The Weeknd and Playboi Carti’s ‘Timeless’ Started as a Backstage Jam — Now It’s a Global Smash

“Timeless,” the brooding trap collaboration between the Weeknd and Playboi Carti, made its live debut before it was actually completed. According to XO co-founder Amir “Cash” Esmailian, it was backstage at the Weeknd’s “One Night Only” concert in São Paulo that the Canadian artist, aka Abel Tesfaye, said, “Let’s perform the song we worked on today.”

It was a high-profile debut, witnessed by thousands in the stadium and on the livestream. “We knew we had to capitalize,” says Republic’s Marleny Reyes. Afterward, the internet was ablaze with anticipation for a studio version. “For us, it’s always about following Abel’s lead and augmenting his vision,” she says. “Nobody is better at organically building buzz than he is.”

While its arrival was near instantaneous, “Timeless” had been gestating for months. “I got the rough track early on, before Abel even laid down vocals,” says producer Mike Dean. “Backstage in São Paulo, the vibe was right.” So Dean dusted off the file and added “piano chords, lead lines and some layers” to piece it all together.

There’s even a clip that captures the moment when Dean learned that he was flipping a beat from a fellow production legend. “You can see me in the video asking Carti who started it,” he says. “That’s when I found out it was Pharrell.”

The track’s hypnotic atmosphere was heightened by Ojivolta and Twisco. “Abel is one of our favorite artists,” Oji (aka Mark Williams) says. The goal, according to Volta (Raul Cubina), was to create “a song that resonated with the world but had an atypical structure.” Twisco, for his part, used “analog sources like SOMA’s Lyra-08 in juxtaposition with granular resynthesis” to build out the soundscape.

For Dean, the song exemplifies their many years of collaboration. “We don’t really have to talk much anymore,” he says. “It’s pure flow.” Then it was up to Republic and XO to nurture their creation. “The song has continued to thrive for well over a year,” Reyes says. “We’re always looking beyond the first day, week and month.”

Songwriters: Abel Tesfaye, Jordan Terrell Carter, Pharrell Williams, Mark Williams, Raul Cubina, Tariq “BL$$D” Sharrieff, Kobe “BbyKobe” Hood, Devon Chisolm (Lawson), Jarrod “Twisco” Morgan, Mike Dean

Producers: Mike Dean, Ojivolta, Twisco, Pharrell Williams

Hitmakers:

Mike Dean, producer

Ojivolta, production duo

Pharrell Williams, producer

Amir “Cash” Esmailian, manager, XO

Marleny Reyes, general manager, Republic