Rod Wave Arrested in Atlanta Hours After First Grammy Nomination

Rod Wave, born Rodarius Marcell Green, appears in a booking photo after his Friday arrest in Atlanta on felony drug, weapons and reckless driving charges. (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)

Rod Wave’s first Grammy nomination was supposed to change the narrative of his year. Instead, it ended the way too many of his nights have recently ended — with handcuffs, blue lights and another set of felony charges in Georgia's Fulton County.

The 27-year-old rapper and singer, born Rodarius Marcell Green, was arrested Friday evening in Atlanta after police say he blew through a stop sign in a Dodge Challenger near Defoor Avenue and Taylor Street. Officers reported hearing the engine “rev,” watching the car accelerate “at a high rate of speed,” and smelling suspected marijuana once the vehicle stopped. A search followed, and officers say they recovered a firearm and controlled substances categorized under Schedule II and Schedule V of Georgia law.

Green was taken to the Fulton County Jail and later released on an $8,000 bond, according to court records. The arrest landed the same day he received his first-ever Grammy nomination for “Sinners,” his contribution to the soundtrack for the horror film of the same name — an abrupt collision of career highs and legal lows that has defined much of his last two years.

His attorneys — Drew Findling, Marissa Goldberg, and Zack Findling — called the arrest unlawful and politically motivated.

“Rod Wave was unjustly profiled and unlawfully arrested in Atlanta,” the team said in a statement. “The arresting officer belongs to the Crime Suppression Unit, a group known for aggressive tactics and a quota-driven approach. We look forward to challenging these violations of Mr. Green’s rights in court.”

Friday’s arrest is the newest entry in a growing legal ledger. Green is already fighting serious charges out of Milton, Georgia, stemming from a May incident in which police say he returned home to a burglary, confronted a man on the property, and a firearm was discharged 14 times, hitting cars and a wall inside the residence. He faces counts including aggravated assault, criminal damage to property, possession of a firearm, and tampering with evidence. That case remains open.

At the time, Findling disputed every allegation:
“There is no truth to these charges. Rod was a victim of a burglary and committed no crimes.”

The rapper also has prior arrests in Florida — a 2024 case involving alleged weapon possession connected to a gang-related shooting (no conviction) and a 2022 domestic battery case that prosecutors later dismissed as a “misunderstanding.”

Despite the legal storms, Rod Wave’s commercial momentum remains undeniable. He’s among the highest-grossing touring rappers of his generation, pulling in a reported $36 million across 31 shows, and is the only male artist to debut a top 10 album every year from 2019 to 2024. His 2024 release Last Lap debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, marking seven consecutive top-10s.

Outkast, Salt-N-Pepa Lead Powerful Night at Rock Hall’s 40th Anniversary

Outkast’s Big Boi and André 3000 speak onstage during their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the 40th annual ceremony o Saturday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The Atlanta duo was honored alongside a diverse class including Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, The White Stripes, Bad Company, Chubby Checker and Joe Cocker. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for RRHOF)

When André 3000 and Big Boi started recording in the humid, half-lit basement known as the Dungeon, they weren’t chasing plaques, museums, or a place in rock history. They were chasing a sound — Atlanta’s sound — raw, melodic, Southern, and defiantly different from anything the coasts were doing. On Saturday night in Los Angeles, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame finally caught up to what the culture has known for thirty years: Outkast didn’t just shift the South. They helped shift the center of gravity in American music.

Inside the Peacock Theater, the duo’s induction became the emotional anchor of the Rock Hall’s 40th anniversary ceremony, a night where hip-hop, R&B, soul, and rock were honored with equal urgency. Their longtime admirer Donald Glover — a fellow son of Atlanta — delivered a near-perfect induction, tracing the lineage from the Dungeon Family to the present day. “When I first played ‘Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik,’ I heard the people around me,” Glover said. “And I learned you don’t have to scream or yell. You just have to be undeniable.”

"Great things start in little rooms. We started in a little room." — André 3000 and @BigBoi accept @Outkast’s Induction into the Rock & Roll of Fame.#RockHall2025 pic.twitter.com/lYI8xjENLB

— Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (@rockhall) November 9, 2025

Big Boi and André 3000 accepted together, surrounded by members of the Dungeon Family who helped shape their earliest sound. André’s speech — loose, unscripted, and deeply emotional — underscored how improbable the moment felt. “A lot of times when you get up here it’s about the musicians,” he said. “But it’s everybody around you. This is my family.” He shouted out Goodie Mob, Rico Wade, and the relatives who let a basement become a laboratory. “Jack White talked about little rooms,” André added. “And we started in a little room. Great things start in little rooms.”

Big Boi, ever direct, turned toward his brother in rhyme: “Thank you for making me be the best I can be… going toe to toe on the records. Iron sharpening iron. Love you, man.”

If Outkast provided the ceremony’s heartbeat, Salt-N-Pepa delivered its thunder. Sandra Denton, Cheryl James, and DJ Spinderella ran through “Let’s Talk About Sex,” “Whatta Man,” and “Push It” with the kind of precision that made them pioneers. But it was Salt’s pointed, unmistakable message about their ongoing legal battle with Universal Music Group that electrified the room. “We’re in a fight for our masters that rightfully belong to us,” she told the audience, explaining that their catalog had been pulled from streaming during the dispute. “Salt-N-Pepa has never been afraid of a fight.” Cheers erupted — not out of nostalgia, but solidarity.

"To all the guys who had a crush on us and had our posters on your wall, you're welcome." — Watch @TheSaltNPepa officially accept their induction into the Rock Hall.

📺 Watch the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony NOW on @DisneyPlus.#RockHall2025 pic.twitter.com/tGnuhfsRkg

— Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (@rockhall) November 9, 2025

Outkast may have supplied the ceremony’s cultural heartbeat, but they were inducted amid one of the Rock Hall’s most eclectic classes yet — a lineup that stretched from Bad Company and The White Stripes to Chubby Checker, Cyndi Lauper, Joe Cocker, Soundgarden, and Warren Zevon. For a show built on rock history, the spread of genres made clear how far the Hall’s borders have expanded in its 40th year.

Performances reflected that shift. The night opened with a tribute to Sly Stone, featuring Stevie Wonder, Flea, Beck, Maxwell and Jennifer Hudson — a supergroup that felt more like a jam session than a tribute. Cyndi Lauper delivered the ceremony’s most emotional moment, stopping “True Colors” mid-song to raise her fist in silence for the LGBTQ community. And Elton John offered a delicate, reverent “God Only Knows” in memory of Brian Wilson, who died in June.

Soundgarden’s segment — featuring Taylor Momsen on “Rusty Cage” and Brandi Carlile on “Black Hole Sun” — turned grief into communion. Chris Cornell’s absence hung in the air, acknowledged by the band with love rather than sorrow. “I miss him. I love him,” guitarist Kim Thayil said.

The White Stripes received a heartfelt salute from 22-year-old Olivia Rodrigo, who performed “I Think We’re Going to Be Friends” with Feist. Jack White dedicated a portion of his speech to legendary bassist Carol Kaye, though neither she nor Meg White attended.

The night closed with a Joe Cocker tribute that hit all the expected notes — “Feelin’ Alright,” “The Letter,” and a finale of “With a Little Help from My Friends.” It was scruffy, soulful, and raucous, exactly the way Cocker performed it in 1969, and exactly how a Rock Hall closer should feel.

But no segment resonated like hip-hop’s. Not because it was louder or flashier — but because it was legacy in motion. Outkast, Salt-N-Pepa, Questlove, Tyler, The Creator, Doja Cat, Janelle Monáe, and the Dungeon Family turned a traditionally rock-centered institution into something broader and truer: a celebration of American music as it actually exists, not as it once did.

Thirty years after Outkast told the Source Awards, “The South got something to say,” the Rock Hall finally said something back.

Grammy Ballot Reaffirms Hip-Hop’s Influence as Lamar Leads With Nine

Top album of the year nominees for the 2026 Grammy Awards include Bad Bunny, Leon Thomas, Sabrina Carpenter, Clipse, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Gunna and Tyler, the Creator. The Recording Academy announced the nominations Friday ahead of the Feb. 1 ceremony in Los Angeles. (Image courtesy of the Recording Academy)

The 2026 Grammys dropped their nominations Friday morning, and the ballot reads like a reminder of
who’s really steering modern music. Kendrick Lamar leads all artists this year with nine nominations, a run powered by the continued dominance of “Luther,” his chart-shifting collaboration with SZA. The single landed nods for Record of the Year and Best Melodic Rap Performance , while the album that anchors it, "GNX," is in the hunt for Album of the Year.

Artist	Total Nominations	Primary Genre Focus
Kendrick Lamar	9	Hip-Hop / Rap
Lady Gaga	7	Pop / Dance
Bad Bunny	6	Latin / Música Urbana
Sabrina Carpenter	6	Pop
Leon Thomas	6	R&B / Soul
Clipse (Pusha T & Malice)	5	Hip-Hop / Rap
Doechii	5	Hip-Hop / R&B
SZA	5	R&B / Pop
Tyler, The Creator	5	Alternative Rap

The competition for the night's top honors is fierce, with Lady Gaga following Lamar with seven nominations, and both Bad Bunny and Sabrina Carpenter scoring six nods each. All three major artists are competing against Lamar for Album of the Year, underscoring a historic race where Pop, Latin, and Hip-Hop titans face off in the marquee categories.

Leon Thomas emerged as the ceremony’s breakout story, earning six nominations — the most of any new artist — with his project “Mutt” hitting Album of the Year and multiple R&B categories. The singer-producer’s run marks one of the strongest career-reset moments in recent Grammy memory.

SZA, Doechii, Tyler, the Creator, and Clipse follow with five nominations each, a tight cluster that reflects how deeply hip-hop, R&B, Black pop, and alternative rap remain woven into the Recording Academy’s center of gravity.

Doechii’s “Anxiety” showed up everywhere — Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Music Video — a rare sweep for a track driven by emotional precision rather than chart gymnastics. Tyler earned recognition for “Don’t Tap the Glass” and “Chromakopia,” while Clipse broke through with “Let God Sort ’Em Out,” their first album in 16 years, which now competes for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album.

For all the talk this year about rap’s uneven commercial presence — including the moment in August when no rap song appeared in the Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 for the first time in 35 years — the Grammy ballot tells a different story. The culture continues to define the creative edge, even when the charts glitch.

The industry’s evolution shows up elsewhere, too. The 2026 ceremony introduces two new categories: Best Traditional Country Album and Best Album Cover, expanding the Academy’s effort to credit the craft behind the music. Even there, the nominations reflect a generation raised on hip-hop’s visual language — bold palettes, narrative artwork, and street-influenced design that now appear across genres.

Click here for a full list of nominees.