If Kid Cudi was the beginning, this is where we are now. When Cudi spoke on his mental state it was revolutionary. Now doing so is de rigueur. What Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles did would have been unthinkable a generation ago.
Mental health has become a part of the daily conversation. And, as of 2018, Black children between the ages of five and 12 are twice as likely to die by suicide as their white counterparts. Again, unthinkable a generation ago.
Which is why Rod Wave resonates with so many people. The word ‘sad’ has become synonymous with his music with Stereogum proclaiming that Wave is the “world’s saddest Rap star.” I chalk that up to the superlative click baity way that people write.
I also know that it had to be someone who understood Wave that signed him. That someone is Mateo Dorado.
Dorado had his ear to the Florida streets, throwing parties which morphed into managing artist, which led to an executive A&R position at Todd Moscowitz’s Alamo records. He was 19.
Wave, only a year Dorado’s senior, went from Rookie of the Year Ep to the first of his Hunger Games mixtape trilogy before he was booking shows on Wild 94’s annual Wild Splash Spring Break concert.
That buzz is what landed Wave on Alamo.
