Rod Wave backed “Beautiful Mind” with his lyrical ability only features of Jack Harlow & December Joy.
Our rating: 9.2/10
Rod Wave’s “Beautiful Mind” was released on Friday, and the artist earlier informed fans that it would be his “final sad a*s record.”
The 24-track album, which features cameos by Jack Harlow and December Joy, follows last year’s chart-topping Soulfly.
On my baby’s dis my last sad ass album I’m off dat jus wanna live happy travel get dis money
— RodWave (@rodwave) June 13, 2022
Beautiful Mind’s structure comes from Rod Wave’s touch with legal jeopardy, as well as the notion that he’s venturing beyond the themes of prosperity and alienation that powered previous singles like ‘Ghetto Gospel’ and ‘Pray 4 Love.’ With the release of Beautiful Mind, it appears that this project will mark the conclusion of a tragic, cathartic era supplied by one of hip-hop’s most emotionally sensitive performers.
With a vocal that combines delicate rock melodies, emotional cries, and gruff country rap metaphors, Rod Wave is an unabashed romantic. The 22-year-old vocalist from St. Petersburg, Florida, pours about passion in a manner it seemed out of the ordinary for somebody so strongly associated with a rap on his fourth album, Beautiful Mind. On “Leave Me Alone,” he cries out fearfully, I don’t wanna be alone…don’t leave me alone,” he pleads anxiously on “Leave Me Alone.” He is a complex individual who oscillates between masculine anger, broken tenderness, and career desire.
I adore this song because Rod Wave spends speaking about overcoming hardships for the sake of love. He effectively dissects the mentality that lovers who are hopeful should adopt. I also appreciate how powerful his shouting voices are in comparison to his agile one.
Rod Wave and Jack Harlow duet on their individual origins and current achievements in “Yungen.” While Rod, who sings in the song as if his life depended on it, comes across much more as an individual who welcomed being big back then and is thankful that he got it through the muck, Harlow, who raps smugly, comes as a person who takes heed to his detractors and believes that he deserves every bit of power that he has gotten. Hearing the two genres together is extremely intriguing. The wording and punchlines in this song by Jack Harlow are amazing.
Rod Wave applauds himself at the song’s final conclusion for what he accomplished with “Never Get Over Me.” While I didn’t particularly enjoy his verses I applauded him when he repeatedly said, “Never get over me,” with one minute remaining. Sometimes, putting a message inside a listener’s brain might take precedence over anything else.
The hook to “Stone Rolling” has no right to pierce your heart in the manner it does. Rod Wave’s vocals about living on the road and trying to discover a home to call home really messed with my emotions. If you tear up easily, have tissues nearby when playing this song.
In “Sweet Little Lies,” he sings, “They say I’m crazy, I’m bipolar, I need some damn help/Why say forever if we gon’ die by our damn self/The dream of happily living ever after is a delusion. The feelings of a distressed guy who is in need of gentle love and care are most obviously conveyed by Moat.
One of the tracks that will tense up your ears is “Sweet Little Lies.” The impassioned yet skillfully constructed hook is notable, and Rod Wave’s vocal effort is actually pretty great. Additionally, you should be moved by Rod’s ferocious raps about not having real support in his life. “Sweet Little Lies” is simply too powerful to miss.
When he declares, “I’m trying to ball, ni&&as trying to take my life,” and that rapper does not really feel at ease without having a.45 automatic handgun with him in “No Deal,” he stacks his lines into forceful, agonized pushes that are the reason he nevertheless remains a part of the rap world. Rod Wave says, “I was just on the bus stop, going higher than my brain/Headphones in, listening to Kevin Gates,” reflecting on his adolescence in the track.
Rod Wave thus devotes a significant portion of Beautiful Mind’s second half to sorting out his complex sentiments towards his lover. In “Mafia,” he sings, “. “In my cell all alone I still hear your cries,” and then compares how he and his squad move to that of the Mafia and, strangely, the Taliban. (On an early, unpublished version of “Mafia” provided to the press, there is a snippet of a famous The Godfather Part II moment where Michael and Kay quarrel vehemently before she departs from him.) Rod Wave confesses, “I tried to find another b**ch, I just look for you in her. on his track Pieces.
As he sings, “This is my final song about old girl,” “Everything” rises like a Brian McKnight ballad. “The only thing shorter than these love songs is life,” he writes in “Married Next Year.”
Hank Williams Jr.’s “O.D.’d in Denver” is ramped up in the song “Cold December,” which finishes Beautiful Mind and was first published in November.
Beautiful Mind, with its compelling themes, compassionate soundtrack, and profound voice, strikes me as music that connects with you without any effort. Yes, there are a lot of rappers that produce emotive hip-hop these days; however, I don’t believe there are many who can produce emotional sentiments like Rod. How fantastic it is that Rod doesn’t rely on guest appearances on this album, unlike The Game Drillmatic which features a flurry of features? It appears that he only gets at ease performing things that come naturally to him. In reality, the fact that Jack Harlow is among the two cameos on this album suggests that the Kentucky rapper is regarded as a legitimate one by other real ones. Overall, Beautiful Mind is a collection of works in which you can hear the great, horrible, and terrible emotions that are going on in a person’s mind without interruption. There are no diversions, no gravitas activities, and no external pressures; only lyrics from the soul.
