Zayn and Nicki Minaj finally drop much discussed collab
Zayn and Nicki Minaj have been teasing a collaboration for a good while now and they finally decided to share the track with us. Zayn has been seemingly randomly dropping tunes without promotion or a purpose since 2016. He is close to an album full of material if you combine all the singles, but him and his team don’t share much about where this campaign (or perhaps the lack of one) is heading. ‘No Candle No Light’ is the newest addition to the list and it sounds like it comes about two years too late.

Most of Zayn’s latest material showed he was not looking for an easy radio hit, except for ‘Dusk Till Dawn’ with Sia, which did become a hit. It seems like his team is hoping for another one by letting him release a catchy tune with Nicki Minaj. I don’t know exactly when they recorded ‘No Candle No Light’, but it sure sounds like it has been laying around for two years. It leans towards tropical bop territory, while the drop after the second chorus is border on unlistenable. The track has got a few nice touches, especially in the melody lines, but simply does not leave much of an impression. Zayn’s usual vocal style is laidback and nonchalant, but this time he actually sounds like he could not be bothered at all. If you let Nicki Minaj’s singing voice outshine yours, something is not right. If Zayn actually cares about having another chart topping hit, he will need to do better than this.