“I Don’t Wanna Know” by Mario Winans
On “I Don’t Wanna Know”, Mario Winans is cast into the unenviable position of having basically discovered or at least being convinced that his significant other is cheating. When faced with such a reality, let’s say that different men tend to react in different ways.
And in this case, Mario’s disposition is such that he “don’t wanna know” what his lady is doing behind his back. Or put otherwise, he is aware of his sweetheart’s infidelity but at the same time doesn’t want to lose her.
So Winans proceeds to take an ignorance-is-bliss sort of approach, more or less pretending that nothing is happening. In doing so, he is encouraging his sweetheart to do the same, as in not displaying her unfaithfulness to him, even though she is apparently out there doing her own illicit thing.
Meanwhile, Diddy’s approach to the matter isn’t necessarily the same as Mario’s. Instead, the rapper goes about questioning his lady as to why she would creep behind his back, considering that he’s treated her so well.
And since this piece is in fact set in the world of mainstream hip-hop, said treatment would include buying her a nice car, expensive jewelry and other romantic displays of wealth, such as taking homegirl on vacation. So in closing, Puff rather gives his particular addressee an ultimatum akin to shape up or ship out.
Thesis Sentiment of “I Don’t Wanna Know”
So as far as the thesis sentiment goes, the idea of allowing an unfaithful lover to keep doing her thing but “keep it on the low” in the process obviously is not going to appeal to all male listeners. But Diddy’s contribution does make the piece a bit more realistic, if you will.
And conclusively what it seems this song is out to illustrate, more simply put, is that sometimes when a woman does creep, her man’s reaction, if he’s indeed smitten, isn’t always to instantaneously cut her off.
Mario Winans
Whereas Mario Winans may be all but forgotten these days, he did have his moment in the sun around the turn of the century. The majority of the hits in his discography are with Mario acting as a featured artist or collaborator. But his signature piece is actually one that he headlined, that being “I Don’t Wanna Know”.
This song was formally made public on 18 November 2003 as the lead single from his second LP, 2004’s “Hurt No More”.
Enya
Enya is officially credited as a featured artist on this song. The reason she received the credit is apparently due to the fact that “I Don’t Wanna Know” relies heavily on a sample of The Fugees’ classic, “Ready or Not” (1996). And the instrumental behind that piece is primarily derived from “Boadicea” (1987), a track Enya dropped about a decade earlier.
“Boadicea” itself is classified as an instrumental. But by the sound of that piece, it actually consists of Enya humming. Thus, she is also officially recognized as being an additional vocalist on “I Don’t Wanna Know”.
Writing Credits for “I Don’t Wanna Know”
Also sampled into this track is an even older rap song which some may consider a classic, that being EPMD’s “You’re a Customer” (1988).
Owing to this, EPMD, i.e. Erick Sermon and PMD are credited as co-writers of “I Don’t Wanna Know”. So are Enya and her regular collaborators, husband-and-wife team Nicky and Roma Ryan.
In addition to the above, other names listed as a co-writers of this song include:
- Mario Winans
- Loon
- Michael Carlos Jones
And as with Winans, the latter two at the time were down with Diddy’s Bad Boy Records, the main label behind this track, with the other being Universal.
Diddy
In the eyes of rap purists, Diddy has never held the distinction of being regarded as a top-notch emcee.
That being said, he isn’t afraid to shoot his shot, and “I Don’t Wanna Know” represents one of Puff’s more-impressive lyrical outings. Also, since Mario was his signee, they have worked together on a number of occasions. But this track marks the only instance of Winans dropping a song with Enya in tow.
Success of “I Don’t Wanna Know”
This track reached the summit of the following very relevant charts:
- UK Singles Chart
- UK Hip-Hop/R&B Chart
- Scottish Singles Chart
- Dutch Top 40
- Billboard’s US Rhythmic Chart
Additionally it peaked at number 2 on the Hot 100 proper. Moreover, this track has achieved platinum status in Australia and charted in over 20 nations altogether.
Additionally, an obscure production entity known as Pirates released an answer song to “I Don’t Wanna Know”, also in 2004, which itself is titled “You Should Really Know” and also officially features Enya. That piece likewise went on to enjoy notable chart success, especially in the UK.
This song is heavily interpolated in a 2022 hit song by Metro Boomin, The Weeknd and 21 Savage titled “Creepin“.
