Background and composition[edit]

Bryson Tiller and Khaled had first collaborated on the track "Ima Be Alright" for Khaled's ninth studio album Major Key (2016).^[2] During Grateful's recording, Khaled invited Tiller to his house for dinner. During dinner, Khaled played the initial demo of "Wild Thoughts" to Tiller and asked him if he could do something with the song. Tiller returned home and recorded his verse and sent it to Khaled who used it on the final recording.^[3] While talking about collaborating with Rihanna for the first time in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Khaled said; "Seven, eight years I've been trying to do this. I always put the kites out there that I wanted to work with her. But at the same time, while I was putting the kites out there, I was always getting the right record ready. You've gotta start with the right energy to see if something comes back that's possible."^[1]


"Wild Thoughts" is a mid-tempo pop song with Latin percussion and "slinky acoustic guitar lines."^[4][5] The song heavily samples the guitar riff from Santana's 1999 "Maria Maria", which features the Product G&B.^[6] Written in the key of C minor, it has a tempo of 96-100 beats per minute in simple quadruple (⁴
₄) time. The song follows a chord progression of Cm–Fm–Cm, and Rihanna's and Tiller's vocals spanning from C₄ to G₅.^[7] Billboard editor Andrew Unterberger noted the "Wild Thoughts" featured the same groove and riff as "Maria Maria" and even featured Wyclef Jean's "murmuring" who supplied the original song's ad-libs.^[8] Vanessa Okoth-Obbo of Pitchfork described the track as relying heavily on a "Latin rock aesthetic", with lyrics that hear Rihanna and Tiller croon praise lovers who inspire wild thoughts. Okoth-Obbo described the lyrics as straddling the line between "innuendos and carnal statements", whilst also noting the singers' vocal performances as being restrained and controlled.^[9]