St. Louis-born producer Metro Boomin is responsible for songs like “Jumpman” by Drake and Future and Post Malone’s “Congratulations.” The hitmaker collaborated with 21 Savage and Big Sean before creating his trap masterpiece Heroes & Villains in 2022.
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The album features a celebrity list of collaborators from John Legend, ASAP Rocky, and Travis Scott.
The lone single from his second studio album is “Creepin’,” featuring The Weeknd and 21 Savage. But it almost didn’t happen.
Ignorance Is Bliss
“Creepin’” is a tale of heartbreak and betrayal, narrated through the lens of The Weeknd’s reinterpretation of “I Don’t Wanna Know” by Mario Winans.
The Weeknd suspects his girlfriend is cheating on him, but he doesn’t want to confront the situation directly. Fearing the relationship will end, he tells his partner to keep the affair to herself.
Somebody said they saw you
The person you were kissin’ wasn’t me
And I would never ask you
I just kept it to myself
People often lie to themselves, and if you repeat the lie enough times, it becomes so common that it’s now the truth—or your version of the truth. There’s no shortage of ignorance-is-bliss types; many use it as a defense mechanism to avoid pain and heartbreak.
In “Creepin’,” The Weeknd knows what’s going on, but he asks his partner to keep it hidden, thus becoming an accomplice in the fiction he’s told himself. His fear of being alone is just too intense to face the reality of his girlfriend’s infidelity.
I don’t wanna know
If you’re playin’ me, keep it on the low
’Cause my heart can’t take it anymore
And if you’re creepin’, please don’t let it show
Oh, baby, I don’t wanna know
Paranoid 21 Savage
The British rapper 21 Savage—raised in Atlanta—expresses the pain his cheating girl has caused him. He’s paranoid as he searches her phone, and 21 Savage can’t focus on making records because he’s too upset from the betrayal.
I got a girl, but I still feel alone
If you playin’ me, that mean my home ain’t home
Havin’ nightmares of goin’ through your phone
Can’t even record. You got me out my zone
R&B Heartbreak Remake
Metro Boomin (with help from The Weeknd and 21 Savage) recreated Winans’s infidelity jam, “I Don’t Wanna Know.” The original version used the Fugees’ “Ready or Not” to build the Bad Boy Records track.
In “Ready or Not,” Fugees sampled Irish new-age singer and songwriter Enya. Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, Pras, and Wanda borrowed a synthesizer riff from Enya’s song “Boadicea.”
Enya threatened a lawsuit against the Fugees because she wasn’t credited or approached for permission. However, they settled out of court. “Ready or Not” is on the Fugees’ historic second and final studio album The Score.
“I Don’t Wanna Know” was the first single from Winans’s second studio album Hurt No More (2004).
It Almost Didn’t Happen
Metro Boomin created his smash hit using pieces of music containing samples of other samples. Clearing the rights proved to be complicated.
Diddy signed off, but Enya did not. Metro Boomin told Billboard that Enya took issue with Metro’s working title “IDWK.”
One of Metro Boomin’s managers, Ryan Ramsey, said, “That’s one of them ones [sic] that almost didn’t make it just ’cause the process of trying to get it cleared was so much.”
With Metro’s album release date approaching, he asked Enya to send a list of acceptable titles. She sent the following suggestions: “Undecided,” “Creepin’,” “Don’t Come Back to Me,” “Better Off That Way,” and “Wanna Let You Know.”
Metro chose “Creepin’.” He told Billboard, “F–k, why didn’t I think of that?”
It’s the biggest hit from his album Heroes & Villains, and “Creepin’” remained in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for the first half of 2023.
Old Grammy-Winning Friends
“Creepin’” wasn’t the first collaboration between Winans and The Weeknd. The Grammy-winning Winans co-wrote and co-produced The Weeknd’s 2020 dark electro single “After Hours.”
Following Heroes & Villains’ release, Winans—who sings on the track—congratulated Metro Boomin on Instagram, saying, “This album is a Masterpiece! Grateful to contribute on this album with a few records.”
Timeless Pain
“Creepin’” sounds instantly timeless. It descends from classic hip-hop and R&B tracks by legends like the Fugees and Mario Winans. Enya is a legend, too. The new-age synths add brooding textures to “Creepin’,” which has become a signature piece of The Weeknd’s alternative R&B.
Unfortunately for romantics, infidelity is also eternal.
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Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for MTV
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