Warner Chappell Signs Fat Papi and Producer prodshushy to Worldwide Publishing Deals
Warner Chappell Music has signed worldwide publishing deals with Fat Papi, the Kurdish rapper, singer and songwriter raised in New Zealand, and with the producer known as prodshushy. The agreements, announced on 11 August 2026, cover both artists' entire catalogues and future works — including "Freaked Out," the track that put them on the global chart (CelebrityAccess).
A publishing deal, in plain terms, means Warner Chappell — the publishing arm of Warner Music Group — will administer the songwriting rights for Fat Papi and prodshushy across the world: collecting royalties, licensing the compositions for film, television and other uses, and representing the writers' interests in the market.
"Freaked Out" has accumulated more than 100 million streams and appears on both the Billboard Hot 100 — the United States' flagship singles chart — and the Spotify Global Top 100, according to Billboard. The track gave Fat Papi his first career entry on the Hot 100, debuting at No. 89 and rising to No. 88 on the latest published chart.
The signings were handled through Warner Chappell Music Australasia, led by president Dan Rosen, with senior A&R manager John Halstead driving the deals (Billboard). A&R, short for artists and repertoire, is the department responsible for finding and developing talent at a label or publisher.
For Fat Papi, the deal arrives on the back of a first Hot 100 entry — the kind of chart presence that publishing houses use as proof a writer's work has already crossed into commercial territory. For prodshushy, whose production sits underneath that breakthrough, it means the same administrative infrastructure now covers his share of the compositions.
What stands out is the geography. A Kurdish artist raised in New Zealand, signed through an Australasian office of a global publisher, landing a track on both a United States chart and a worldwide streaming ranking — the deal spans at least three music markets before the ink is dry. Warner Chappell has not disclosed financial terms.
