American rapper and musician Rodarius Marcell Green, better known by his stage name Rod Wave, was born on August 27, 1998. He has been hailed as a pioneer of soul-trap and is known for his powerful voice, combination of hip hop and R&B, and use of these genres.
The 2019 song “Heart on Ice,” which went viral on YouTube and TikTok and peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, helped Wave gain recognition. Ghetto Gospel, Wave’s debut album, reached at number 10 on the US Billboard 200. The single “Rags2Riches” off his second album, Pray 4 Love (2020), reached number 12 on the Hot 100 and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200. SoulFly (2021), his third album, arrived at the top of the Billboard 200. (marking his first chart-topping album).
With the release of his mixtape Hunger Games Vol.1, Wave’s career got underway in 2016. Before joining Alamo Records, he independently released a number of mixtapes. He released his mixtape PTSD on June 14, 2019, and it featured the song “Heart on Ice.” The song gained enormous popularity on TikTok and YouTube and peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ghetto Gospel, Wave’s debut album, was made available on November 1, 2019. On the US Billboard 200, it peaked at position 10.
Pray 4 Love, Rod Wave’s second album, was made available on April 3, 2020. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, then on August 7 a deluxe version was released. The song “Rags2Riches” (with ATR Son Son), which peaked at number 12 on the Hot 100 and became his highest-charting hit, was one of many from the album to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Wave was a member of XXL’s 2020 Freshman Class as of August 11, 2020. Wave confirmed in an interview in July 2020 that he was composing his third album, which was initially due on August 27, 2020. On March 6, 2021, he unveiled the track listing for his album SoulFly.
The songs “Street Runner” and “Tombstone,” which reached number 11 on the Hot 100, are also included on the album. The song “Nirvana,” which Wave released in late 2021, caused some controversy because it was widely believed to be a suicide message, a claim Wave vehemently refuted.
Wave released the track “Cold December” in January 2022. He announced that his next album would be called Beautiful Mind and that he had turned the album in on April 25, 2022 in a freestyle he released of Future’s “Wait for U” on May 1, 2022. It was August 12, 2022 when the album was released.
