December 31, 2021
Nardo Wick has come a long way in the last year. After dropping “Who Want Smoke?” at the top of 2021, the song was remixed by 21 Savage, G Herbo and Lil Durk in October, giving way to the Jacksonville rapper’s first Hot 100 placement. The track was ultimately certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), firmly putting the 20-year-old on the map.
But another viral video threatened to damage his reputation earlier this week. During an interview with the Big Facts Podcast, Wick talked about his illicit past and was accused of glamorizing crime. On Thursday (December 30), Wick clarified his statements and denied he was doing anything of the sort.
“I’m not tryna influence nobody to go rob nobody, they asked a question about MY PAST and I answered it,” he wrote. “That’s what I was doing when I was 15-16 years old, a product of my environment. My mama had just came home from prison and it was a hard time for us and we ain’t having nothing. I would never tell or try to convince a young Black man or anyone period to crash out!
“I changed my life and started taking rapping serious because I knew that I wouldn’t make it if I kept doing what I was doing. There is nothing wrong with a job, robbing ain’t cool at all and I ain’t try to make it seem cool. I was speaking on past events, what I was doing young and dumb. I changed for the better and learned from my mistakes. Y’all stay focused and chase y’all dreams.”