"Stay Schemin'" is a single by American rapper

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Diddy's Bad ...

featuring

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

and

French Montana Karim Kharbouch (Arabic: æɾiːm χɑɾbuːʃ born November 9, 1984), better known by his stage name French Montana, is a Moroccan-American rapper. Born and raised in Morocco, he emigrated to the United States with his family when he was 13. ...

. It was released on his 2012 mixtape ''

Rich Forever ''Rich Forever'' is the second mixtape by American rapper Rick Ross. It was released on January 6, 2012. It became one of the most downloaded hip hop mixtapes of all time. The mixtape spawned one commercial single, " Stay Schemin'" and features g ...

''. The track was released as a digital download from iTunes on April 17, 2012. It is a hip hop song that interpolates its chorus, sung by

, from an unreleased

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ...

song titled "Day Dreamin, Stay Schemin," which covers the

Kurtis Blow Kurtis Walker (born August 9, 1959), professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record/film producer, b-boy, DJ, public speaker and minister. He is the first commercially successful rapper a ...

song, "Daydreamin'", with new lyrics.

Music video

The video for the song was released on January 6, 2012. The video features Rick Ross cruising through Miami in a Phantom, and Maybach alongside Drake and French Montana.

Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...

and

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station 99 Jamz, a ...

also make appearances. The video was directed by Spiff TV for Maybach Films.

Critical reception

"Stay Schemin" was met with positive reviews. ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' praised the song, stating, "We've already listed 'Stay Schemin' as the best song of the year, so you already know how we feel about it—but a lot of the song's impact had to do with Drake's incredible verse. In fact it just might be the best he's ever spit." ''Complex'' went on to name it on their list of the best songs of 2012, and the guest appearance of Drake the best feature of 2012. '' XXL'' named it one of the top five hip hop songs of 2012.

Background

The song is said to be the response to rapper

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

after he allegedly dissed Drake on a track titled "Sweet" which was the third single from his album ''

The Dreamer/The Believer ''The Dreamer/The Believer'' is the ninth studio album by American rapper Common. It was released in the UK on December 19, 2011 and in the US on December 20 through Warner Bros. Records alongside Common's newly launched Think Common Music Inc. C ...

''. On "Sweet", the lines "Y'all niggas man, y'all soft motherfuckers/Singing all around me man, la la la/ You ain't motherfucking Frank Sinatra/Uh, lil' bitch./Sweet ass motherfucker." are the reason why "Stay Schemin'" is directed at Common. Later, Common's album debuted at number 18 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and sold 69,000 copies in its first week, his lowest first week sales since his 2002 album ''

Electric Circus ''Electric Circus '' (also known as ''EC'') was a Canadian live dance music television program that aired on MuchMusic and Citytv from September 16, 1988 to December 12, 2003. The name originated from a nightclub that once existed at Citytv's fir ...

''. Common responded to "Stay Schemin'" with a remix that featured the original verses from Rick Ross and Drake as well as a new verse from Common. Common called out Drake by name on the track, calling him among other things "

Canada Dry Canada Dry is a brand of soft drinks founded in 1904 and owned since 2008 by the American company Dr Pepper Snapple (now Keurig Dr Pepper). For over 100 years, Canada Dry has been known mainly for its ginger ale, though the company also manufact ...

." Common ended the song with "

Say My Name "Say My Name" is a song by American group Destiny's Child from their second studio album, '' The Writing's on the Wall'' (1999). It was written by Beyoncé Knowles, LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson, Kelly Rowland, LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jerkins ...

," a song originally sung by

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limite ...

that Drake has sung live previously as a way to coax Drake into using Common's name in his diss tracks. The album artwork released by Common refers to Drake as "That Hoe Ass Nigga."

"Fanute"

French Montana's lyric "from the hoopty coupe to that Ghost, dog" sounds more akin to "fanute the coupe to that Ghost, dog", leading to initial speculation about the possible meaning behind the

mondegreen A mondegreen () is a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase in a way that gives it a new meaning. Mondegreens are most often created by a person listening to a poem or a song; the listener, being unable to hear a lyric clearly, substitutes w ...

word "fanute". The word has become an

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

, used ironically by various rappers and rap fans.

Remixes

Many rappers have recorded remixes or freestyles over the instrumental of the song, including

Joell Ortiz Joell Christopher Ortiz (born July 6, 1980) is an American rapper and a former member of the group Slaughterhouse. Ortiz grew up in the Cooper Park Houses in the East Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, formerly signed to Dr. Dre's Aft ...

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...

, Gunplay,

Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He was the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click from 2001 until the group split in 2005. He began hi ...

, LoLa Monroe,

Lil Twist Christopher Lynn Moore (born January 11, 1993), better known by his stage name Lil Twist, is an American rapper from Dallas, Texas. He is signed to Lil Wayne's Young Money Entertainment.Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

and

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...

Charts

The song debuted in the top 60 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at position 58. In its second week the song dropped to position 80 and fell off the chart the following week.

Certifications

References

{{French Montana 2012 singles Rick Ross songs Drake (musician) songs French Montana songs Songs written by Nas Maybach Music Group singles 2011 songs Songs written by Drake (musician) Songs written by Rick Ross Songs written by French Montana