SoulFly (Deluxe Version)

Every Rod Wave album to date has gone on to become the St. Petersburg singer’s best-received project; 2021’s SoulFly, though, left many fans wondering how much better it could get. Wave offers a preview in the form of SoulFly (Deluxe Version), adding nine new tracks to what many already considered his most complete body of work yet. Within the deluxe is a song that sounds like a continuation of the original title track (“2019”), more songs about the troubles Wave has seen after striking it big (“Take the Blame,” “Losing My Cool,” “Ion Wanna Hear It”), and a particularly meta moment where he makes time to address the impact he’s already had on the game: “Labels used to look past me, now they tryna remake me/Grab a fat n***a out the trenches and replace me,” he laments on “Get Ready.” But Wave has also mastered keeping it all in perspective. After letting Lil Durk spend a verse trying to convince his girlfriend that she’s the only one for him on “Already Won,” Wave leans in for a moment of gratitude, rapping: “You know often I get so lost in my thoughts thinking ’bout losses/Then I remember where I come from, I already won.”