“2019” by Rod Wave

Rod Wave is what we often refer to as an emo vocalist – sort of a dying breed in the present hip-hop landscape. And what that designation means is that his songs tend to be emotional as opposed to braggadocios or the more usual rap fare per se. 

And in this case (“2019”) he is displaying perhaps the most ubiquitous type of emo, that which results from a romance gone wrong. Accordingly whom he is addressing is his ex. 

So considering that the meat of this song consists of one extended verse, it would perhaps be best if we go straight through it, as much as reasonably possible, to get an understanding of what’s going down.

Lyrics of “2019”

Said verse begins with Rod “reminiscing” on this relationship. And in the present, the addressee is someone he can “never forget”. Or put more directly, he was truly in love with her. Indeed Wave, who is currently 22 years old, was an even “young(er) n**ga” at the time he fell head over heels. 

Thus the implication is that he was truly smitten. And presuming that he is speaking of this same relationship throughout, he depicts it as one in which he and the addressee traveled quite a bit, thoroughly enjoying each other’s company.

And it’s like everything was cool when they were assed out. But once the money started rolling in, it would appear via Rod himself, then things changed for the worse as far as perpetuating this relationship goes. And it would appear that part of the problem was that upon becoming “rich”, Wave got distracted by other women.

And one on hand, in the chorus he doesn’t really come off as if he’s really trying to get this ex back. Instead, he’s acknowledging that what they shared was in fact the real thing. So as she goes her separate ways, apparently he is wishing her the best. 

But on the other hand, Rod does seem to put forth a lack of expectation to ever rediscover true love unless maybe the two of them get back together. 

Song’s Title (“2019”)

And concerning the title of this track, which by the way is never mentioned in the lyrics, the logical presumption would be that this romance was one that perhaps ended in 2019. This was the same year in which Rod Wave’s music career really began to take off.

Rod Wave and “2019”

Rod Wave is a hip-hop artist from St. Petersburg, Florida who we’ve covered regularly in recent months, considering that he’s concurrently one of the hottest rappers/singers in the game. For instance, earlier in 2021 his third studio album, SoulFly, debuted atop the Billboard 200.

And this song we’re covering today is actually from the deluxe edition of that album, i.e. nine additional tracks that were added onto the original project on the date of 20 August 2021. 

The labels supporting the track are Alamo Records in conjunction with Sony Music Entertainment.

Rod Wave penned “2019” with the track’s producer, Will-A-Fool.

The latter part of this song’s verse interpolates a 2001 Jigga classic entitled “Song Cry”. Furthermore “2019” not only imitates “Song Cry” in style but also borrows a few lines from it. 

And to note, permanent hip-hop A lister Jay-Z has expressed major admiration for Rod Wave’s music in the past, more specifically in 2019, no pun intended.