How Rod Wave’s Minimalist Approach Led to a Career Best With ‘Nostalgia’

There is consistency in an ever-changing industry — and there is what Rod Wave has been doing over the past three years. This week, his latest album, Nostalgia, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making the Florida-based rapper and singer just the second artist to land three new albums at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the past three years, joining Taylor Swift. And it wasn’t a near thing — Nostalgia’s debut was Wave’s biggest first week of his career, with 137,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate.

Being in the company of Swift is an achievement for anyone. But Rod Wave has always done things his way, with minimal press and minimal features on each release and, while he placed all 18 songs off Nostalgia on the Hot 100 this week, he’s had success largely with his complete bodies of work, as none of his Hot 100 chart entries have cracked the top 10 of the chart. It’s a relatively unconventional way to navigate today’s increasingly singles-driven music industry — and it helps earn his manager, co-head of Hit House Entertainment Dereck Lane, the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.

Here, Lane talks about the consistency of execution that has helped get them to this point. “Yes, Nostalgia is our standout album,” he says, “But we didn’t change the approach that we take when it comes to the music.”

This week, Rod Wave’s Nostalgia debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. What key decision did you make to help make that happen?

The key to Rod’s success is his team. We’re grass rooted. Yes, Nostalgia is our standout album, but we didn’t change the approach that we take when it comes to the music.

This album also came in with his biggest week yet. How did you approach the rollout of this differently than other projects?

You’re in the industry so I’m sure you know that Rod doesn’t do a lot of album promo. The whole team felt that this album was definitely a special one. With that being said, I pushed him to do as much promo as possible to make sure we got the word out while also continuing to maintain and stay true to himself.

This is his third No. 1 album in the last three years, making him one of just two artists to have a new No. 1 album in each of the past three years, alongside Taylor Swift. How have you worked to build his career over that period to achieve something like that?

I’ve always told Rod from the beginning to maintain his integrity as an artist. As long as you stay true to yourself you’ll build genuine, long-lasting core fans. I feel when artists try to go with the new wave or fad they lose who they really are and, in return, lose fans. This business is all about the fans.

In a music business that’s often very singles-driven, Rod Wave has succeeded most through his albums, which is increasingly rare these days. Why do his albums work so well, and how do you make sure that you maximize their impact?

The key word is substance. Rod writes about life experiences. The good, the bad and the ugly. We aim to make real, timeless music that everyone can resonate with.

How has the music industry changed over the course of your time in the business?

I could take up the next couple hours answering this question. But let me say this: I have people in high places in the industry calling asking me for favors. But like Rod said on “Long Journey”: “Dear God, I thank you for everything you gave to us.”

Last Week’s Top Executive: Sandbox Entertainment’s Leslie Cohea