Up-and-coming rapper Nardo Wick is popularizing Florida gangster rap
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Jacksonville, Florida has become a hotbed for up-and-coming rappers, highlighting the North Florida talent which has been overlooked by the center of Southern Florida’s hip-hop scene. Bringing a new dark approach to rap, Nardo Wick is slowly scaling the charts as a fresh face to watch for in the game.
Wick’s unique style has taken the industry by storm since 2020, while also popularizing the gangster rap/trap genres coming out of Florida. Other Jacksonville artists such as Yungeen Ace, Lil Poppa and Foolio have also been poised to rise in fame, but Nardo Wick is proving he could be a household name among rap’s best.
Before stardom
Wick grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and recently graduated from private school. Those around him believed he was always suited for rap as a reserved, serious person who is constantly focused on the business side.
“I’m different. My creativity. Something that ain’t been heard. The way I carry myself. The mystique-ness about me,” Wick said in an interview with XXL after it named him an XXL freshman.
He often cites himself as a “wicked millionaire,” which is where the second part of his name comes from. He parallels this by bringing that wicked, dark tone to rap, something we would hear for the first time on his 2020 single “Lolli.”
“Lolli” is one of Wick’s earliest works — but a prime example of what made the rapper so popular— twisted lyrics over a heavy trap beat that could have the bass exploding in the background.
Other 2020 singles “Came Up” and “Slide” continued to make him shine in the Florida underground, but he wouldn’t see an immediate switch to mainstream until his chart-topping 2021 campaign.
“Who Want Smoke?,” Wick’s first single of 2021, blew up on TikTok, as the song’s chorus and catchy knocking made it a viral sensation. It eventually sparked a remix with 21 Savage, Lil Durk and G Herbo along with a corresponding music video.
In “Who Want Smoke?” a sinister-sounding Wick discusses run-ins with law enforcement, violence he has witnessed firsthand and challenging the opposition if they really “want smoke” with Nardo and his crew.
In February 2021, he started to receive more mainstream recognition and was given a song on the album for the film “Judas and the Black Messiah,” with the track called “I Declare War.”
It was at this point that Nardo Wick started to become a name to watch for in trap music. As his uniqueness continued to flash, he would link up with some of the biggest faces in hip-hop by the end of 2021.
“Who is Nardo Wick?”
In the closing months of 2021, Wick began his rollout for the album “Who Is Nardo Wick?,” which would be released in December of that year, as his leadoff singles drew an immense amount of attention to the project.
The “Who Want Smoke??” remix with 21 Savage, Lil Durk and G Herbo broke the charts, peaking at 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 while also spawning a music video collaboration with Cole Bennett and his brand Lyrical Lemonade and a sit down segment with Genius.
Not only did the track crush Billboard numbers, but it would also go on to be Platinum twice according to RIAA certifications, selling over 2,000,000 and counting.
Success and hype from “Who Want Smoke??” landed Wick with yet another mega collaboration, this time with Atlanta artist Lil Baby and Future in a track titled “Me Or Sum.”
This high-intensity song sees several beat switches transitioning to each rapper’s strong verses. Jewelry and women seem to be the focal point in the lyrics, but the three perform extremely well together and create a phenomenal leadoff single.
The debut album for Wick peaked at number 16 on the U.S. charts and received an RIAA gold certification. Since the project dropped in Dec. 2021, Wick has flooded fans with extras and released a deluxe in 2022.
Wick’s standout tracks
The 2022 XXL Freshman List member has now brought a lot of his catalog out of the vault, with the deluxe versions of “Who Is Nardo Wick?” delivering some of his best tracks on top of the original.
One of his most recent drops, “G Nikes” featuring Polo G sees the two flow over a thumping 808 heavy beat. Wick unleashed his maniacal side throughout, stating “I told you I know magic, turn his white shirt red, I’m a natural savage, I don’t need no meds” when referring to what he would do to his rivals.
“Wicked Freestyle” commences with a group of children chanting lines such as “they hate how we walk, how we talk, how we move, said we’re lost and frustrated,”over the instrumental before Wick hops on.
The freestyle sees Wick go on two extended verses, separated by the chanting we hear at the start of the track. Wick repeated the line “I’m wicked” six times in the first verse.
Producer Tay Keith delivers some of his best work on the head-bobbing “Krazy Krazy,” a classic hardcore trap song where Wick spits at an abnormally fast pace about the same topics of violence and not to mess with him or his clique.
The future
Nardo Wick continues to mesh with some of the biggest faces in music, making songs with the aforementioned artists and others like The Kid LAROI and Kodak Black and progressing his connections in the industry.
It may be a while before fans receive any new music from Wick. “G Nikes” was just released this past October, but his 31 song deluxe project should be able to hold people over until further notice.
Currently signed to RCA Records, home to some of music’s giants, Wick could have the opportunity to expand his horizon even more and experiment with new sounds and work with unfamiliar faces to the trap/gangsta rap scene.
