Released: 2023
Skating on beats as smoothly as an ice dancer, Rod Wave dives deep into the pool of emotion with “Great Gatsby,” a haunting reflection on love, loneliness, and the struggle to remain grounded amidst fame’s often disorienting whirlwind. This introspective piece echoes an internal conflict familiar to anyone who’s ever wrestled with deep affection, a form of battlefield where love shows itself to be as much a torment as a bliss.
Drop the needle on the first verse and you’ll catch Rod speaking directly to someone – a significant other, perhaps. He’s reflecting on their troubled relationship, one so powerful it feels like war. Lyrics like “I swear I can’t live with you, but I can’t live without you,” depicts the push-and-pull dynamic in a toxic relationship. The intense emotions involved, described as sickness in his absence, reveal his deep connection with the person.
As we glide to the hook, Rod speaks on throwing the “party of the century.” But don’t get it twisted, we ain’t talking about some Gatsby-esque mansion shindig splashed with martinis and jazz. This party’s an emotional one and it’s “all for you,” the mysterious object of his affection. Despite the heavy influx of people, the absence of one particular individual creates an aura of sadness. No one “left sober” could perhaps hint at people drinking to forget, to drown their own sorrows or to create a temporary escape from life’s tribulations, mirroring Rod’s own methods of escape from his internal struggles.
Pulling us deeper into his labyrinth, Rod talks about rekindling a once blazing love. The line “Let’s go in hidin’ again” paints a picture of two people escaping the world to reignite their love, much like Jay and Daisy in Fitzgerald’s “Great Gatsby”. It’s a desire to retreat, to find consolation within each other while shutting out the outside noise. In the context of Rod’s life, it could stand as a metaphor for his need to retreat from the public eye and find solace in solitude or in intimate relationships.
On the real though, the double edge of fame is a running theme in a slew of Rod’s tracks. “Great Gatsby” echoes those tensions as he expresses his longing to reclaim the naivety and simplicity of a life before fame, while simultaneously enjoying its benefits. It’s a classic case of the hip-hop struggle of “Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems” echoing from the likes of Biggie and others – a narrative of connection, contradiction, and the complexity of the human heart.
