the dreams part to a loud delivery for the nightmares side. In the lyrics of the song, he juxtaposes his eventual success with his rise from the bottom in Philadelphia. "Dreams and Nightmares" received universal acclaim from music critics, who lauded the strength of Mill's rapping. Some highlighted his storytelling, while a few critics complimented the switch between the two parts. In 2019, Pitchfork listed the song as the 92nd best of the 2010s.

In the United States, the song reached the top spot of the Billboard Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). An accompanying music video premiered on MTV2 in January 2013, reflecting on Mill's career journey up to this point. Accomplishments are shown for the dreams side, while chaos is started by him to represent nightmares. Mill performed "Dreams and Nightmares" live at the Summer Jam festivals of 2013, 2018, and 2022. In June 2015, Gonzalo "Papi" Le Batard delivered an a cappella cover for ESPN's daily sports talk television program, Highly Questionable. The song has become known as Mill's most important release, notably for the impact and significance in hip hop. It was played as the Philadelphia Eagles' intro music for the Super Bowl LII in 2018, which lifted Mill's spirit and led to a rise in streams.