 " Obsessed " draws influences from the R & B and hip hop music genres . The song is built around a " thumping bass line " , and features a " distorted wordless vocal hook " as its instrumentation . Additionally , the song is accentuated by hand claps , while Carey 's voice is set with auto @-@ tune . Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle described the song 's production as " an auto @-@ tune orgy of come @-@ hither vocals and cutesy Mariah @-@ isms . " According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony / ATV Music Publishing , " Obsessed " is set in common time with a tempo of 84 beats per minute . It is composed in the key of C minor , with Carey 's vocal range spanning from the low @-@ note of C3 to the high @-@ note of C7 . Written and produced by Carey , The @-@ Dream and Tricky Stewart , the song follows in the chord progression of Bm7 – Am7 – Gmaj7 . Lyrically , the song describes the protagonists dilemma regarding a stalker , and finds her asking him regarding his obsession . 
