BET Awards 2021: Five Reasons Why You Need To Rock With Rod Wave
For a long time you were either a rapper or a singer; plenty of records mixed rhyming with soulful crooning, but they were two roles, and inhabited distinct universes. Rodarius Marcell Green, aka Rod Wave, is a leading figure in the landscape of artists who seamlessly meld both. Chances are you've not only heard his song “Heart on Ice,” you've seen it, the video's gone viral on YouTube and TikTok, peaking at 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. What makes the Florida native stand out is his bravely forthright way of tackling intimate personal truths, including depression. We're not allowed to bet, but if we were, we'd put good money down that Rod Wave will be placing a BET Award or two on his mantle in the future. Here are five reasons Why Rod Wave is a star in the making:
His emotional lyrics are sad but never sappy
Going hard against the idea that it isn’t cool for rappers to show emotion, Rod Wave’s sultry delivery and lyrical subject matter stay authentic to the streets while they pull on your heartstrings. With compassion and vulnerability, he’s as comfortable rapping about his personal pain as he is about domestic violence and police brutality.
His second album was extremely well received
Hot off the release of his debut record: Ghetto Gospel, which dropped in 2019 and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200, his second full-length album amplified his buzz and rising clout even more. His second release, Pray 4 Love, almost reached Billboard’s top spot and hosted one of his highest charting songs to date: “Rags2Riches.”
He was an XXL freshmen
Making the XXL freshman class is as hard as getting into Harvard. When he joined the club, Wave earned major cred in the industry and joined the ranks of Wale, J.Cole, Kid Cudi and many more.
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He has aspirations beyond music
Beyond his natural talent for songwriting, he has plans on expanding his pen game to other creative outlets. “The stuff I was reading were urban books and I definitely got into it a lot. So writing books, writing scripts, writing movies, [is the goal],” he told Billboard in July 2020. He’s about to be a jack of many trades.
He didn’t choose his career, his career chose him
When Wave’s father bought him a microphone in high school, he began recording himself and his music solely for personal pleasure, with no plans to release it. If it wasn’t for his producer, who uploaded his music without Wave’s permission, there’s a strong chance the world might never have heard of him. True to his emotions as usual, he told XXL: “I used to be scared to upload my music.”
Watch the 2021 BET Awards on June 27 at 8/9C p.m.
