A Nightmare on My Street

"A Nightmare on My Street"
Single by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
from the album He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper
Released	August 1, 1988
Recorded	1987
Genre	Horrorcore, pop rap
Length	6:09 (LP/cassette copies of album) 4:53 (45 length/CD copies of album)
Label	Jive RCA
Songwriter(s)	Smith, Townes, Harris
Producer(s)	Smith, Townes, New, Harris
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince singles chronology
"Parents Just Don't Understand" (1988) "A Nightmare on My Street" (1988) "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson" (1989)
Music video
"A Nightmare on My Street" on YouTube

"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.^[1] The song was released as a single in early 1988 on vinyl and cassette tape. The song humorously describes an encounter with the horror film villain Freddy Krueger and 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 (though a copy of the video did survive and is available online^[2][3]). 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.