This article is about a song by American R&B singer Monica. For the American record producer, see Street Symphony (producer).
"Street Symphony" is a song by American R&B singer Monica. It was written and produced by Dallas Austin for her second studio album, The Boy Is Mine (1998), featuring an orchestral background performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The song was released as the album's fourth single in the United States ("Inside" was released in Europe only) in May 1999. It peaked at number 50 on the US BillboardHot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. "Street Symphony"'s accompanying video was directed by Darren Grant.
"Street Symphony" was written and produced by Dallas Austin.[1] A tale of a street hustler whose girlfriend begs him to change his lifestyle, Austin utilized the dynamics of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra inside the studio to record the song.[1]
Critical receptionedit
"Street Symphony" was positively received by Chuck Taylor of Billboard. He wrote: "Garnished with carnival-like instrumental touches and a gorgeous orchestral passage — and yet maintaining an overall contemporary- R&B shuffle quality — "Street Symphony" absolutely scores on all levels, from its instantaneous chorus and Monica's cool, soul-searching vocal to creative production props and juicy verses about a man gone wrong, all masterminded by songwriter/producer Dallas [...] This is one of those songs that tempers the hot summer air, providing a backdrop for a romantic outing under the stars."[2] In 2009, Tyler Lewis from PopMatters called "Street Symphony" Monica's "single greatest work to date."[3]
Music videoedit
A music video for "Street Symphony" was directed by Darren Grant. It takes place at night in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. In the video, Monica is seen wearing several dark outfits whilst singing and dancing through different sections of the song. Included are cuts of Monica and her female back-up dancers performing choreography in black leather costumes, with choreographed string players (violins and violas) in similarly dark clothing. The video is mainly composed of dark greys and blues despite black being a recurring color, presumably to go with the song’s emotional, somewhat bitter (yet mildly hopeful) subject matter.
The plot follows Monica's romance, and her decision to leave a lover involved in unspecified criminal activity. In the opening scenes, there are flashing police lights as police arrest a purposely edited/obscured man. Then, in a scene meant to have taken place hours earlier inside of a luxury apartment, we see Monica modeling and admiring various diamonds and jewels (presumably stolen property, given as gifts by her lover). During this scene, she sings about loving him much more than any ill-gotten luxury. Next we see Monica as the passenger in a car with her love driving, when he decides to make a quick “stop”. Whether or not this is meant to portray the dealing of illicit substances, pimping, gambling, fraud, or theft, it is never specified. All we see is the exchange of money. The two men walk off towards a dark place, which is revealed to be a parking garage, leaving Monica visibly distraught and alone in the car. She begins to realize there is no changing her love’s criminal ways. Back at the apartment, Monica tosses the same diamond jewels (that she previously admired) across the room. Then she departs, alone, with a defiant and determined swagger. Once outside, she spots the police car lights driving in the direction of her now ex-lover. He is arrested; Monica continues on her path.
^Lewis, Tyler (December 1, 2010). "Monica: Still Standing". PopMatters. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
^"Monica Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
^"Monica Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
^"Monica Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
^"AddVance Notice". Radio & Records. No. 1301. May 28, 1999. p. 75.
^"Gavin Top 40/Rhythm: Impact Dates". Gavin Report. No. 2259. June 14, 1999. p. 16.
^"Gavin Top 40/Rhythm: Impact Dates". Gavin Report. No. 2263. July 12, 1999. p. 13.
May 02, 2024
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This article is about a song by American R amp B singer Monica For the American record producer see Street Symphony producer Street Symphony is a song by American R amp B singer Monica It was written and produced by Dallas Austin for her second studio album The Boy Is Mine 1998 featuring an orchestral background performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra The song was released as the album s fourth single in the United States Inside was released in Europe only in May 1999 It peaked at number 50 on the US Billboard Hot R amp B Hip Hop Singles amp Tracks chart Street Symphony s accompanying video was directed by Darren Grant Street Symphony Single by Monicafrom the album The Boy is MineReleasedMay 31 1999 1999 05 31 Length5 36 album version 4 04 radio edit LabelAristaSongwriter s Dallas AustinProducer s Dallas AustinMonica singles chronology Inside 1999 Street Symphony 1999 Gone Be Fine 1999 Contents 1 Background 2 Critical reception 3 Music video 4 Track listings 5 Credits and personnel 6 Charts 7 Release history 8 ReferencesBackground edit Street Symphony was written and produced by Dallas Austin 1 A tale of a street hustler whose girlfriend begs him to change his lifestyle Austin utilized the dynamics of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra inside the studio to record the song 1 Critical reception edit Street Symphony was positively received by Chuck Taylor of Billboard He wrote Garnished with carnival like instrumental touches and a gorgeous orchestral passage and yet maintaining an overall contemporary R amp B shuffle quality Street Symphony absolutely scores on all levels from its instantaneous chorus and Monica s cool soul searching vocal to creative production props and juicy verses about a man gone wrong all masterminded by songwriter producer Dallas This is one of those songs that tempers the hot summer air providing a backdrop for a romantic outing under the stars 2 In 2009 Tyler Lewis from PopMatters called Street Symphony Monica s single greatest work to date 3 Music video editA music video for Street Symphony was directed by Darren Grant It takes place at night in downtown Atlanta Georgia In the video Monica is seen wearing several dark outfits whilst singing and dancing through different sections of the song Included are cuts of Monica and her female back up dancers performing choreography in black leather costumes with choreographed string players violins and violas in similarly dark clothing The video is mainly composed of dark greys and blues despite black being a recurring color presumably to go with the song s emotional somewhat bitter yet mildly hopeful subject matter The plot follows Monica s romance and her decision to leave a lover involved in unspecified criminal activity In the opening scenes there are flashing police lights as police arrest a purposely edited obscured man Then in a scene meant to have taken place hours earlier inside of a luxury apartment we see Monica modeling and admiring various diamonds and jewels presumably stolen property given as gifts by her lover During this scene she sings about loving him much more than any ill gotten luxury Next we see Monica as the passenger in a car with her love driving when he decides to make a quick stop Whether or not this is meant to portray the dealing of illicit substances pimping gambling fraud or theft it is never specified All we see is the exchange of money The two men walk off towards a dark place which is revealed to be a parking garage leaving Monica visibly distraught and alone in the car She begins to realize there is no changing her love s criminal ways Back at the apartment Monica tosses the same diamond jewels that she previously admired across the room Then she departs alone with a defiant and determined swagger Once outside she spots the police car lights driving in the direction of her now ex lover He is arrested Monica continues on her path Track listings editAustralian CD singleNo TitleWriter s Producer s Length1 Street Symphony Radio Edit Dallas AustinAustin4 042 Right Here Waiting featuring 112 Richard MarxDavid FosterTony Maserati a 4 313 Street Symphony Extended Version featuring Majic AustinAustin5 154 Inside Masters at Work Club Mix Diane WarrenFoster Little Louie Vega b Kenny Dope Gonzalez b 8 185 Street Symphony Cyptron Zone III Remix AustinGary WhiteAustin4 17 Remix singleNo TitleWriter s Producer s Length1 Street Symphony Cyptron Zone III Remix Radio Mix featuring Big Gipp JT Money amp Majic AustinAustin4 152 Street Symphony Cyptron Zone III Remix Instrumental AustinAustin4 163 Street Symphony Cyptron Zone III Remix Call Out Research Hook AustinAustin0 10 Notes a denotes co producer s b denotes remix producer s Credits and personnel editCredits adapted from the liner notes of The Boy Is Mine 1 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra orchestral performance Monica Arnold vocals Dallas Austin producer arranger composer A Baars engineer Leslie Brathwaite engineer mixing Greg Crawford engineer Eddie Horst orchestral arrangements Ty Hudson assistant engineer Debra Killings background vocals Rico Lumpkin engineer Andrew Lyn assistant engineer Carlton Lynn engineer assistant engineer Vernon Mungo assistant engineer Claudine Pontier assistant engineer Rick Sheppard midi and sound design Kimberly Smith production coordinator Gary White composerCharts editWeekly chart performance for Street Symphony Chart 1999 Peakposition US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Billboard 4 20 US Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard 5 50 US Rhythmic Billboard 6 27Release history editRelease dates and formats for Street Symphony Region Date Format Label Ref United States May 31 1999 Urban radio Arista 7 June 15 1999 Rhythmic contemporary radio 8 July 12 1999 Contemporary hit radio 9 References edit a b c The Boy Is Mine Media notes Monica Arista Records 1998 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Taylor Chuck July 10 1998 Reviews amp Previews Singles Billboard Retrieved December 27 2020 Lewis Tyler December 1 2010 Monica Still Standing PopMatters Retrieved December 27 2020 Monica Chart History Bubbling Under Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved May 18 2020 Monica Chart History Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard Retrieved May 23 2011 Monica Chart History Rhythmic Billboard Retrieved November 30 2017 AddVance Notice Radio amp Records No 1301 May 28 1999 p 75 Gavin Top 40 Rhythm Impact Dates Gavin Report No 2259 June 14 1999 p 16 Gavin Top 40 Rhythm Impact Dates Gavin Report No 2263 July 12 1999 p 13 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Street Symphony song amp oldid 1212747412, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
