Floridian rapper
Nardo Wick rose quickly, scoring a viral hit with one of his earliest singles, "Who Want Smoke?," which blew up further when
G Herbo,
Lil Durk, and
21 Savage jumped on a remix. Essentially a horror story encapsulated in a rap song, its chorus, a series of percussive bangs followed by the words "What the f*ck is that?," inspired a stomping dance that went viral on TikTok, turning the track into an unexpected smash. Hearing the song prompts the listener to ask the same question, and the rapper's debut album is filled with other perplexing yet unforgettable moments. His delivery manages to sound both casual and bloodthirsty at the same time, and he drives his point home with onomatopoeic hooks on songs like "Chop Chop," "Shhh," and "Blam Boom." The haunted pianos and jittery beats give the songs a haunted house vibe, and there are other ear-catching effects such as the sword sound at the beginning of "Baby Wyd?," a nasty sex rap featuring a guest verse by
Lakeyah. The production is pretty stellar throughout, with beatmakers such as
Hit-Boy,
Tay Keith, Onokey, and Emkay weaving creative backdrops -- the high-speed laser chase of "Why" is a definite highlight.
Wick's rapping skills have a lot of room for improvement, but his debut nevertheless leaves an impression.
Who Is Nardo Wick? debuted in the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 followings its December 2021 release. ~ Paul Simpson