began working on the song, recorded in February 1997, with Q-Tip. They brought the lyrics, samples and melody over to Puff Daddy who, as a producer, had just earned his second number one single on the Hot 100 with "Mo Money Mo Problems." Due to reports of Puffy's overbearing nature, Carey recorded her vocals separately, until she gave him a few demos to choose from. Puffy explained why Carey recorded her vocals separately, and his feelings regarding having worked with her: A lot of people feel I'm overbearing, so I wasn't allowed in the studio when she did her vocals. I'm trying to work on that, I'm such a perfectionist, sometimes I don't give people the chance to breathe. So I've been banned from a lot of studios. Mariah [recorded "Honey"] until she thought it was perfect, like a hundred times. She gave me like a hundred tracks to choose from. Puffy expressed his respect for Mariah and her craft, mentioning that she re-did her vocals many times until she felt they were perfect. After they had the vocals, Carey and Puffy began working on the song's hook and incorporating the music samples and blending them into the bridge and chorus. After the song was completed, Combs was very confident with the song, calling it "slammin'," but because of its heavy hip-hop influence, he felt only cautiously optimistic about the song's commercial success. On a more personal note, "Honey" served as Carey's first single after her separation from estranged husband, Tommy Mottola, who also lead her current record label, Columbia Records. Composition "Honey" is an up-tempo song, that blends hip hop and R&B genres. The song is set in the signature common time, and is written in the key of E major. It features a basic chord progression of A-F-1. Carey's vocal range in the song spans from the note of C3 to the high note of B5; with the piano and guitar pieces ranging from G3 to G5. The song's remix featured rap leads from The Lox and Mase, with some vocals rapped by Combs himself. The track was very different from anything Carey had ever recorded, and was described as "street Hip-Hop music, with a booming bass." The song's melody was driven by Q-Tip's drum programming and Stevie J's keyboard notes. Combs's production gave the song a "light and airy" effect, further distancing it from Carey's contemporary sound.