The Weeknd continues to pleasantly surprise his fans with his music. His most recent surprise: a collaboration with Metro Boomin and 21Savage for Metro Boomin’s newest album “Heroes & Villains,” which is full of collaborations from the record producer, record executive, DJ and various well known artists. 21Savage is known for many singles, but his most notable song is “A Lot.”

The Weeknd, also known as Abel Tesfaye, has released an outpour of music this year with his release of DAWN FM in January, his latest album. His most recent single being his song “Nothing is Lost (You Give Me Strength) ” for the film “Avatar: The Way of Water” released Dec. 16. 

He opens this song with his signature soothing voice in these beginning lyrics, staying true to his melodic nature and tone with his music, immediately drawing the audience into the song with his opening lyrics. 

In this collaboration, Weeknd opens up the song with the lyrics,“Somebody said they saw you/ The person you were kissing wasn’t me/ And I would never ask you/ I just kept it to myself.”

The song focuses on Weeknd questioning whether his partner is seeing someone else despite knowing the truth. The song is more of a rhetorical question and answer as Weeknd chooses to act ignorant of the situation because he doesn’t want to get hurt by admitting the truth to himself.

The beginning song lyrics, along with the chorus, are a reference of the hit song in 2004 “I don’t wanna know” by Mario Winans featuring rapper P. Diddy and background vocals by Enya. The chorus has been used particularly in various well known remixes, however, with Weeknd’s voice comes a new rebranding of the popular lyrics, setting it apart from others. 

The chorus then says, “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/ Oh-oh, oh-oh, ooh-woah/ Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh.”

 The title of the song “Creepin” refers to the partner of Weeknd who is “creepin” around with other people, particularly referencing how they prefer the “creepin” nature of the cheating, as they will not get their feelings hurt, in a way idolizing the “creepin” nature of their significant other and emphasizing how they appreciate them doing this than know the truth upfront. 

He reasserts the need to stay oblivious with his own lyrics, which are not from Winan’s song, but lyrics from Weeknd himself. 

“Oh yea/ I think about it when I hold you/ When lookin’ in your eyes, I can’t believe/ And I don’t need to know the truth/ Baby, keep it to yourself,” the singer says.

The lyrics touch the heart of listeners as they feel sympathy for Weeknd, knowing that the reality they choose to live is a lie. 

21Savage then jumps into the song with his own twist. 

21Savage sings about their partner and implys that they are downgrading relationships with their actions. As they go from being part of a stable and secure relationship to then becoming a “sneaky link,” thus not being in a relationship but being a person’s secret interest.

21 Savage says in his part of the outro, “If you creepin,’ just don’t let me find out (On God)/ Get a hotel, never bring em’ to the house (On God).” He reinforces that they never want to explicitly learn that they are being cheated on rather they’d rather their partner be discreet, indicating that they do not want to get hurt by their partner and would rather keep their relationship a lie than face the truth. 

However as the song progresses Weeknd knows that he deserves better and this is shown with the end lyrics. Weeknd says in his part of the outro and the song’s ending lyrics, “Baby, all that I can say/ If you’re gonna do your thing then don’t come back to me.” 

The song feels like an internal dialogue of someone who is struggling to process a discovery of cheating. The singer is at first OK with the cheating despite being hurt. However, at the end, they realize their worth, that they do not deserve to be cheated on and would rather their partner forget about the relationship. 

“Creepin”  is a beautiful homage to Winans’ classic song while also perfectly adding a twist from Weeknd, Metro Boomin and 21Savage. The song serves as a message to their listeners to understand their situation and understand that they deserve better than a relationship where cheating is involved. 

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