Erick Sermon is using his own career to show younger artists why publishing ownership still matters, no matter how long ago a song was released. During his appearance on the Joe and Jada Podcast, the EPMD icon revealed that he earned $250,000 every three months from The Weeknd, Metro Boomin, and 21 Savage’s hit “Creepin’,” despite only owning 4% of the record.
Sermon said the conversation started after he mentioned royalty checks during a past Drink Champs episode, hoping to teach new artists about the long-term value of controlling their publishing. He noted that the income wasn’t new; he was already receiving around $100,000 from Mario Winans’ 2004 single “I Don’t Wanna Know,” which sampled EPMD’s 1988 track “You’re a Customer.” That original sample made both Sermon and Parrish Smith credited writers on Winans’ hit.
Things escalated when Metro Boomin and The Weeknd remade Winans’ record for “Creepin’,” which became a global streaming success. Because the new version still relies on the original composition, everyone involved in its creation; including Sermon, continued to be paid. Sermon highlighted the scale of the impact, pointing out that The Weeknd’s massive streaming presence helped push “Creepin’” to around 1.9 billion streams worldwide.
He said the result was consistent royalty checks of $250,000 every quarter, all from a small share of ownership. For Sermon, it’s proof that publishing can turn even a small percentage into long-term financial security, especially when songs are reused, sampled, or reintroduced to new audiences.
