Nardo Wick. Photo by Shamaal
Nardo Wick has had the kind of come-up that can be a blueprint for other young artists. His single “Who Want Smoke?” caught fire at the top of the year, marking him as yet another artist to watch in the bustling Jacksonville rap scene. Then the remix, featuring Lil Durk, 21 Savage, and G-Herbo, became one of the biggest songs of the year.
The remix’s Cole Bennett-directed video has 54 million views in just over a month, on top of the millions of streams on other DSPs. And while “Who Want Smoke?” was still buzzing, Nardo dropped another potential hit single, “Me Or Sum” featuring Future and Lil Baby, a standout track from Who Is Nardo Wick? which was released Friday.
The album title is a reference to Nardo’s public reputation as a private artist who stays out of the mix. While so many of his peers are oversharing for the internet, Nardo’s disdain for “all that on the phone shit” has helped him radiate an air of mystery that’s rare for 2021. He capitalized on that intrigue throughout Who Is Nardo Wick?, an 18-track project full of gruff, surging tracks like the aforementioned hits, as well as “Alright,” “Play Wit Me,” and “Poppin Out” with BIG30.
The 19-year-old is well on his way to a successful career, and it all started with a $40 mic in 2019. Nardo has said that he felt he had to get out of the streets in order to give his career the focus it deserved, so he spent the previous two years recording at home (with his dad as his engineer), developing his craft while surfing YouTube and watching his favorite artists speak on the industry. He soaked up game, and now he’s ready to ascend.
We talked to the Flawless Entertainment/RCA signee on the eve of Who Is Nardo Wick? and talked about the project, Jacksonville rap, and the advice Future gave him. The conversation, lightly edited for clarity, is below.
How are you feeling the day before the album is set to drop?
Anxious.
Oh yeah?
Yeah. I’m anxious. I’m ready to drop.
Have you ever felt this anxious about anything else before?
Honestly, nah.
What do you think you’ll be doing right before the album drops?
The same thing. I’m going to be chilling until the album drops. I’m just going to be looking at the engagement and shit.
What do you want fans to take away from the project?
You see how my mind [works]: “Who is Nardo Wick?” They’re going to have a full understanding of me.
One of the standout tracks from the album is “Me or Sum” with Lil Baby and Future. How did that track come together?
It was originally me and somebody else on the song, but they were dropping, too, in December, so we weren’t going to be able to drop it. So I took them off and then I put Future on it and then put Baby on there. Baby knew he wanted to be on the tape, so I just was trying to find the right song for him to get on that fit him the most.
Did y’all record that together or was it an email situation?
I recorded that song some months ago in LA. I had the whole song damn near. Like the [same first part is there], but after the beat drops, it was [originally] just me the whole song. But I cut half my verse for Baby.
What were your first thoughts when you heard the finished product?
I listened to it every day—7, 10 times a day, something like that.
Another track that stuck with me was the “Wicked Freestyle.” You included some vocals from kids at the front. Where did you get the idea for that chorus from?
The kids, it was Boi-1da. He pulled up on me at the studio. He had a beat. The beat ain’t sound like that, but I liked the kids part. So I told him how I wanted it to be. And he made it exactly how I wanted it. I told him everything to put in and he did it how I wanted it.
That’s dope. You got signed this year, and you’ve got two big singles this year—one of them is platinum. What’s been the highlight of your year so far?
“Who Want Smoke?” period. Just that whole moment.
How does that feel? How much do you care about certifications and things like that?
Dream come true.
Did you anticipate having a platinum single so early in your career?
I don’t want to say I anticipated it, but I’m not shocked by it.
How did the “Who Want Smoke??” remix come together?
I just knew everybody I wanted on the song. Herbo was the first one on it. He wanted to get on it in the studio. He was like, ‘I got to get on that “...Smoke.”’ He got on it, but that was before [the original] even came out. He just heard it. He wanted to get on it. And right when he did it, everybody was saying [21] Savage would sound good on it. So I DM’d Savage and I told him I needed him on it. He told me to send it to him, and I sent it to him. And then we put Durk on it like two weeks before I dropped it.
You’ve collaborated with several artists that have been in the game for a minute. What’s the best advice that one of them has given you so far?
Future was telling me, “Record. Keep recording.” Like, you can make a sound today and don’t drop it ’til two years later. And even, like, don’t record thinking, “Ain’t no point in recording if I ain’t going to drop it.”
What was the recording process like for Who Is Nardo Wick?
I’ve got a lot more songs than [what ended up on the album], but [those are just] the 18 we picked. There’s a couple more [songs] I’m going to drop a little later, probably. There’s some songs that could’ve went on there that’s going to pop for sure, but we going to hold them.
I’ve seen in a couple interviews that you felt like you weren’t where you wanted to be as an artist. Do you know what that place looks like for you now? How will you know when you get to that place?
I’m going to know, ‘cause I know it’s me. So I’m going to know where I want to be at. But it’s hard to explain.
Is it like a matter of money or numbers or just kind of like a feeling?
It ain’t got nothing to do with money. It’s just where I want to be at. I know how I’m going to feel.
You’re a big figure in the Jacksonville rap scene that’s been buzzing for the past couple of years. What do you think of the way the scene is covered in rap media today?
It is what it is. I don’t think nothing of it. It just is what it is. It’s natural. That’s regular.
What would you like people to know about the city that you feel like doesn’t get expressed enough?
The talent. The real talent, outside of the other bullshit. Cause people really got talent, but they just—they’re just stuck on certain shit. The outsiders [are] stuck on what’s going on. They don’t care about nothing else. They don’t want to talk about nothing else. They want to talk about what they’re talking about.
Who are some up-and-coming Jacksonville artists that we should be on the lookout for?
There’s a lot of people. I probably said them all before. Spinabenz, Whoppa Wit Da Choppa, Lil Poppa for sure, Julio Foolio. I feel like Jacksonville ain’t get the credit they deserve. K Shordy, J Dot. It’s a lot of them that deserve a little more recognition. But then, there’s some of them that’s incarcerated that would’ve popped, but they’re incarcerated.
What kind of advice would you give 16 or 17-year-olds who are in the place you were at a couple years ago?
Keep going, that’s it. And believe. Keep going and do everything strategically and planned. [Also] study and focus.
You’ve said that while you were coming up and developing as an artist, you spent time listening to music and developing your craft. Can you take me into what that process was like? Who were you listening to at the time?
I don’t think I said that, ’cause I ain’t do that. I would look at interviews and shit just to study the game and how they think and move, but I would never listen to nobody’s music. Like, if I listen to music, I’m just listening to it from a fan’s perspective.
Okay. I misinterpreted. So you moreso got game on how to navigate your career?
Yeah. How to navigate, how people think, what to do, what not to do. Shit like that.
Who were some of the people that you were paying attention to during that time?
I would look at Lil Baby for sure. I used to look at a lot of his [interviews]. I really used to look at every interview. Anybody that was successful.
You’ve also said that when you had a creative block in the studio, you would scroll through IG. What is it about that process that inspires your creative process?
They don’t inspire it. It’s just, when I can’t think of shit, I just don’t think no more. And then I come back to thinking. Like, when I’m scrolling through IG, it’s because I don’t want to hurt my brain and just keep thinking on it. So I just go on IG and chill and then come back to thinking.
What was the time span of recording songs for the album? When did you start?
I got songs on there [that are] old as hell. “Wickman” is an old song, like real old. I ain’t never think I would’ve dropped it. I was just making it, trying to perfect my craft. But it was probably, like, a six or seven month span [of recording]. That ain’t how long it took me, but I just made a lot of songs and then we picked which ones was the best.
I’ve heard there was a point where your dad helped your career by helping you get recording equipment. Does he still help with your career or music?
Yeah, he do. He mixed like four or five songs on the tape. And he recorded damn near all of them except about like four of them.
How many of these were recorded at home versus the studio?
Damn near all of them. 14 songs was recorded at the house. My dad recorded them.
Did he have any engineering experience before you started rapping?
Nah.
What do you think is in store for you in the next year?
More music. More great music. More.