Yikes (Kanye West song)

The song includes echoing voices and a chilling bass in its composition, and was produced by West, while co-produced by Mike Dean, with additional production from Pi'erre Bourne and Apex Martin.

The majority of them commended its production, with some critics drawing comparisons between the song and West's previous works, while others praised the honesty of the lyrical content.

[1] American producer Pi'erre Bourne also claimed that he worked on the track, apparently having been involved with the production, but the credits hadn't been updated to show his contributions days after release.

[5] Kenyan musicians Ayub Ogada and James Mbarack Achieng received writing credits due to having written "Kothbiro" (1976) by afro rock group Black Savage, the work that "Yikes" samples.

[5] During an interview with The New York Times on June 25, 2018, West revealed that Drake wrote a first verse for the track that did not make the final cut.

[7] When questioned about receiving credit on the track due to having helped write the work sampled within it during a June 2018 phone call with The Nation, Ayub Ogada claimed that after having "done so many projects" he "cannot remember everything".

[14] Within the song, West raps in a flow that was compared to fellow rapper Juvenile over echoing voices and a chilling bass, with the former being an ad-lib.

Club, Clayton Purdom claimed in reference to West rapping over the instrumental that "he goes into squealing, self-satisfied mania over the bleating MDMA pulse".

[17] The instrumentation of the song features a "humid bloom of the bass", as well as "drunken drums and MPC hiccups stagger upwind through that distorted drone".

[28] Henceforth, "Yikes" was sent to UK mainstream radio stations by West's labels GOOD Music and Def Jam as the lead single on June 8, 2018.

[28][29] On June 11 of the same year, West made the decision to release the song as the first single from Ye in the United States, as he thought it was the most appropriate track for radio.

Gaillot viewed the song's production and its resemblance to "Wolves" as an example on Ye of where West "relies on the musical flairs that once brought his fans awe".

[13] Reviewing Ye for Vice, Robert Christgau named "Yikes" as one of the best tracks and said that it featured the "assiest moment", when West: "claims #MeToo for his foggy fat self, and if it's also the catchiest, fuck you if you can't take a joke - her too.

"[36] The song was also listed among the album's best tracks by Wren Graves of Consequence of Sound, who praised West referencing his bipolar disorder as personal content related to his mental health.

[25] Referencing the song, Tom Breihan from Stereogum wrote that the bass, drums and the MPC stand among the "moments of true, transporting beauty on Ye".

[37] Maura Johnston of Time expressed mixed feelings, claiming that West's rapping "doesn't deviate too much from the lyrical concepts of Pablo-it blends the trivial and the life-or-death", though viewed the song as a "darkened-club" track.

[38] Meaghan Garvey was somewhat negative in Pitchfork, writing of West's rapping that "he scoffs in an anesthetized Juvenile flow", while labeling "Yikes" as aptly-named.

[31] This entry marked West's first track to debut in the top 10 of the chart since the single "Forever" that also includes Drake, Lil Wayne and Eminem entered at number eight in 2009.