It appears Rod Wave is on track to score another No. 1 album. Nostalgia will likely become the rapper/singer’s third chart-topper.
According to HitsDailyDouble, Rod Wave’s Nostalgia will pull in around 130,000-140,000 first-week units. That projected range should be enough for the studio LP to land atop next week’s Billboard 200 chart.
In addition, a 130,000-140,000 opening week would put Wave in third place for a Hip-Hop debut in 2023. Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape amassed 167,000 first-week units. Travis Scott’s Utopia debuted with 496,000 units.
Rod Wave previously led the Billboard 200 with 2021’s SoulFly and 2022’s Beautiful Mind. The Florida native also made it into the Top 10 with the Ghetto Gospel LP in 2019 and the Jupiter’s Diary: 7 Day Theory EP in 2022.
Nostalgia hosts a track titled “Crazy.” That record borrows elements from “Ain’t It Fun” by Tennessee-bred band Paramore. Rod Wave spoke to Zane Lowe about that sample for Apple Music 1’s New Music Daily Radio show.
“I wasn’t even aware that they weren’t fond of clearing songs until I was actually in that boat. I was writing them and DMing them on Instagram,” said Wave about getting permission from Paramore to use parts of “Ain’t It Fun” for his song.
He also added, “The song is real personal to me. So all my music, I try to just shed light on my background and what made me who I am, the reason I’m this kind of artist, the reason I’m who I am. So I always try to just shed light on that. Just the way [Paramore’s Hayley Williams] painting a picture vividly gives you both sides of the good and the bad.”
Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun” came out on the group’s self-titled 2013 album. The Justin Meldal-Johnsen-produced single peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The RIAA certified “Ain’t It Fun” as 3x-Platinum in 2019.
