This was produced by Atlanta hip-hop record producer DJ Toomp. He is best known for his work with the rapper T.I. and this was his first R&B credit.

The song's title is a phrase said by a Vietnamese prostitute in the film Full Metal Jacket, which was later sampled by 2 Live Crew 1989 on their controversial hit "Me So Horny." The explicit nature of 2 Live Crew's song and others on the accompanying album led to an initially successful prosecution of the group on obscenity charges, which was overturned on appeal. Despite a lack of airplay the single reached #26 in the charts and its success resulted in a growing concern over the explicit lyrics of 2 Live Crew and other rap acts.

The chorus of DeBarge's 1983 album track "Stay With Me" is the foundation of this track. It is married with the hook from Hill Street Blues theme music. Ashanti's hit single "Foolish" also borrowed from the same DeBarge track. In addition, "Stay With Me" was previously sampled on the Notorious B.I.G's #2 hit "One More Chance/Stay With Me."

Carey: "'Lovin' U Long Time' was one of the last songs I wrote for this album. I sat down to write it and thought 'let me just make this a care-free record.' It's kind of a party record to me, just like not caring too much about anything else that's going on but you living in the moment."