Pray 4 Love is the second studio album by American rapper and singer Rod Wave, released on April 3, 2020, through Alamo Records, Geffen Records, and Interscope Records.[4] The album features guest appearances from ATR Son Son, Yo Gotti and Lil Baby, alongside production from DrellOnTheTrack, JetsonMade, Karltin Bankz, LondnBlue, Tahj Money, TnTXD, Trillo Beatz, and several other producers. The album serves as a follow-up to Green's debut studio album, Ghetto Gospel (2019).[5] A deluxe edition of the album was released on August 7, 2020, with an additional eleven tracks.[6]
On April 3, the day of the album's release, Rod Wave appeared in an interview with Complex's Jessica McKinney, in which he stated that the entirety of the album was recorded in the span of one month and that he was already working on its follow up—which we'd later recognize as the album's deluxe.[9] In the interview, after being asked why the album doesn't have many features, Green went in-depth about his recording process:[9]
Making music for me is personal. When I do my music, I don’t even go to the studio. It's just me and my engineer in a dark room somewhere, recording. [Linking] with others or doing other stuff, I ain't really trying to send the wrong message. I’ll root for anybody doing their thing with the music. I just like doing my own thing. I’ve been like that.
Later in the interview, he was asked about the creative atmosphere surrounding the creation of the album. Green stated that he'd just listen to beats and he'd come up with songs before he and his engineer would set up a studio in a hotel room and record tracks. He also stated that he refrains from doing "studio sessions" with producers and stays to himself with just his engineer. Green explained that his atmosphere is like this because music is personal to him, therefore when recording, he'd prefer the environment to be intimate:[9]
It really be personal for me. If I feel like it was too personal, I ain’t going to drop it. Music is a way of opening up. I don’t really talk about it. When I first started making music, that’s all it was. I never thought I would be on the phone with you right now. I never thought I would be on tour, or that people would want to talk about my album. It was never about that. I just wanted to make music because it’s how I get stuff off my chest. I want it to always feel like my escape. I don't want it to be nothing else, because once you turn it into something else then everything starts changing. I still want music to be my escape.
In an interview with Apple Music, the rapper explained the process of making music, saying that it "helps me talk about [my eating problems]. I don't regret going through none of it, because if it hadn't went down like that, 'Heart on Ice' wouldn't have even been a song. It would have been 'Wrist on Ice'".[10] Generally, he wanted the album listeners to feel like him instead of "pinpoint just one" message.[9]
Release and promotion
On November 21, 2019, Rod Wave released the album's lead single, "Dark Clouds".[11] The album's second single, "Thug Motivation" was released on January 13, 2020,[12] followed by "Thief in the Night" on February 28,[13] and "Pray 4 Love" on March 18.[14] Alongside the release of the track, Rod Wave also announced the release of the album for April 3, 2020.[15][16] On April 1, Rod Wave released "The Greatest" as the album's fifth single just two days prior to the release of the project.[17] Following the release of the album, on July 1, Pray 4 Love's twelfth cut, "Girl of My Dreams" was released as a single.[18] On July 12 and 31, the singles "Through the Wire" and "Freestyle" were released, respectively.[19][20] On August 6, Rod Wave released the music video for "Letter from Houston" exclusively on his YouTube channel.[21] The three tracks appeared on the deluxe edition of Pray 4 Love, released on August 7.[6]
Pray 4 Love received positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic's Fred Thomas wrote that the album is a "slightly darker continuation of his 2019 debut Ghetto Gospel". He stated that "Pray 4 Love stays in more or less one gear for its duration" and that "it's a lonely sound, and one Wave goes mostly alone". Concluding his review, he stated that the album "[offers] an even more complete picture of the pain and trauma that molded him as an artist".[1] Writing for Pitchfork Alphonse Pierre described the album as a "soulful record with constant mentions of faith" while noting that "it’s not exactly religious". He noted that at times the project can be "overwhelming" and that "occasionally it’s unnecessarily melodramatic". Pierre concluded his review by writing that "[the album's] straightforward and complicated; unpolished and imperfect" but that's what makes the pain and emotion in it feel "genuine".[3]
Jon Caramanica for The New York Times described the album as "wildly impressive", noting that Green "nails a refreshing blend of pure singing and melodic rapping", writing that "Wave is a true singer who also can rap". Caramanica wrote that "often we hear him singing and rapping all at once, overlaying one track of his vocals atop another, as if he’s healing himself in real time".[2]Tom Hull called it "a hip-hop lovers rock",[22] while Stereogum's Tom Breihan described the project as "a warm and emotionally intense collection of stressed-out laments" with "thoughtful and graceful melodies", while lyrically, he "mostly sing-raps about overcoming huge struggles and then facing more".[23]
Crack ranked the album as the 35th best album of 2020. Writing for Crack, Yemi Abiade stated that Green rapped with the passion of "four Marvin Gayes", describing the project as the "sound of a musician reaching the peak of his powers".[24]Exclaim! ranked the album as the 40th best album of 2020. Erin Lowers for Exclaim! wrote that the album is "enveloped by street tales and raw melodies bound together by the language of pain".[25] Jon Caramanica for The New York Times ranked the album as the third best project of the year, writing that Rod Wave is a "potent R&B crooner working with familiar hip-hop subject matter", however, "his blend is closer to mournful blues". He also stated that Wave's songs are "fresh-air triumphs of the downtrodden".[26]
Pray 4 Love debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 72,000 album-equivalent units (including 2,000 pure album sales) in its first week.[7] It was Rod Wave's highest position on the chart at the time, and is his second US top-10 album.[7] In its second week, the album dropped to number nine on the chart, earning an additional 34,000 units that week.[27] In its third week, the album remained at number nine on the chart, earning 32,000 more units.[28] As of December 2020, the album has earned over 1,035,000 album-equivalent units in the US.[29]
