Rod Wave wants fans to stop confusing the emotions in his music with who he is as a person.
During a conversation with Charlamagne Tha God, the Florida rapper addressed the “sad rapper” and “depressed” labels that have followed him throughout his career. He said many listeners form opinions about his personality based solely on his music, even though they don’t truly know him.
“I think the biggest misconception people have about me is that they don’t really know my personality,” Rod said. “I feel like I don’t show enough of my real life… enough reality for people to see beyond what they hear. So they take what they see out in the world and make that their image of me.”
Rod explained that the perception has become frustrating because the stories he tells in his songs don’t always reflect his current state of mind. He also emphasized that feeling sad is not the same as being depressed.
“Sad is a feeling… depressed is more like defeated, like you just beat down,” he said. “Do I look defeated? No. What I’m saying, I’m still going and I done been through shit just like everybody else in the world.”
Rod Wave pointed to his consistency as proof that the labels people place on him don’t match reality.
“If depressed mean depleted, can’t take it no more, flat down to the ground, how the hell do we do six albums back to back to back to back to back to back?” he asked. “Where was he depleted? Where did it get confused at?”
Rod added, “I ain’t depressed. I don’t even like that word ’cause I don’t let nothing get…I don’t even let nothing get to me for real.”
The rapper also admitted he’s grown tired of hearing his music described as nothing more than “pain music.” Instead, he believes his songs are simply honest accounts of real-life experiences, offering a perspective that stands apart from the carefully curated lives often seen online.
“I’m starting not to even like that word because it’s not even just pain,” he said. “It’s just testimony. It’s just real life… it’s not pain, it’s not sad, it’s not—it’s normal. It’s reality.”
“I feel like the world is so stuck on the internet, everybody living these fake perfect lives,” he continued. “So I’m just living in reality.”
Rod also pointed out that the emotions captured in his music don’t always reflect how he feels today. Since many of his songs are recorded months—or even years—before they’re released, fans often associate his current life with feelings he has already moved past.
“How I was feeling six months ago, a year ago, I might not feel right now,” he explained. “Life changes.”
For Rod, making music has always been a way to document those changes. He acknowledged entering the industry carrying “a lot of pain” and “a lot of scars,” but said turning those experiences into songs became a form of therapy that helped him heal and move forward.
According to Rod, the person he is today is far from the defeated image some listeners have created in their minds.
