Rodarius Marcell Green, better known as Rod Wave, a world-renowned artist who is known for his relatable and authentic music, just released an album called “Nostalgia“ that brought his fans to their feet. 

After not dropping an album since November 18, 2022, his supporters were truly waiting for the day for Rod to drop another hit album, and he did just that! Nostalgia was released on September 15, 2023, with a total of 18 songs. 

Rod Wave revealed the meaning behind this album’s name on Tiktok, it’s about the fact that “It ain’t the destination, but like it’s the journey for real, and that’s why I named this album Nostalgia . . . Back then, I was thinking about the future or the past instead of living in the moment, you know what I’m saying? And I can say today, like looking back at the time, I thought it was like depressing and sad. I thought it was that . . . looking back at it now like this is probably worse than that.” Based on this explanation, it opens people’s eyes to realize that we must live in the present and not try to fix things from the past, as we no longer have control over things that have already happened.

A lot of people aren’t fans of Rod Wave’s music because people see his music as “depressing and sad.” However, if you truly listen to his lyrics, you realize that the things he raps about are simply relatable. People find comfort in his music, and that’s what makes him different from other artists.

Most people HEAR his music, but not many LISTEN to his music. If more people listened to his music and understood what he was saying, they’d definitely start growing fond of him and realize that he really is a talented artist, not just someone who makes sad music.

One Santaluces Senior criticized Wave, saying, “Rod Wave isn’t the best artist in the music industry. Majority of the songs he makes [sound] the same, and he never really makes happy music or uplifting music. A lot of it sounds so melancholic.”

A Santaluces Junior disagreed, praising Wave as a “different breed. He’s not like the rest. To anyone who hates on him, they just want to be different and hop on the hate train of Rod Wave. This man came from the bottom up and never forgot his supporters. Even though he was going through things, he still made way to drop music from time to time, and he lets the wait be worthwhile.”

It can be said that some people will never understand the words that Rod speaks, but there will always be a handful of people that will always support and love him because he’s the voice for many!

My favorite songs on the album include Back Lit (#1 in my opinion), Long Journey, Boyz Don’t Cry, and 2018. 

Back Lit is my #1 song because of the beat and how the lyrics go hand in hand with the beat. This may sound dramatic, but the song really touched my soul. 

The song that I wasn’t too much of a fan of was Turks & Caicos. The song didn’t really go with the beat, and it just didn’t hit like the other songs. On a scale of 1-10, it would get a 6.5. It wasn’t one of his best songs, but it is bearable.

I think it’s definitely safe to say that the 10-month wait for the album was definitely worth it. It tops the last album that cropped in 2022. 

If you haven’t listened to the “Nostalgia” album by Rod Wave, make sure to do that now! Such a goated album and definitely hits differently.