With every new release, Florida singer/rapper
Rod Wave doubles down on the intensity of his pain. Luckily, fourth album
Beautiful Mind also goes deeper into melody, production, and songwriting, with
Rod belting out incredibly passionate vocal performances over crystal clear instrumentals. It's a non-stop rush of heart-rending, pop-adjacent struggle rap, with standouts like the
Jack Harlow-featuring "Yungen," the bouncy wistfulness of "By Your Side," and the mournful piano-trap laments of "Cold December" all finding the rapper in top form as he delivers his signature lovelorn hooks. With an hour-plus runtime and 24 tracks,
Wave's formula of recounting painful memories and reflecting on how far he's come on the road to stardom starts to wear a little thin midway through
Beautiful Mind, but he switches things up enough with the unexpected R&B vocal samples of "No Deal" and the booming, anthemic arrangement of "Mafia" to keep things moving along. ~ TiVo Staff