Rod Wave's "Nostalgia" First Week Sales Projections Will Surprise The Haters

BYGabriel Bras Nevares2.1K Views
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Rod Wave Beautiful Mind Tour - Atlanta, GA
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 1: Rapper Rod Wave performs onstage during "The Beautiful Mind Tour" with Rod Wave at State Farm Arena on December 1, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images)
With just three features and a lot of heartfelt honesty, the Florida trap-soul crooner might beat out a lot of your favorite artists this year.

This week brought forth a slew of big singles from a variety of artists, but when it comes to projects, few were as big as Nostalgia by Rod Wave. The Florida trap and soul rapper and singer came through with 18 tracks, 55 minutes of runtime, and three features, with 21 S*vage being the only mainstream giant on there. Moreover, it's a lot of the emotive, chilly, heartfelt, and pained crooning and moody instrumentals that you would expect from him. If that's where your head's at right now, we implore you to give its many compelling tracks a try. If you're not convinced, then maybe the 25-year-old's first week sales projections will give you a different perspective.

Furthermore, we say this because Rod Wave occupies a relatively niche appeal that gets clowned on a lot online. However, according to HitsDailyDouble, Nostalgia is projected to move between 130K and 140K copies in its first week of release. Not only could that take it to No. 1 on the Billboard charts, but it also means it would outperform the large majority of hip-hop-oriented projects to come out this year. Still, these are just projections, so we must wait for the official sales before making a verdict.

Rod Wave's Nostalgia: Listen Below

Regardless of what ends up panning out, this remains a pretty impressive feat for the St. Petersburg native. Especially within the context of a (relatively) commercially dry year for hip-hop, these numbers might shock his haters. Actually, maybe it's not much of a surprise; it's not like Rod Wave just now found commercial success. His last album Beautiful Mind sold 115K first week and topped the charts.

As such, it looks like Nostalgia might even top the Alamo signee's previous commercial peak. Still, there's more success to come, even if his main mission is to explore his feelings with his music. Considering that he recently got connected to his dream collab Drake's people, though, maybe that will keep the big numbers rolling. On that note, stick around on HNHH for the latest news and updates on Rod Wave.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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