Nicolet Aleta Logan (née Heaton; born December 4, 1994, Geneva, Illinois, U… Read Full Bio ↴Nicolet Aleta Logan (née Heaton; born December 4, 1994, Geneva, Illinois, United States), better known by her stage name Niykee Heaton, is an American singer, songwriter and model. After writing her first song at age 5 and teaching herself to play guitar at 9, Niykee Heaton dedicated her entire childhood and high school years to making music. With her songwriting giving her an outlet and escape from her troubled home life, Niykee spent nearly every moment outside of school creating and sharing original songs that showed off her soulful vocals and powerful lyrics. Fast gaining a massive following after WorldstarHipHop picked up her acoustic-guitar-based rendition of Chief Keef’s “Love Sosa” in December 2012, the 19-year-old Illinois native is set to deliver a debut from Steve Rifkind and Russell Simmons’ All Def Music in partnership with Capitol Records, revealing her timeless sense of songcraft, intuitive grasp of beats, and a lyrical sensibility that fuses poetic finesse with pure emotion.

On “Bad Intentions”—a raw but smoldering R&B ballad whose lyric video shot to more than a million views soon after its January 2014 release, largely on the strength of her staggering social-media presence—Niykee’s near-lifelong devotion to sharpening her songwriting is more than evident. “I realized early on that the only way to make my voice heard and say what I wanted to was through music,” says Niykee, whose older sister Rachel battled cancer for most of her life and died when Niykee was 12. “It was less like a hobby for me and more like a lifesaver,” she adds. Since her family couldn’t financially support her musical education, Niykee gave herself vocal training by singing along to a Diana Ross greatest-hits CD, and learned to play guitar by holing up in her room with an acoustic handed down to her by a family friend. And when it came to her songwriting, Niykee relied on a natural sense of rhythm she attributes both to her South African roots and passion for hip-hop, yet also drew a great deal of inspiration from the bare-bones authenticity of singer/songwriters like Bob Dylan and Tom Waits (two artists beloved by her sister and older brother).

In her early teens, Niykee began posting pop covers on YouTube while continuing to cultivate her songwriting. “On Friday and Saturday nights when all the other kids were going out, I was staying home and writing songs or, when I got a little older, driving hours to some broke-down bar and begging them to let me get up and play,” says Niykee, who struggled with bullying throughout her school years. “I was doing everything I could to move my music along, but nothing was working out at all.” Having promised her sister that she’d make an impact with her songs, Niykee told her parents that she’d put songwriting aside and go to college if her music career hadn’t made any major strides by the time she turned 18. Then, the day before her 18th birthday—and shortly after she’d ditched the pop covers and started posting her acoustic takes on tracks by hip-hop artists like Chief Keef, A$AP Rocky, Lil Wayne, and Pusha T—Niykee wound up on WorldstarHipHop and found herself fielding interest from a flood of record labels. Instead of aligning herself with a label right away, she graduated high school six months early and self-financed the recording of a host of her own songs, eventually signing with Steve Rifkind and Russell Simmons’ All Def Music and setting to work on her debut EP.

With her personal highlights so far including getting hand-picked by Snoop Dogg to accompany him onstage at the YouTube Brandcast in May 2013, Niykee has kept up a steady songwriting routine despite the whirlwind of recent years. Now a magnet for up-and-coming producers, she constantly combs through beats sent her way and finds that many end up sparking song ideas. “I’ll know if a beat’s good after the first five seconds, and then I’ll get a song in my head and start writing immediately,” she says. “I go out to my back porch with my guitar and the words just come, and usually it’s all done in under 30 minutes.” As she continues develop as a lyricist, Niykee notes that the pain of her past serves as an endless source of unlikely inspiration. “Even when I’m not writing literally about things that have happened to me, all the pain of my childhood and losing my sister ends up getting pushed into my music,” she says. “It shapes my songs and builds this deeper meaning under everything, which is one the most important things to me—I need to know that I could listen to any of my songs 20 years from now, and still be proud of what I had to say.”

Mask
Niykee Heaton Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Went a long way home
Pretty little thing, shouldn't walk alone
Sit in acetone
I just wanted to call and let you know

I miss you so
Shouldn't have let you go
I miss you so

I'll take off my mask if you take off yours
I miss you so, I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours
I miss you so, I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours

Could've loved your worse
I'm not gonna cry, but it fuckin hurts
Tell me, what's it worth?
Let's set it on fire and watch it burn

I miss you so
Shouldn't have let you go
I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours
I miss you so, I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours
I miss you so, I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours

Been away too many days
All I can say is I hope you stay
Been away too many days
All I can say is I hope you stay
Been away too many days
All I can say is I hope you stay

I miss you so
Shouldn't have let you go
I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours
I miss you so, I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours

I miss you so, I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Niykee Heaton's song Mask seem to be about a person who has been away for a long time and is now reflecting on the mistakes they made in the past. The first verse talks about a pretty little thing who shouldn't be walking alone, and the singer calling this person to let them know that they miss them. The second verse talks about the regret the singer feels for not having held on to this person, and how it hurts now to not have them around. The chorus then repeats the phrase "I miss you so" and proposes that if the person takes off their own mask (i.e. reveals their true self), the singer will do the same.

The song continues in this vein, with the person expressing how much they miss the other person and how they wish things could have been different. The lines "Could've loved your worse/Tell me, what's it worth?" suggest that the relationship might have been difficult, but that the singer feels it's worth trying again. In the final verse, the singer expresses the hope that the other person will stay, repeating the line "Been away too many days/All I can say is I hope you stay." The song ends with the chorus once again, with the singer offering to take off their mask if the other person will do the same.

Line by Line Meaning

Went a long way home
I have traveled a long distance to get home.

Pretty little thing, shouldn't walk alone
You are a beautiful girl, you shouldn't walk alone.

Sit in acetone
I am feeling the pain and discomfort that comes with removing nail polish with acetone.

I just wanted to call and let you know
I am calling you because I want to communicate with you and be honest.

I miss you so
I feel a strong desire to be near you again.

Shouldn't have let you go
I realize that letting you go was a mistake.

I'll take off my mask if you take off yours
I am willing to be vulnerable with you if you are willing to be vulnerable with me.

Could've loved your worse
I could have loved you in a worse way than I did.

I'm not gonna cry, but it fuckin hurts
I am so hurt and emotional that crying is not enough to express how I am feeling.

Tell me, what's it worth?
I am asking you if our relationship holds any value or if it is worth salvaging.

Let's set it on fire and watch it burn
I am suggesting that we intentionally destroy our past relationship and move on.

Been away too many days
I have been gone for too long.

All I can say is I hope you stay
I am expressing my hope that you will remain in my life.

Contributed by Luke E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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01I'm Ready3:28

02Bad Intentions [Rem4:06

PT2M59S

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Stacey Stephens

Its sin an acetone instead of sit in acetone

Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Ioana Mămăligă

7y↑29

[Verse 1]
Went a long way home
Pretty little thing, shouldn't walk alone
Sin and acetone
I just wanted to call and let you know

[Chorus]
I miss you so
Shouldn't have let you go
I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours
I miss you so, I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours
I miss you so, I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours

[Verse 2]
Could've loved your worse
I'm not gonna cry, but it fucking hurts
Tell me, what's it worth?
Let's set it on fire and watch it burn

[Chorus]
I miss you so
Shouldn't have let you go
I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours
I miss you so, I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours
I miss you so, I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours

[Bridge]
Been away too many days
All I can say is I hope you stay
Been away too many days
All I can say is I hope you stay
Been away too many days
All I can say is I hope you stay

[Chorus]
I miss you so
Shouldn't have let you go
I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours
I miss you so, I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours
I miss you so, I miss you so
I'll take off my mask if you take off yours

All comments from YouTube:

Rina

7y↑52

i swear to god that this is one of the best songs i've ever heard. her voice, the melody, the lyrics, the electric guitar.. i can't. it's so bittersweet and beautiful, i just love it so much <3

subbi302 _

Rina the bass is good to

Rina

7y↑1

Ace Ace me tooo, i'm still in love with it so much <33 for me this is her best song <3

Ace Ace

7y↑1

Rina riight I'm in love

Ioana Mămăligă

7y↑29

Z666

best thing ever

Bridget Anderson

4y↑3

Niykee Heaton is the most talented and true to herself artist of all time. People do not make big enough a deal of this woman. She writes and performs all her own music all her songs are dope and unique as fuck. She also refuses to sell out and that’s why she is really a bigger deal and main stream. You basically need to flush your creativity down the toilet to be one of the five people on the radio. Love you Niykee❤️

Miro11

I appreciate her being and music. Yes, she's THE big thing. For me, at least. Now, with kid and Jeff i hope she makes come back soon
Niykee, you're GREAT!