Hip Hop Awards ‘20: Get To Know Fast-Rising Florida Rapper, Rod Wave

Rod Wave, born Rodarius Marcell Green, never envisioned a rap career for himself. But he was put on the path to stardom when his producer secretly uploaded his music online. His rhymes and beats unexpectedly garnered a local following in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida, and the rapper has not looked back. Since then, he has released a steady stream of mixtapes that put him on the radar of Alamo Records, which is now his home label. 

The 22-year-old rapper’s breakthrough came with the release of his single, “Heart on Ice,” from his mixtape, PTSD, which peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019. He followed that up with the back-to-back releases of his debut studio album, Ghetto Gospel, and sophomore effort, Pray 4 Love, which peaked at No. 10 and No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, respectively.

In a short time, Rod Wave has carved out a lane for himself with his soul-bearing lyricism that touches on deep subjects like depression, pain, and overcoming hardship.

Now, the fast-rising Florida star has been nominated for Best New Hip Hop Artist at the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards, alongside fellow newcomers Flo Milli, Jack Harlow, Mulatto, NLE Choppa and the late Pop Smoke. Get acquainted with the new face.

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