After “retiring” to create a new image and pave the way for a new album, Nicki Minaj has officially released the audio version of the song “Yikes”. It is unclear whether this is the opening song for the new album or not, but the effect of the song is very positive. In particular, the rap lyrics have a part that seems to “confront” the “arch-enemy” Cardi B.

Despite only releasing the audio version, Nicki Minaj’s song quickly dominated the US iTunes with the No. 1 position. The achievement of “Yikes” surpassed both the newly released song “React” by The Pussycat Dolls and the newly released “Intentions” by Justin Bieber. This is the first song by a female rapper this decade to achieve the No. 1 position on iTunes, a positive sign for Nicki Minaj.

Nicki Minaj’s rap part started extremely “harshly”: “Don’t even think about messing with me! You all know I’m the queen!”. This is considered Nicki Minaj’s way of asserting her position as “Queen of Rap”, which is being shaken violently by the rise of Cardi B.

Previously, many people believed that Cardi B could completely usurp Nicki Minaj’s “Queen of Rap” title with an album “Invasion of Privacy” that was highly rated by both critics and fans, much better than Nicki Minaj’s latest album – “Queen”. Besides, the feud between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B is still present, making the audience affirm that the opening rap “Yikes” is a “preemptive strike” from her senior.

Nicki Minaj had an unhappy 2019 when her album “Queen” was not as successful as expected despite her great investment, and a series of careless statements also damaged the female rapper’s image in the eyes of the audience. In addition, the Nicki Wrld Tour world tour continuously encountered technical problems, leading to consecutive show cancellations, which also affected her reputation. Therefore, the audience can understand how much Nicki Minaj put her heart and hope into this comeback.