[1] The snippet received criticism for lyrics including the late activist Rosa Parks, to which Minaj responded that "she had no clue anyone was mad" and does not care.

Trent Fitzgerald of XXL Mag said that the song features a "biting chorus in which Nicki raps, 'You a clown you do it for likes'", noting how "interestingly, that's the same thing she said during her intense and personal quarrel with [her ex-boyfriend] Meek Mill on social media on February, 5, 2020".

[11] Complex magazine's Jessica McKinney listed the song among the best new music of the week, saying it is nice to see "Nicki's still got it", while calling "Yikes" a "cocky record that appears to target the 'clowns' on social media".

[12] Erika Marie of HotNewHipHop gave the song a positive review, and said although the line referencing Rosa Parks "seemed to get everyone in a tizzy", "Yikes" "is much more than a one-liner track".

Marie also opined that despite Minaj having been "criticized lately for spending more time appealing to the pop music masses, [...] it seems that the Queens emcee is back with the smack-talking rhymes that the Barbz [her fans] can't get enough of hearing".