Joe Budden speculates on what Rod Wave meant when he said he “sold his soul” and considering retiring from music in his recent post.
Rod Wave stunned his fans after the release of his latest single, “Cold December,” when he revealed that he did not want to release the song but that his label forced him to. The Florida-based singer says in the video that he feels like he “sold his soul” because he doesn’t enjoy performing, implying that all he wants is a normal life. He explained that he dislikes being the center of attention and that he never seeks it out.
Rod Wave’s comments made their way to the Joe Budden Podcast, where the hosts discussed what they interpreted from the post as his fans continue to react to it. Joe Budden spoke about mental health in the music industry and speculated on what Rod might have meant when he said he’ll soon be finished “as Rod Wave” and more.
“At 22-years-old, his interpretation of the music industry is probably different from what he’s experiencing now and he’s a primary act,” said Joe Budden at the 3-minute mark. “Which means he’s being exposed to quite a bit and [the label is] leaning on him quite a lot. The weight could get heavy. We just saw Yung Bleu go through it. He dropped, didn’t put on a bad show, then said ‘I’m depressed’ and put out a project that said ‘I’m depressed.’ We saw someone else come out publicly recently and speak to just not being okay. Mental health has been a thing for artists for the past few years… Big Sean… we can go on and on. But for a newer act– Rod Wave hasn’t been around for so long– for a newer act to pick all this up and feel this way so early, I wonder if he means when he says he’s only here for a little minute as Rod Wave that he’s already trying to figure out a way to get from underneath that.”
He went on to say that at one point in his career, Joe tried to rebrand himself, change his artist name, and start all over again, as well.
“That was the first thought that I had too when there were some contract issues and my name was Joe Budden as a rapper. I was like, well, I’m pulling a Prince and I ain’t Joe Budden no more and we just gonna rap under something else and start a new group, a new entity, a new something. I wonder if it’s some of that here,” contemplated Budden. “I don’t think a 22-year-old is gonna stop making music. I don’t think that.”
They talked about Rod Wave’s situation for about a half-hour, on and off. Listen to what Joe Budden, Ice, and Ish had to say in the video below.
