"One More Chance / Stay with Me" is a song written and recorded by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., featuring additional vocals sung by his wife Faith Evans and an uncredited appearance by Mary J. Blige. It was certified platinum by the RIAA on July 31, 1995 and sold 1.1 million copies. The original version of the song appears on B.I.G.'s album, Ready to Die. The remix features new lyrics, a new chorus, and a different beat than the original. There is also a "hip hop mix" that samples Marley Marl's "Droppin Science". Evans was an up-and-coming R&B artist at the time. The remix, produced by Rashad Smith samples DeBarge's 1983 song "Stay with Me". The song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was the highest debuting single of all time, tying with Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson song "Scream" when it entered the Hot 100 at number 5 at the time. It remained the highest debuting single for a rap song on the Hot 100 until Puff Daddy's tribute song "I'll Be Missing You" debuted at number 1..
Synopsis
The song begins as a recording of an answering machine message in which one of B.I.G's daughters, having apparently been prompted by her mother, requests that women stop calling the household. This is followed by a number of messages left by jilted former lovers expressing a mixture of fondness, yearning, contempt and confusion towards Biggie. Following the introduction, the content of the song as recited by B.I.G largely centres around the rapper's sexual prowess. B.I.G makes a number of claims, such as comparing his sexual performance to the famous boxing match the Thrilla in Manila, and asserting that he has a very large and desirable penis. Aside from the above claims, B.I.G also expresses towards the end of the song that he prefers his relationships to based around sex, and prefers that the women leave him alone afterwards. This is implicitly suggested to be the result of women having become too attached to him in the past, and it is alleged that some have stalked him. The song closes with the titular chorus, which is a refrain from a female voice asking 'Oh, Biggie, give me one more chance'.
''Ready to Die'' version
The version that is on Ready to Die was produced by Sean Combs and features R&B trio Total and not Faith Evans. It samples "Hydra" by Grover Washington, Jr. and features an interpolation of "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5 on the chorus. The lyrics on the album version are different and more profane from both remixes. Lil' Cease's niece provides the voice of the child on Biggie's answering machine. His sister and her friends played the various women who leave messages. The original beat of the original version has a sample of DeBarge's "All This Love" and it can be found on D.J. Semi's Ready to Die: The O.G. Version.
Other versions
"One More Chance / Stay with Me " - The official remix to the original version. The remix has a completely different sound than the original. It was produced by Rashad Smith and samples "Stay with Me" by DeBarge. Appears on the single and the popular version. A music video was made for this song. The video was directed by Hype Williams and features appearances by Total, Luther Campbell, Heavy D, Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Spike Lee, Da Brat, Jermaine Dupri, D-Nice, Patra, Miss Jones, Queen Latifah, Craig Mack, Cypress Hill, Tyson Beckford, Aaliyah, Changing Faces, Kid Capri, Junior Mafia, Zhane, and Sean Combs. "One More Chance " - Also appears on the single and uses the verses from the "Stay with Me" remix except the beat and chorus is different. Also appears on the clean version of Ready to Die. Samples Lou Donaldson's "Who's Making Love?". "Want That Old Thing Back" - Appears on Greatest Hits and the bonus disc of and features a different beat as well as a chorus by Tresvant and a verse by Ja Rule. Uses Biggie's verses from the original "One More Chance". "Only One Thing" - Appears on Mick Boogie's Unbelievable mixtape and has a chorus and verse by Kim and uses Biggie's first verse from the original "One More Chance". "Foolish"/"Unfoolish" - A single by Ashanti. The song samples "Stay with Me" by DeBarge so it uses the same beat as the "One More Chance" / "Stay with Me" remix. A remix, "Unfoolish", was made which features Biggie's first verse from "Fucking You Tonight" as the third verse. "Unfoolish" appears on We Invented the Remix Vol. 1 and Ashanti's debut album. The song would later featuring R. Kelly on his album Life After Death, which was released after his shooting in 1997. "One More Chance / The Legacy " - The official remix to the "Stay with Me" remix. Appears on the soundtrack of Notorious B.I.G.'s biopic Notorious. This song played as tribute to Biggie in the Up in Smoke Tour, which was in 2000. Snoop Dogg announced that Biggie was his friend and wished the two had a better relationship before he passed. Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre played this song as homage to Biggie. "M.V.P" - A single by Big L. This song samples "Stay with Me" by DeBarge and has the same meter and cadence as "One More Chance". It was released 2 months earlier and was produced by Lord Finesse.
