Nardo Wick wants to make it very clear that robbing people is no longer OK in his book.
The Florida rapper explained his position via Instagram on Thursday, after receiving some backlash over comments made during an appearance on the Big Facts Podcast. At one point during the sit-down, Nardo was questioned about his come-up and his life before signing to a major record label. He explained there was a time when he would regularly rob people to get thousands of dollars in cash, which he preferred to working a legitimate job.
“I would just look at it like, I would go rob a n***a and get this much, why would I go to work for a week?” Nardo said. “But you got to think, for real. If I go do this to somebody and get $7,000, $5,000 [...] why I’m finna go to work for two weeks and make $500? Hell no.”
Though honest, Nardo’s comments sparked backlash among some viewers, who accused the rapper of glamorizing and encouraging crime. The heat was apparently so strong, Nardo felt compelled to issue a statement on social media, insisting he was not trying to “influence” anyone to rob people as a way to make a living.
“They asked a question about MY PAST and I answered it. That’s what I was doing when I was 15-16 years old,” he wrote in an Instagram Story. “A product of my environment. My mama had just come home from prison and it was a hard time for us and we ain’t have 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 doin.”
Nardo went on to say that there was nothing wrong with having a traditional, legal job, and emphasized that “robbing ain’t cool at all.”
“… I ain’t try to make it seem cool. I was speaking on past events, what I was doin young and dumb,” he continued. “I changed for the better and learned from my mistakes. Y’all stay focused and chase y’all dreams.”
Nardo’s statement comes nearly a month after he unleashed his debut studio album, Who Is Nardo Wick? He spoke about the 18-track project during an interview with Complex earlier this month, explaining his intentions behind the record and what fans can expect down the road.
“You see how my mind [works]: ‘Who is Nardo Wick?’ They’re going to have a full understanding of me,” he said about the album. “… 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.”
