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.