Whenever a pair of rappers occupies a relatively similar lane stylistically, vocally, or even physically, hip-hop fans often pit them against each other or they just naturally end up at odds — see Future and Rich Homie Quan or any new female rapper and Nicki Minaj. With the release of the deluxe version of Rod Wave’s No. 1 album SoulFly, fans have detected another potential beef of this nature brewing in one of the lines on the new song, “Get Ready.”
“Labels used to look past me, now they trying to remake me,” Rod croons. “Grab a fat n**** out the trenches and replace me/Tryna duplicate me, can’t be.” While rappers have often lamented the transient nature of stardom in hip-hop, it’s Rod’s choice of words that has fans on high alert looking for a feud. “Trenches” is, of course, the title of one of North Carolina rapper Morray’s breakthrough singles, on which Morray laments rap’s focus on so many negative aspects of lower-income upbringing.
As both rappers share a melodic flow, alternating between the singsong raps that are popular today and outright belting, as well as a husky physique and a rags-to-riches survival narrative, fans have interpreted the line as a shot at Morray (they were even both featured on XXL’s Freshman covers — Rod in 2020 and Morray this year). Further exacerbating the issue, rap manager Benjamin Rainwater, who managed the late Dallas rapper Mo3, made it clear in a recent interview that while the posthumous track “In My Blood” was to initially feature Rod Wave but replaced him with Morray, who Rainwater called “somebody genuine” — implying that perhaps Rod was not.
am i trippin or did this nigga rod wave diss morray in “get ready”
— YOURtrenton (@Trentonnnnnn_) August 20, 2021
I knew it was only a matter of time before there’d be static between Rod Wave & Morray. 💀
— 7-9-12-2-5-18-20 🍇 (@RicinAnastasia) August 21, 2021
https://twitter.com/TySwankkk/status/1428584657625370634
https://twitter.com/Speeddangerr/status/1428622480701337601
I think Rod Wave took a shot at Morray on that Get Ready
— T Raw (@trellesmall) August 20, 2021
So we gone act like my boy rod wave didn’t diss my other boy Morray 🤦🏾♂️ dammit
— Jerry B, MBA (@_CoachBradford) August 20, 2021
Rod Wave corny ash for dissing Morray, especially when he makes better music than Rod & is just an all-around positive person
— Nate Dawg, B.B.A. ⚡️ (@KNathanielHall) August 20, 2021
Wow rod wave was supposed to be on that feature with MO3 not morray see I knew it was something weird about that
— K.G™ (@kgrayready) August 21, 2021
Why is rod wave dissing morray for.. ain't no label tryna find another rod wave when half the world don't even know who that nigga is 🥴 niggas be having egos thinking somebody copying them & they the first of everything . If anything derez deshon should be where rod at
— díαrч σf α rєвєl🩸 (@fcckjulius) August 20, 2021
Perhaps everyone’s reading too much into things, but as it stands, Rod Wave at least has the grounds to be a little salty about Morray taking at least one opportunity from him. However, given that his latest album was able to top the Billboard 200, it’s probably better for him to remain focused on his own success. Meanwhile, with a tour with J. Cole coming up, Morray has his own rising profile to worry about.
Listen to “Get Ready” above.
