Nardo Wick, PinkPantheress, Meek Mill + More Publisher Royalties

“Who Want Smoke?” took off as a TikTok challenge in early 2021 and became one of the defining records of drill, the hard-edged hip-hop style that grew out of Chicago. Its remix with G Herbo, Lil Durk and 21 Savage reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and went 3x Platinum. This catalog holds publishing royalties on both versions, along with Nardo Wick’s “Wicked Witch” and “Shhh,” and songs recorded by Meek Mill, Moneybagg Yo, PinkPantheress and YOVNGCHIMI.

Publishing royalties are earned by the song itself, meaning the melody and lyrics, rather than any one recording of it. The song generates income whenever a recording of it is streamed, played on radio or TV, or performed in public, and whenever it is licensed for use in film or television. For this catalog, streaming is the primary source of income, accounting for 89% of earnings over the last twelve months, and that income is spread across many different services rather than concentrated in a single platform. YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify each delivered about a quarter of the last twelve months (26%, 25% and 24%). Apple Music has no free tier, so every Apple play comes from a paying subscriber. TikTok, where the song first broke through, adds 12%. It pays licensing fees each time users set a clip of the song to their short-form videos. Those royalties peaked at $4,849.59 in 1H23 and have since softened to $972 in 1H26. 

The past twelve months include approximately $20,000 in payments covering prior periods: $11,000 in streaming mechanical royalties for 2021 through 2023 collected through the MLC, a $7,544.20 lump-sum payment from TikTok covering October 2023 through September 2024, and a $1,650 Twitch settlement. Excluding those payments, the catalog earned $60,908 over the last twelve months.

The two versions of “Who Want Smoke?” earn about 80% of the catalog, so its value rests on one song on two recordings. Excluding back payments in both periods, earnings softened about 29% against the prior twelve months as the song moves further from its 2021 peak. That record keeps finding new life. PinkPantheress sampled “Who Want Smoke?” on “Noises” from her 2025 mixtape Fancy That.

A 3x Platinum hit, earning from nearly every major streaming service and a paid subscriber base on Apple Music, gives this catalog a broad foundation that keeps paying as new artists like PinkPantheress build on the original.

For a detailed analysis of earnings trends, cash flow projections, and investment criteria, review the full Investment Memorandum.

These songs trace the rise of a Jacksonville drill sound from viral clip to the Billboard charts, with a run of features and samples that carried it worldwide.

Nardo Wick released “Who Want Smoke?” in January 2021, and its hook spread through a TikTok challenge before the song went platinum. In October 2021 he released “Who Want Smoke??” with G Herbo, Lil Durk and 21 Savage, backed by a Cole Bennett-directed video; it reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and is certified 3x Platinum. Both versions anchor his debut album Who Is Nardo Wick? (December 2021), which reached No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and also includes “Wicked Witch” and “Shhh.” He joined the 2022 XXL Freshman Class. The catalog also holds his 2020 single “Came Up.”

PinkPantheress, the British singer-producer behind a string of viral hits, built “Noises” (2025) on a sample of “Who Want Smoke?” for her mixtape Fancy That.

Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill teamed with UK rap veteran Giggs on “Northside Southside” from Expensive Pain (2021), and Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo recruited YG for “Curry Jersey” on Reset (2018). YOVNGCHIMI’s “Glizzy’Walk” (2021) and Skylar Blatt’s “Fuck Fame” add further hip-hop releases.

Earnings Note. 2H2025 earnings include $20,085 in back-period and lump-sum payments: $10,890 in U.S streaming mechanical royalties from 2018 through 2023, paid through the MLC, a $7,544 lump-sum payment from TikTok covering October 2023 through September 2024, and a $1,650.49 Twitch settlement paid through the NMPA. Excluding these payments, earnings for the last 12 months are $60,908. Any similar payments in the future will be payable to the buyer.