“Street Runner” by Rod Wave
When Rod Wave asserts that he’s a “street runner”, that’s another way of saying that he’s out hustling and making power moves. Success is the number one thing on his mind at the moment. In fact he’s very meticulous in terms of handling his biz, as the vocalist possesses a fear of failure. Also it’s like the hustle is in his genes.
Moreover, of course there are going to be haters on the block. So Rod has to “keep (his) strap”, i.e. his firearm, by his side and likewise “watch (his) back” regularly. So between making moves and protecting himself, there really isn’t time for much else.
Or more to the point, he is always on the road. In fact despite being from Florida, he’s out perusing real estate in Michigan which he is considering purchasing. And all of the above is not to imply that he actually enjoys this lifestyle. But he’s so reluctant to find himself back in the poorhouse that “chasing cake”, i.e. making money, is “all that’s on (his) brain”.
And he’s not the only one suffering. For even though it may read so above, this song is not actually about his money-based, ‘hood-inspired lifestyle. Rather the vocalist takes somewhat of an apologetic tone throughout due to the fact that the grind is taking him away from the woman he loves.
In fact it is she whom he is addressing throughout. And it is pretty obvious that his absenteeism is having a negative toll on their relationship, especially as far as she is concerned.
Conclusion
And along those same lines and considering the outro of the track for instance, we can safely conclude that this is a love song. Wave does miss his shorty. But he can’t go back to her just yet.
So he wants her to know that she’s on his mind, and he is taking her feelings into consideration. Indeed when she flips out on him, Rod doesn’t even counterattack. Instead he fully understands where she’s coming from. And also judging by the intro it can be said that he has already determined that maintaining this romance is detrimental to his material pursuits. But still he’s dedicated to keeping the relationship going, all things considered, as best he can.
More about “Street Runner” and Rod Wave
This is the lead single from Rod Wave’s third album, “SoulFly”. It is a product of Alamo Records, as were his first two full-lengths – a label the artist has had sort of a messed-up relationship with around the time of this song’s release.
“Street Runner” came out on 10 March 2021, with Rod Wave being 22 years old at the time. He is credited with wring the song along with Ruth B. and the track’s producers, who are as follows:
- LondnBlue
- Karltin Bankz
- TnTXD
Ruth B. is a singer from Canada. She is credited as a co-writer because her 2017 track “Mixed Signals”, which she also wrote, is sampled into “Street Runner”. More specifically, the pre-chorus of that song makes up the intro of this track.
Rod Wave also directed the music video to this song, doing so in collaboration with Yawn Rico.
Rod Wave
Rod Wave is a hip-hop musician from St. Petersburg, Florida. As of the release of this track he’s kind of new on the scene, having just come out in 2018. His most successful song to date was actually his first single, “Heart on Ice” (2019), which also has a remix featuring Chi-town rapper Lil Durk.
His second album, “Pray 4 Love” (2020), was also a hit, topping Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart and reaching as high as number 2 on the Billboard 200.
In fact 2020, was a pivotal year in the artist’s career, and we may even say life in general. For instance, he was featured on Rich the Kid and YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s joint album “Nobody Safe”, more specifically on the 13th track of the project, which is entitled “Sorry Momma”.
There is also a track, called “Rags2Riches2”, from Rod’s aforementioned album whereas he teams up with Lil Baby. That collaboration produced his highest-charting track to date, as the song broke the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Also in terms of his current standing in the game, Wave earned the honor of being named a member of XXL’s 2020 Freshman Class. And one notable story from his personal life is that, again in 2020, he nearly perished in a car accident.
As far as his own favorite artists are concerned, Rod Wave gave a big shoutout to Kanye West and Yeezy’ classic “The College Dropout” (2004) album in particular.
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