"Ice Cream Dream" is a song by American rapper

MC Lyte Lana Michele Moorer (born October 11, 1970), better known by her stage name MC Lyte, is an American rapper. Considered one of the pioneers of female rap, MC Lyte first gained fame in the late 1980s, becoming the first female rapper to release a ...

in 1992. The song was used to promote the 1992 motion picture ''

Mo' Money ''Mo' Money'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Macdonald, and written by Damon Wayans, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Stacey Dash, Joe Santos, John Diehl, Harry Lennix, Bernie Mac (in his film debut), ...

''. It was written by Lyte with

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/ pop songwriting and record production team. Their productions have received commercial success since the 1980s with var ...

, famous primarily for their work with

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

, and released as single from the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

of the movie on October 27, 1992, through Jam & Lewis's label

Perspective Records Perspective Records is an American record label, launched in 1991 by the producing team Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, through a joint venture with A&M Records—which Jam & Lewis had had a prosperous working relationship with throughout the 1980s, wit ...

. With a production oriented to the

New Jack Swing New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Te ...

sound, in the song Lyte talks about her preference for men, metaphorically comparing them to ice cream cone. Ice Cream Dream has more sexual lyrical content than their previously released singles.

Conception and composition

With a production oriented to the

sound, in the song Lyte talks about her preference for men, metaphorically comparing them to ice cream cone ''"Dark, handsome, six feet tall/Thirty-one flavors, I believe he’s got ‘em all."'' Ice Cream Dream has more sexual lyrical content than their previously released singles ''"Forget the chase--I'm prepared to get a taste/Licky here, licky there cuz I like it/Too much to eat--so I guess I'll bite it."'' In 2018 Jam & Lewis spoke to ''

Okayplayer Okayplayer is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by ''Rolling Stone'' as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The community was founded by The Roots' drummer ...

'' about some of their most prominent production work, commenting on the song: The song also has

Lisa Keith Lisa Keith (born 1960), currently known as Lisa Bernard, is an American contemporary/ pop singer, probably best known for her work as a backing vocalist for other artists and lead vocalist on Herb Alpert's hit single from 1987, " Making Love in t ...

, who had previously collaborated as

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

on songs by

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter, pianist, singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, conductor, painter, sculptor and theatre producer, who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (sometimes called "Herb Alpe ...

, Janet Jackson, and

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...

, singing on her hook.

Samples

It is built around a sample of

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an initialism for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. E Double) and Parrish Smith ("PMD" a.k.a. Parrish Mi ...

hit song "

So Wat Cha Sayin' "So Wat Cha Sayin'" is the first single released from, EPMD's second album, '' Unfinished Business''. Produced by EPMD with scratches provided by DJ Scratch, "So Wat Cha Sayin'" made it to three Billboard charts, peaking at #5 on the Hot Rap Singl ...

". The single features a

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...

remix which in turn contains samples of multiple elements from the previous song "

Lyte as a Rock ''Lyte as a Rock'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist MC Lyte. It was released on April 19, 1988, via First Priority and Atlantic Records, and was produced by Audio Two, Prince Paul, and King of Chill and his group, ...

T La Rock Terrence Ronnie Keaton known by the stage name T La Rock, (born September 16, 1961) is an American old school hip hop, old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 in music, 1984 Si ...

and

Jazzy Jay John Byas (born November 18, 1961), also known as The Original Jazzy Jay or DJ Jazzy Jay, is an American hip hop Turntablism, DJ and producer. Background Jazzy Jay was born into a Gullah family in coastal South Carolina. He moved with his famil ...

's "It's Yours" and Uncle Louie's "Like Funky Music", plus vocals of "Pee-Wee's Dance" by Joeski Love, "Put Your Love (In My Tender Care)" by

Fatback Band The Fatback Band (later, simply Fatback) is an American funk and disco band that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. The Fatback Band is most known for their R&B hits: "(Do the) Spanish Hustle", "I Like Girls", "Gotta Get My Hands on Some (Mone ...

and "The Breakdown (Part I)" by

Rufus Thomas Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Re ...

Critical reception

In his book ''Reflecting Black: African-American Cultural Criticism'' (1993),

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

and author

Michael Eric Dyson Michael Eric Dyson (born October 23, 1958) is an American academic, author, Baptist minister, and radio host. He is a professor in the College of Arts and Science and in the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University. Described by Michael A. Fletche ...

described the song as "a delicious ode to erotic desire" in which Lyte "seductively embellishes a conceit drawn from quotidian experience". In 2013 Cedric Muhammad would analyze the trajectory of Jam & Lewis for ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine, in which he would describe the song as "risque" and ask "how perfect is Lisa Keith’s voice in chorus?" In 2017, in a retrospective review of the soundtrack album, Todd Stereo Williams of ''

The Boombox Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' considered Lyte's song "One of her most underrated cuts", highlighting as in its artistic maturation "she wasn't afraid to embrace R&B" even though made her first appearance as a battle rapper in the 80s.

Track listing

US 7" Vinyl

A-Side # "Ice Cream Dream" (7" Radio Mix) B-Side # "Ice Cream Dream" (Remix Radio Edit)

UK 12" Vinyl

A-Side # "Ice Cream Dream" (Album Version) # "Ice Cream Dream" (12" Remix) B-Side # "Ice Cream Dream" (Straight Pass) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Remix Radio Edit)

12" Vinyl

A-Side # "Ice Cream Dream" (Remix 12") (5:42) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Album Version) (4:25) # "Ice Cream Dream" (12" Remix) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Remix Radio Edit) (3:49)

CD Version

A-Side # "Ice Cream Dream" (7" Radio Mix) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Remix Radio Edit) # "Ice Cream Dream" (12" Remix) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Straight Pass) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Album Version)

Cassette

# "Ice Cream Dream" (7" Radio Mix) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Remix Radio Edit) # "Ice Cream Dream" (12" Remix) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Straight Pass) # "Ice Cream Dream" (Album Version)

Personnel

Credits are taken from the liner notes. *Executive-Producer – Nat Robinson *Mastered By – Dennis King (D.K.) *Producer, Written-By – Audio Two (tracks: A2 to B2), King Of Chill (tracks: A1) *Programmed By, Engineer, Music By usic Performed By– Audio Two *Written-By – MC Lyte

Charts

References

{{authority control 1992 songs 1992 singles Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis MC Lyte songs Perspective Records singles A&M Records singles Songs written by MC Lyte