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As I lay down laws like I lay carpet The Notorious B.I.G. – One More Chance / Stay With Me [Remix]

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Biggie is most likely referencing Island Carpet, a local Brooklyn business whose ads were all over New York radio in the 90s (according to legend.)

The line may often be confused, but the actual line is: “as I lay down laws like I lay carpet”, check the live versions of the song like his performance at the end of Martin (season 4 episode 3, “Blow, Baby, Blow”.)

Some believe he may be speaking about Allen Carpet, a better established chain of carpet stores.

Many believe Biggie is name-dropping an attorney named Alan Kopit, but that seems unlikely as Kopit has been practicing law in Cleveland, Ohio since 1977.

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M.D. Esq

Marked this as restating the line ?

2 years

*Allen carpet (you gotta be of a certain age to get the reference; BIG was).

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213

2 years

he may have used “as I lay carpet,” but that’s not what’s ok record. I think it’s “Allan Carpet.” I suspect he then tweaked the line once he realized that the reference didn’t work as well outside of the NYC area.

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One More Chance / Stay With Me [Remix] The Notorious B.I.G. – One More Chance / Stay With Me [Remix]

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Released in the summer of 1995, this remix of “One More Chance” became Biggie’s biggest hit (until his death), tying Michael Jackson’s record for highest debut on Billboard’s Hot 100. The song samples DeBarge’s 1983 track “Stay With Me” and features Biggie’s wife, Faith Evans, on the chorus. It features on the same smooth ’80s synthesizer sound and romantic lyrical theme of Biggie’s previous hit, “Big Poppa.”

The original version of “One More Chance”—which features a completely different beat and lyrics—appeared on Biggie’s 1994 debut album Ready To Die. The remix was released eight months later under the official name “One More Chance/Stay With Me,” or as it was more commonly known, the “One More Chance (Remix).” A second remix, “One More Chance (Hip Hop Mix),” was released at the same time with and featured the same lyrics with a different chorus and beat.

The song was produced by Puff Daddy and Rashad Smith, who previously worked together on Mary J. Blige’s 1993 track “What’s The 411 (Remix),” which also features Biggie. Mary J. Blige also contributed uncredited background vocals to “One More Chance.”

After the massive crossover success of his previous single “Big Poppa,” which peaked at #9 on Billboard Hot 100, the “One More Chance (Remix)” debuted at #5 on the chart. It eventually peaked at #2, making it Biggie’s most successful song at the time. After his death, both “Hypnotize” and “Mo. Money, Mo' Problems” would hit #1.

“One More Chance (Remix)” is the last song that Biggie performed live before being gunned down in Los Angeles, at the 1997 Soul Train Awards

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Released in the summer of 1995, this remix of "One More Chance" became Biggie’s biggest hit (until his death), tying Michael Jackson’s record for highest debut on Billboard’s Hot 100. The song samples DeBarge’s 1983 track ["Stay With Me"](https://genius.com/Debarge-stay-with-me-lyrics) and features Biggie’s wife, [Faith Evans](https://genius.com/artists/Faith-evans), on the chorus. It features on the same smooth ’80s synthesizer sound and romantic lyrical theme of Biggie’s previous hit, ["Big Poppa."](https://genius.com/The-notorious-big-big-poppa-lyrics)

The [original version](https://genius.com/The-notorious-big-one-more-chance-lyrics) of “One More Chance”—which features a completely different beat and lyrics—appeared on Biggie’s 1994 debut album [*Ready To Die*](https://genius.com/albums/The-notorious-big/Ready-to-die). The remix was released eight months later under the official name "One More Chance/Stay With Me," or as it was more commonly known, the "One More Chance (Remix)." A second remix, ["One More Chance (Hip Hop Mix),"](https://genius.com/The-notorious-big-one-more-chance-hip-hop-mix-lyrics) was released at the same time with and featured the same lyrics with a different chorus and beat.

The song was produced by Puff Daddy and Rashad Smith, who previously worked together on Mary J. Blige’s 1993 track ["What’s The 411 (Remix),"](https://genius.com/Mary-j-blige-whats-the-411-remix-lyrics) which also features Biggie. Mary J. Blige also contributed uncredited background vocals to “One More Chance.”

After the massive crossover success of his previous single "Big Poppa," which peaked at #9 on Billboard Hot 100, the "One More Chance (Remix)" debuted at #5 on the chart. It eventually peaked at #2, making it Biggie's most successful song at the time. After his death, both "Hypnotize" and "Mo. Money, Mo' Problems" would hit #1.

"One More Chance (Remix)" is the last song that Biggie performed live before being gunned down in Los Angeles, at the 1997 Soul Train Awards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nPXZZz26Is

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We tryna buy back our 40 acres Kanye West (Ft. Syleena Johnson) – All Falls Down

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“40 acres and a mule” was the promise of compensation made to freed African American slaves after the Civil War. During Reconstruction, a lot of promises that the federal government had made to freed slaves were broken, so Kanye is saying that he has to be materialistic to get the socioeconomic benefits his ancestors were promised but never received

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6 years

With allusions, he is saying that we are materialistic in an attempt gain the socioeconomic benefits we never received. However, blacks still remain slaves as the internalized racism blacks face causes them to be materialistic, and they are still acting under white supremacy.

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5,360

7 years

Buy back the 40 acres – there’s an implication here that even if they’d had it at the time, it’s been taken from them since.

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I can't even pronounce nothing, pass that Ver-say-see!
Then I spent four hundred bucks on this
Just to be like, "Nigga, you ain't up on this" Kanye West (Ft. Syleena Johnson) – All Falls Down

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“Ver-say-see” is a mispronounciation of the luxury brand Versace (pronounced “ver-SACH-eh” [verˈsaːtʃe]). Kanye emphasises how “so insecure” he is: to the point he buys ridiculously expensive things he can’t even pronounce, just so he can (maybe) feel like the rich people who also wear them.

It’s also important to note that Kanye self-consciously re-establishes a hierarchy (“Just to be like ‘Nigga you ain’t up on this’”) based on materialistic values (the watches). Instead of helping the community, Kanye contributes to the legacy of colonial violence on African Americans. He is aware he is doing this but he can’t stop himself.

Kanye seems to be imitating a line from Joe Ezterhas' movie Showgirls, where main character Nomi says “Thanks. It’s a Ver-sayce” after being complimented on her dress.

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187

1 year

similar to “Too many bottles of this wine we can’t pronounce”.

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91,739

2 years

Watch any interviews with Donnatella and she’ll tell you: it’s not Versa-chi, it’s Versa-chay.

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716

3 years

Yeezy brag different

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21,190

5 years

Kanye is also making a bit of a meta-joke here on the audience here. The humour for the audience in the bar is knowing that the narrator is pronouncing Versace wrong but actually the majority of English-speakers (and, presumably, the majority of Kanye’s listeners) pronounce it wrong anyway.

Versace should be pronounced ver-sah-che [verˈsaːtʃ] but the majority of Anglophones pronounce it ver-sah-chee [verˈsaːtʃe].

Here is Donatella Versace, Artistic Director of Versace and brother to founder Gianni Versace, complaining about this common mispronunciation:

As an OG hypebeast, surely Kanye is aware of how to correctly pronounce Versace? And, if so, in a song with a lot of themes about power structures and the arbitrary rules that hold them together, is there an intentional meta-commentary around the listener feeling in a position of intellectual superiority to the narrator when they are actually both as wrong as each other?

Versace should be pronounced ver-sah-che [verˈsaːtʃ] but the majority of Anglophones pronounce it ver-sah-chee [verˈsaːtʃe].

Here is [Donatella Versace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donatella_Versace), Artistic Director of Versace and brother to founder [Gianni Versace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianni_Versace), complaining about this common mispronunciation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkV5VpEROW0&t=287s

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She's so precious with the peer pressure
Couldn't afford a car, so she named her daughter Alexis Kanye West (Ft. Syleena Johnson) – All Falls Down

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She named her daughter “Alexis” so that she could still claim to own “a Lexus,” showing her materialistic desires outwinning her maternal love. In the seventh song of the album, “Jesus Walks” Kanye also talks about people stealing a Lexus.

You know what the Midwest is? Young and restless
Where restless (Niggas) might snatch your necklace
And next these (Niggas) might jack your Lexus

Saying she couldn’t ‘afford’ a car could be a reference to ‘a Ford,’ which is another popular car brand.

In Donda West’s book, Raising Kanye, she notes that this line is both about a cousin of Kanye’s named Alexis, and the woman he was dating at the time, Alexis Phifer.

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All Falls Down Kanye West (Ft. Syleena Johnson) – All Falls Down

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“All Falls Down” is a self-reflection of Kanye’s personal battle with consumerism. The track was the third single from his debut album, The College Dropout. The song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 47th Grammy Awards.

Kanye released an earlier version of this song as “Self Conscious (Poetry-Style)"on Freshmen Adjustment and performed a lesser-known spoken word version on “Def Poetry Jam” of this song also known as from Freshmen Adjustment

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Never Change AZ – Never Change

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In the first verse, AZ describes bumping into his friend he hasn’t seen in a while and catching up with him on old times and current hustles

In the second verse, AZ plans on getting around to calling the friend sometime but first he flies in a girl and then goes shoe-shopping. As he’s lacing up his new shoes at the store, he gets a phone call that this friend just got shot

The final verse is a eulogy to his friend and musings on the nature of death

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Rujai vanTrikt

9 years

Almost but not so. When AZ said “from the curb I need to pull a Larry Bird before Im up and out” He was saying that he was about to shoot the Guinness bottle in the trash can.

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Rodney King, baby, yeah I beat it like a cop
Hahah! Beat it like a cop
Rodney King baby said "Beat it like a cop" Lil Wayne (Ft. Bobby V & Kidd Kidd) – Mrs. Officer

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Rodney King was a black man beat up by LAPD. The beating was captured on video, setting off the LA Riots

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Peter Daplyn

4 years

The pattern is also highly reminiscent of Wayne’s classic “…Drop it like it’s hot” final section from Juvenile’s ‘Back that Azz Up’.

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Mrs. Officer Lil Wayne (Ft. Bobby V & Kidd Kidd) – Mrs. Officer

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A radio song with Bobby Valentino singing a lovey-dovey hook…certainly nothing intellectual going on here, right? Except that you dealing with Lil Wayne! The female officer featured in the song is purely fictitious (he even proposes to her at the end… not a very Lil Waynish thing to do)..

The purpose of the song is to emasculate all of the male police officers who fuck with Lil Wayne on the daily

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946

4 years

It is theorised that the song ‘Mrs. Officer’ is Lil Wayne convincing a ‘lady cop’ to turn her badge in. The angels represent the people opposing systematic oppression, while the sunrise represents the revolution. I saw the theory on instagram/twitter

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When Puff was in that tub spilling Mo'
I was at my video, Cris' on the speedboat
In My Lifetime, nigga, go through your research Jeezy (Ft. JAY-Z) – Go Crazy

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Hov is presenting evidence that he pioneered the drinking of Cristal in hip-hop, while Puff Daddy was still drinking the cheaper Moët in Biggie videos.

In the video for his 1994 single “In My Lifetime,” Hov is seen drinking Cristal on a speedboat in St. Thomas that he borrowed from his connects.

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