Rags2Riches

Album: Pray 4 Love (2020)
Charted: 12
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Rags-to-Riches" is the name given to a type of fiction, or to the actual stories of people who have risen from poverty to wealth. The phrase comes from the story of Cinderella; other fictional examples include Oliver Twist and Little Orphan Annie. It was also the title of a popular song written in 1953 by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross.

    Here, Rod Wave recounts his come up from his early years spent hustling in St. Petersburg, Florida to becoming a successful singer/rapper.
  • American rapper ATR Son Son joins Rod Wave on the song. The track is the only collaboration on the Pray 4 Love album.
  • The song entered the Hot 100 after garnering popularity on video-sharing app TikTok.
  • UAE-based producer Zypitano and Czech beatmaker Daysix came up with the instrumentation. Their collaboration originated when the Emirati offered to create the artwork for Daysix's producer kit. A few months later, Zypitano sent over some melodies, which resulted in this beat.

    Daysix told Genius their placement on this song came when someone from Rod Wave's team found their beat on YouTube. "It didn't really have that many views, so I guess that might've been why they chose it," he said. "I just got like this this text from someone from Rod Wave's label and they said like, 'Yo, let me get your lawyer info. You got one on his next project.'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.