On October 11th, 2024 Rod Wave (Rodarius Green) released his sixth studio album: LAST LAP, including within it 23 tracks and three music videos for the songs “25”, “Fall Fast in Love”, and “Passport Junkie”.
The 26-year-old R&B and Hip-Hop artist released his first studio album in 2019 called Ghetto Gospel which had 14 tracks, including a single, “Heart on Ice”, featured on both Ghetto Gospel and his past album, PTSD, which went viral on TikTok in 2020. Previous to that, he had released albums such as Hunger Games 2, Hunger Games 3, and the previously mentioned PTSD. Five years later, after being released only a little over a month ago, LAST LAP debuted on the Top Streaming Albums as number-one.
Between Ghetto Gospel and LAST LAP the feel of the music is the same: solemn with a rhythmically slow beat. Not to mention the theme of love, which ties these two albums together and is present throughout his other studio albums, some more than others. However, in comparing Wave’s first studio album, Ghetto Gospel, to his newest, LAST LAP, I hear a lot more anger coming from the artist as he raps in his first studio album. Anger about his situation and the situation of the others in his life and the world around him. But in LAST LAP, he’s calmer, almost solemn. Heart broken, but also in love. Melancholy but also hopeful. Which is seen to be a theme throughout the album.
And in reference to the theme of the album: the title LAST LAP seems to refer to the “last lap of the turtle race” that Wave rapped in the second track of the album “Last Lap”; which at the same time he referenced the title song “Turtle Race”. Which alludes to themes of life and the changes and hardships experienced throughout. Which is something Wave tends to focus on in his music.
Overall, I really enjoyed listening to LAST LAP. The combination of quick paced rapping, as seen in “Last Lap”, and soft vocals, like “Fall Fast in Love”, mixed with meaningful lyrics is always calming and soothing to my ears. It’s a type of music I always tend to like the most, what I tend to gravitate towards.
Not to mention it’s been a while since I’ve actually listened to the R&B genre, anything outside of my current favorite genre of music I listen to, but honestly, it was a great introduction back into this genre of music. It was very enjoyable and thought provoking. Which, I think, is what makes an album more enjoyable to listen to.
Personally, out of all the songs on his new album, I have to say I enjoyed “25” the most. It’s partially because of the mood of the song, the singing and rapping combo—frequent in this album and others, but more present in this song—, and the lyrics. The other part is also because of the meaning. All of his songs on an album have deep meaningful lyrics that each uniquely tie into the title of the album, but to me the message and story of “25” stands out to me.
To connect back to the album’s title, LAST LAP, and its title song, “Turtle Race”, “25” brings in the topic of maturing as you grow and the thoughts that come along with it. And the talk of getting older and falling in love is a beautiful way to speak of the changes you experience as you get older. Of the way your perspective changes. As seen in the lyrics Wave raps: “I don’t really get along with my peers, everything that they do, to me is weird.” Which talks about maturing and how humor and mannerisms change. And later in the song, he sings, “Twenty-five, what a time to be alive. Am I getting old? Why do I feel tired?” Talking of life as an adult, how the world just seems fast, like you hit the ground running every time you wake up. He also mentions love and wanting to start a family, something you tend to think about as you get older.
And it’s true not everyone is a fan of R&B and may not enjoy it, since it just might not be their genre of choice. But as someone who hadn’t listened to Rod Wave before and had been away from R&B for years now, I would definitely recommend giving it a listen. Because it might be surprising, and very enjoyable to hear.
