Nearly three years later and the Rod Wave and Boosie BadAzz sample beef still won’t die. On Wednesday (Aug. 26), Rod appeared in a new interview on Club Shay Shay, where among many things, he addressed the longstanding issues between him and Boosie. And after dropping some vulnerable bars about idolizing his elder, Rod came out swinging when Boosie fired back on social media — turning the whole “respect the culture” argument into a full-on money dispute.
The core issue is as old as hip-hop itself: who owns what when you flip a beat, chop some bars, or interpolate a hook. Boosie called out Rod Wave for using lyrics from Boosie’s 2010 track, “Long Journey” featuring Webbie, on a new song with the same title. “Long Journey” is a song by Rod Wave from his fifth studio album Nostalgia, released September 15, 2023. Sound familiar? Yeah, because it’s the exact same title as Boosie’s joint.
Here’s where it gets messy. Boosie requested Rod Wave pay him $200,000 and 25% percent of royalties from Wave’s ‘Long Journey’ single “going forward.” That was the ask. But Rod allegedly offered Boosie $100,000 to show love, but Boosie rejected it. A $100K offer was a full $100K short of what Boosie wanted. And for Rod, that rejection meant the gloves came ALL the way off.
In his Club Shay Shay appearance, Rod played the humble card first. “I had the Boosie fade. Sh*t crazy,” he said. “I just was showing love. I guess he didn’t [take it as that]. But it’s so crazy because like I said, growing up, my adolescence–the people that I looked up to, the real guys in my life like my dad and my uncle, them boys were gone.” Translation: Rod was claiming he sampled Boosie as a tribute, not a theft.
Boosie wasn’t buying it. “Some of the older guys, they try to run the game on you and if they can’t get over on you, now they mad about that,” Rod added. That line flipped the script entirely — Rod essentially accused Boosie of trying to “run” him for money. And when Boosie saw that, he responded with a lengthy X rant that made it CLEAR this isn’t about love or tribute. It’s about publishing. It’s about respect. It’s about the culture knowing you don’t play with another man’s bread.
The historical context matters. Rod initially responded by saying he would pull up on Boosie and pay him back in late 2023. Two days later, Boosie previewed a diss song where he raps about people not giving him credit. But instead of legal paperwork flying, the two have been going back and forth for nearly three years, trading clips and hot takes on social media. No lawsuits have been filed in the courts. That’s the thing — no suit, no settlement, no peace treaty. Just two artists locked in a permanent standoff over what “showing love” actually means when money’s involved.
Rod’s interview on Club Shay Shay was supposed to be the reset. Instead, it reignited everything. Because at the end of the day, this isn’t about two rappers beefing over bars — it’s about the economics of hip-hop production and whether a younger artist can build his catalog on the foundation of an elder’s catalog without cutting a check. Boosie wanted $200K and 25 percent of future proceeds. Rod offered $100K and clout. Neither side budged.
The 16BARS take: This beef is a masterclass in why contracts matter and why “showing love” can’t be a substitute for splitting publishing. Rod Wave built real momentum off that Nostalgia era, and Boosie’s made it clear he doesn’t care how many times Rod claims tribute — when your label has the publishing, you gotta pay. No interview is gonna smooth this over until one of them actually signs a check.
