Rod Wave’s new album a relatable meditation on loss and grief

I was scrolling through YouTube to get my music started to clean my room when I realized Rod Wave had dropped his new album. The moment I heard the first few lyrics it spoke to me in a way that I felt captured my feelings about dealing with the loss of my father. 

I’ve always known I have similar emotions to Rod but after the unexpected death of his father figure “Uncle Dee,” I felt emotions explained for a subject I’ve never really been open about, the loss of my own father. The lyrics “Certain shit just ain’t like me no more, certain shit just don’t excite me no more,” from the song “25” resonated deeply with me. After a close death, you want to appreciate the things around you but it’s much more difficult. While materialistic things could have made you “happy” before they lose their value once you realize the only really significant thing is the love of those around you. 

The chorus speaks about how the world is forcing you to move on but you’re not ready to. Lyrics like “This’ll probably be the hardest chapter of my [expletive] life,” “Deep down in my heart I don’t think I can live this life without you,” or “Gotta keep going in my brain but in my heart, I feel pain” were my exact feelings after losing my father, who was also my best friend. He also touches back on this in his song “Turtle Race” with the lyrics “lord knows that I miss ya…but the turtle race continues.”

Rod Wave’s birth name is Rodarius Marcell Green; he was born on August 27, 1998, in St. Petersburg, Florida. He grew up with his mother and father, who eventually separated. Rod expresses some of the things he’s been through as a so-called “youngin” growing up, producing platinum albums about what caused problems in his childhood. As a kid, Green’s family was struggling financially and his father “Fatz” was constantly in and out of prison which caused Wave to turn to Fatz’s Best friend Derek (Uncle Dee) Lane.

Some powerful lyrics come out in the song “Abonded” which he released in 2019 in his album “Ghetto Gospel.”  He recalls, “Member daddy went to prison, Uncle Derek took me, Then Uncle Derek went to prison, That’s when my troubles began.” At age 15, Rod Wave was arrested for armed robbery and also arrested at school for bringing a pellet gun. He continued to find himself in and out of juvenile centers. His father did try to help his son get on the right path but his constant incarceration caused Rod Wave to act out more. 

The artist started singing in high school but he was too scared to post his music then. Later on, he got his rap name from a friend posting one of his songs for him and giving him a name that stuck. 

Rod Wave’s first ever song was “Gambling,” which he released July 3, 2016. He was 17 and it was about his life as a teenager having to help provide for the family. Rod Wave later found himself hitting the top 100 and 10 with multiple albums and hits. 

According to RapUp, his uncle/manager previously had worked in the industry before working with his nephew but when Dee went to federal prison he had lost that job. Dee told the publication Soul Trap Pioneer about raising Green and how he “moved him to Atlanta up here. I got him out of the way [and into school]. I knew once he graduated he would go a different way from his homeboys.” 

After losing his “Uncle Dee” Rod dropped his album “Last Lap” insinuating that this was going to be his last tour for a while. Rod stated in an interview, “[He] was like my world.”

This forced Rod Wave to take a step back from music to process to grieve and find the meaning behind the pain. That’s what makes Last Lap so important and why it meant so much to me.