Battling his demons through his soulful and melodic music, Rod Wave is remarkably down-to-earth for a rising rap star. Sharing some images from his wild lifestyle, Rod shares “Popular Loner.” Exploring his contradictory persona above plaintive piano chords and soaring guitar, Rod reveals his inner conflict in the new single, wielding his introversion as a weapon: “I don’t get along with my peers/I’m at war with myself/So fuck you and everybody else.” The video finds Rod in a montage of recent life and career highlights, from a trip to Times Square, to press interviews, to relaxing in the canals of St. Petersburg. Even though great things are happening for him, Rod Wave is still the same Rod he’s always been.
With music that Moneybagg Yo described as “street gospel,” Rod Wave has an inimitable style using his acrobatic vocal talent to inject lived-in emotion to his songs. Bounding between octaves and effortlessly switching from percussive rhymes to soaring melodies, Rod triumphantly celebrates his rising star status on “Yessir!,” reflects on his friends’ struggles with drug addiction on “Numb,” and flexes his pen game in the extended metaphor “Heart 4 Sale.” Featuring production from the likes of Go Grizzly and Drum Dummie, and boasting the Moneybagg Yo-featuring “Feel The Same Way,” which has over 1.2 million views on YouTube, Hunger Games 3 is a generous showcase of Rod’s supernatural sense of soul.
Most recently, Rod shared “Hard Times,” his first new single of 2019, which has over 495k views on its YouTube audio, and exposed the inner workings of the juvenile correctional system in the dramatic “Red Light” video (200k views).
Watch “Popular Loner” here.
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Catrise J is the owner of Vault of 1520 and Content Creator for Dirty Glove Bastard (DGB). Catrise is a self described “free-spirit” and always shares what’s on her mind. She enjoys Hip Hop, nature, reading, 420 and 90’s R&B. Her idols include Angie Martinez, Tupac, Oprah, and Warren Buffet. You can connect with Catrise on social media.
