Songfacts®:

• Rapper Destroy Lonely was born Bobby Wardel Sandimanie III Atlanta, Georgia. His father, American rapper I-20, was discovered by Ludacris, who signed him to the Disturbing tha Peace record label. I-20's only album released by the label, Self Explanatory, peaked at #42 on the Billboard 200 in 2004.
  
  Destroy Lonely signed to Playboi Carti's Opium label through Interscope Records and Ingrooves in early 2021. This song is the title track of his debut album, If Looks Could Kill.
• In "If Looks Could Kill," Destroy Lonely describes his life as a rapper: he's a master of fashion, makes loads of money, beds plenty of women, has a taste for lean, ignores the ill effects of his prodigious smoking, and doesn't switch up on his gang.
• "If Looks Could Kill" is a figure of speech that implies that someone's gaze or expression is so intense and hostile that it could cause harm or even death to the recipient. It is often used to describe a situation where someone is glaring at another person with such intensity that it feels like they're being threatened or attacked, even though no physical harm is done.
  
  She act cool, but I know she evil, so deceivin'
  If looks could kill, that makes every day Halloween, man
  
  Lone uses this expression when talking about his girlfriend. He may be alluding to her piercing and intense gaze, which creates fear and dread akin to Halloween.
• Carter Bryson, Clayco and ssort created the dark and gloomy trap beat. Carter Bryson and Clayco are both frequent Destroy Lonely collaborators. Vancouver producer Ssort is best known for his productions for Playboi Carti ("Stop Breathing") and Ken Carson ("X").
• Lone previewed the song via Instagram Live on October 19, 2022, while wearing a Halloween mask. He dropped the song on March 3, 2023.