“I’ve Been Waiting” by Lil Peep & iLoveMakonnen (ft. Fall Out Boy)

In “I’ve Been Waiting”, the artists sing about their love for something or someone. The reason for such an ambiguous deduction is that it is never made clear who this love song is dedicated to. In other words, they can be referring to their desire for illegal substance, a particular female, or both.

For instance, they make references to drug terminology or terms that can be interpreted as such. Common drug-related words used in the track song are the likes of “needle”, “addicted” and “blood”. However, they are presented in a context related to love. For instance, Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy makes the statement, “It’s hard to miss you when you are always on the tip of my tongue.”  The “you” he is referring to, on the surface, would be a romantic partner. However, “tip of my tongue” could also refer to a pill, as in the next line Stump states “I feel like I’m looking for something… that will never come”.  So is he referring to his expectations in an unfulfilling romance, or some kind of euphoria experienced through being high that he can’t achieve, as in replicating his first high or using drugs to escape his problems? And there are other instances of similar phrases, such as “vain for my blood” (i.e. vein) and, “my head just went to oblivion.” Also keep in mind that Lil Peep indeed passed away from a drug overdose in 2017.

The final conclusion is that the artists might indeed be referring to their passion for the aforementioned illegal substance though in a way that if the listener is unfamiliar with junkie terminology and the artists’ lifestyles may think they’re instead talking about a love for another human being.

Facts about “I’ve Been Waiting”

• Songwriter(s): At least five songwriters are given writing credits on “I’ve Been Waiting”. They are Lil Peep, iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy (Patrick Stump, Andy Hurley, Joe Trohman and Pete Wentz)
• Producer(s): The song’s co-writer and primary artist iLoveMakonnen produced this song. However, he didn’t do the production alone. He did it in collaboration with producers Brian Lee, Louis Bell, Brenton Duvall and IIVI.
• Release Date: January 31, 2019 was date this song officially came out. It was release via Columbia Records.
• Album/EP: It is the eighth track on 2019’s Diamonds. Diamonds is a joint album/project by Lil Peep and iLoveMakonnen.
• Vocals: Lil Peep, iLoveMakonnen and Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump all contribute vocals to this song.
• Interesting stuff #1: This track marked the first ever collaboration between Lil Peep and Fall Out Boy. And what’s more, growing up, Lil Peep was a huge fan of Fall Out Boy. He basically considered them one of his idols. Unfortunately for Peep, he never lived to see the materialization of his long cherished dream of collaborating with Fall Out Boy. Why? He died before this collaboration happened.
• Interesting stuff #2: This also marked iLoveMakonnen’s first collaboration with Fall Out Boy.

How the Fall Out Boy collaboration happened

In an interview iLoveMakonnen had with Complex, he revealed how the collaboration with Fall Out Boy happened. According to him, it began shortly after Lil Peep’s tragic death November 2017. Here’s what he had to say about the birth of the collab:

Does the Lil Peep and XXXTentacion collaboration “Falling Down” appear on the collaborative album Diamonds?

No. “Falling Down” was from Lil Peep’s 2018 posthumous album Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 2.

Is there a music video for this song?

Yes. The official music video for “I’ve Been Waiting” was published on YouTube on April 10, 2019. It features Fall Out Boy and ILoveMakonnen. Lil Peep doesn’t appear in the video since it was shot after his death.