Creep

Label

LaFAce records

Genre

Hip hop soul

Media Type

45s

Duration

4:29

Composer(s)

Dallas Austin

Entered Chart

Nov 12, 1994

Peak Date

Jan 28, 1995

Released

October 31, 1994

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

LaFace 24082

This song is about a woman who is not happy with her man, so she sneaks around ("Creeps") and cheats on him. This uses a sample from Slick Rick's 1988 song "Hey Young World." This was written and produced by the Atlanta-based producer Dallas Austin. Though he had already made a name for himself working alongside producers like L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and hot acts like Another Bad Creation and Bell Biv DeVoe, "Creep" would be an important song for Austin because it proved he could write from a female perspective. The trio had mixed feelings about the adulterous relationship portrayed in the lyrics. Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins thought the subject was an important one. She told Billboard: "We thought that was a good relationship to talk about because a lot of people don't admit that's how they feel - that their man's playing on them and they want to be with him so they seek attention elsewhere, but they really want to be with their guy." But Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who was on probation for setting her boyfriend's (pro football player Andre Rison) house on fire, didn't like the idea and refused to contribute a rap to the song. Austin remembered: "The reason there's not a rap on it is because Lisa said, 'Dallas, I don't want this to offend people personally. I don't want it to interfere with my relationships. If he thinks I'm doing this, it's going to cause problems and I'm making a record out of it.'" Left Eye also didn't believe in an eye-for-an-eye when it came to cheating. She threatened to protest the single by wearing black tape over her mouth in the video. Austin held onto the song for six months because he thought it might be too corny, but when he couldn't get it out of his head, he decided to record it. This was TLC's first #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. They would have three more: "Waterfalls," "No Scrubs" and "Unpretty." This won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1996. It was also nominated for Best R&B Song but lost to Stevie Wonder's "For Your Love." The music video shows the group hanging out in their pajamas while T-Boz gets friendly with a trumpet player (played by former Janet Jackson dancer Omar Lopez). Two other videos were made, but went unreleased, including one that follows Chilli and T-Boz cheating on their boyfriends while Left Eye dances by herself. "We didn't like them; scrapped them and started again. ... We were like, 'If we come back out, we need to make a statement,'" T-Boz recalled to The Associated Press. "It wasn't strong." It was only when the group watched the video for Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue's "Whatta Man," that they realized the direction they should go for in the clip. "Lisa turned (around) ... and I remember her going, 'That's what it should look like it,'" recalled T-Boz. "And then we were like, 'Yeah!' It just came together and it was like we evolved into these women instead of these little girls. We had a little more sex appeal." TLC performed this on Saturday Night Live on the May 6, 1995 episode hosted by Bob Saget. This was used in the 1995 movie Waiting to Exhale, starring Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon. This was used in the TV series New York Undercover in the 1995 episode "CAT." The song was inspired by a situation that T-Boz found herself in. "'Creep,' unfortunately, was one of my true stories," she told Billboard magazine with a laugh. "You're with a guy and he's not showing you attention, so another guy comes along and you're like, 'Hey, if you were where you were supposed to be, he couldn't be showing me attention right now!' I was in the middle of this drama, because the other guy was [my boyfriend's] friend, and my boyfriend was just not getting it together." T-Boz shared her personal state of affairs with Dallas Austin, whom she grew up with in Atlanta, and Austin in turn penned "Creep."

Yes, it's me again
And I'm back (creep)
Oh I, oh I, oh I, baby (creep)
Oh I, oh I, oh I, yeah (creep)
Oh I, oh I, oh I, baby (creep)
Oh I, oh I, oh I, yeah (creep)

The 22nd of loneliness and we've
Been through so many things
I love my man with all honesty
But I know he's cheatin' on me
I look him in his eyes
But all he tells me is lies to keep me near
I'll never leave him down
Though I might mess around
It's only 'cause I need some affection, oh

So I creep, yeah
I just keep it on the down low
Said nobody is supposed to know
So I creep, yeah
'Cause he doesn't know what I do
And no attention goes to show
Oh, so I creep

The 23rd of loneliness
And we don't talk like we used to do
Now it seems pretty strange
But I'm not buggin' 'cause I still feel the same, yeah, yeah
I'll keep giving loving until the day he pushes me away
Never go astray
If he knew the things I did
He couldn't handle it
And I choose to keep him protected, oh

So I creep, yeah
I just keep it on the down low
Said nobody is supposed to know
So I creep, yeah
'Cause he doesn't know what I do
And no attention goes to show
Oh, so I creep

I think about us, baby, all the time
But you know that I'm gonna need some attention
Yeah, yeah, can you dig it?
Love you forever, baby, soul and mind
And you know if I don't get it I'ma get mine

(Oh, so I creep)
Oh I, oh I, oh I, baby (so I creep)
Oh I, oh I, oh I, yeah (so I creep)
Oh I, oh I, oh I, baby
Oh I, oh I, oh I, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

So I creep, yeah (I creep around)
I just keep it on the down-low (because I need attention)
(Don't mess around with my affection, yeah)
So I creep, yeah (I creep around)
'Cause he doesn't know what I do (because I need attention)
(Don't mess around with my affection, yeah)

So I creep, yeah (oh I, oh I)
I just keep it on the down-low (oh I, oh I, yeah)
(Oh I, oh I, oh I)
So I creep, yeah
'Cause he doesn't know what I do (oh I, oh I, yeah)
(Oh I, oh I, oh I)

So I creep, yeah
I just keep it on the down-low
Said nobody is supposed to know
So I creep, yeah
'Cause he doesn't know what I do
And no attention, goes to show