"Needle" is a song by rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

featuring Canadian rapper

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from the former's fifth studio album ''

Pink Friday 2 '' Pink Friday 2'' is the fifth studio album by rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on December 8, 2023, by Young Money Entertainment and Republic Records. A sequel to Minaj's debut album ''Pink Friday'' (2010), it is her first studio album in f ...

'' (2023). It was produced by

Boi-1da Matthew Jehu Samuels (born October 12, 1986), known professionally as Boi-1da ( , a play on "boy wonder"), is a Jamaican-Canadian Record production, record producer and songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario. The Toronto raised producer has work ...

and YogiTheProducer.

Background

During a guest appearance on

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stream, Nicki Minaj revealed the song was originally intended for Drake's album ''

For All the Dogs ''For All the Dogs'' is the eighth studio album by Canadian rapper Drake. It was released through OVO Sound and Republic Records on October 6, 2023. The album features guest appearances from Teezo Touchdown, 21 Savage, J. Cole, Yeat, SZA, Party ...

''. She said:

And right when I got it the first time, I was like, "I hope something happens and it ends up being on my album, 'cause I like it. Then at the end, Drake, when he was about to turn in ''For All the Dogs'', he sent me two songs. Anyway, to make a long story short, that same day he also told me, "Hey, I'm not using it for the album 'cause it doesn't fit the sonic vibe. Do you want it?" And I was like, "Fuck yes!"

Composition

The song opens with a sampled voicemail from American singer SZA. In regard to style, "Needle" is inspired by

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

and

Afrobeats Afrobeats (not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing), or Afro-pop or Afro-fusion (or Afropop or Afrofusion), is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and ...

, and has also been described as "tropical house bop" and "bumpy, island-tinged R&B". Through sing-rapping vocals, Drake performs the first verse and chorus, in which he sings: "Pull up the Maybach and bend your leg back / Let's engage that, don't delay that / You're like a needle, life's a haystack / Friends they can leave us, you could stay back".

Critical reception

Alexander Cole of ''

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'' wrote, "This song has some nice wavy production, with Drake kicking off the song with some song vocals. Nicki Minaj matches this energy and provides some solid vocals of her own. The chemistry between these two artists is still there, and you can't help but love hearing them together again." With respect to Minaj's performance, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of ''

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'' commented that "Flashes of her notorious humor emerge" in the song.

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, Caramanica received his ba ...

of ''

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'' regarded the artists' collaboration as "surprisingly listless". Nick Malone of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' described the song as "an obvious leftover from Drake's ''For All the Dogs'', defined by his signature anesthetized mumble-singing and an uninspired Nicki verse that cries out for the lightweight fun of '

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' or '

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'."

Charts

References

{{Drake songs 2023 songs Nicki Minaj songs Drake (musician) songs Song recordings produced by Boi-1da Songs written by Nicki Minaj Songs written by Drake (musician) Songs written by Boi-1da