Nicki Minaj - “Yikes” Single Track Review

Album: “Yikes” Single

Artist: Nicki Minaj

Genre: #HipHop #Rap

Label: Young Money/Cash Money Records

Non-Airable Tracks: The whole track

Description:

After a declaration of retirement, the queen of rap is back with the single “Yikes”. I am proud (but also somewhat ashamed) to honestly say that I am one of Nicki Minaj’s biggest fans ever….but this song is a yikes. Nicki Minaj is famous for her extremely iconic verses, however this track seems to feature no noteworthy lines. Even the cover picture for the single is not even close the level of iconic we expect from Nicki Minaj. Everything is just bleh with this track and it is a pretty weak rise from ‘retirement’ for Minaj. Before the track goes into the beat, Nicki Minaj just gasses herself up, which of course is a very Nicki Minaj thing to do and it usually comes off as iconic; however here it just sounds a little desperate.

The bars sound a little rushed with things like “this a matte truck, not a black truck” and “when we move tell em ‘back up’ click click clack duck”. There is also little to no hook or chorus, except for her repeating ‘yikes’ with a line that really does not make much sense after it. Nicki Minaj has put out tracks alike to this before where the beat remains steady and her voice remains pretty consistent throughout the track, like on “Did it On’Em” on Pink Friday. The difference between that and “Yikes” is that every bar on “Did it On’Em” absolutely SLAPS and shows Minaj’s talent when it comes to writing and delivering bars. Overall this track is lacking lyrically, instrumentally, and in the way it was presented with lackluster cover art and the fact that the release was surrounded by Twitter drama between Minaj and Meek Mill.

It is sad to see Nicki Minaj come back with this weak of a track. I hope that by now officially coming out of what she declared as retirement despite doing tens and tens of features, something really great comes next alike to what she delivered with her last album release, Queen. But who knows, maybe Nickis time in the rap game is over and her time has come.

Sounds Like: The beat is alike to something that Migos would hop on.

Reviewer’s Name: Samm Goldstein

Date of Review: 02/09/2020