No matter how hard he appears to try, Rod Wave seems unable to escape the sadness. As the veritable king of pain rap, the St. Petersburg, Florida, artist has frequently sworn off the emotional depths that came to define his catalogue, only to return to this thematic well again and again to produce masterful works born of hard times and mired in misery. As such, the trap-soul hybrids his fans continue to expect and, perhaps, demand from him persist on his sixth studio album Last Lap. Case in point: The finality implied by its title runs counter to the title track’s closing refrain, his inability to let go less a choice than a calling. From the very beginning, Rod shows that he’s still wrestling with demons. Opener “Turtle Race” mourns the lost while fretting over fresh woes, not the least of which being an ominous interaction with law enforcement. “Federal Nightmares” furthers the narrative as he watches loved ones ensnared by a carceral system while wondering if he too will be harmed or even destroyed by it. Not surprising given the gravity of its contents, only a few vocal guests get to enter his inner sanctum this time around. Lil Yachty and Lil Baby trade knowing verses with their peer on the unfiltered “**** Fame”, while Rylo Rodriguez shares some experiences worth processing on the frank advice session “Jersey Numbers”. Thankfully, a hopeful streak emerges now and then to counter the anxious gloom, evidenced by the heartfelt declarations of “25” and the powerful positive thinking behind the gospel-tinged “The Best”. No passive figure in his own story, he strikes back against hater mentalities on “Apply Pressure” and jet-sets defensively on “Passport Junkie”.(From Apple Music) 无论Rod Wave看起来多么努力，他似乎都无法摆脱悲伤。作为名副其实的痛苦说唱之王，这位佛罗里达州圣彼得堡的艺术家经常发誓放弃定义其专辑的情感深度，只是一次又一次地回到这个主题，创作出在艰难时期诞生并陷入苦难的杰作。因此，他的粉丝们继续期待的TrapSoul混合体，也许他在第六张录音室专辑《Last Lap》中的需求依然存在。一个恰当的例子是：它的标题所暗示的结局与主打歌的结尾副歌背道而驰，他无法放手与其说是一种选择，不如说是一个召唤。 从一开始，Rod就表明他仍在与恶魔搏斗。开幕式上的《Turtle Race》哀悼失败者，同时为新的困境而烦恼，其中最重要的是与执法部门的不祥互动。《Federal Nightmares》进一步推动了这一叙事，因为他看着亲人被一个联邦法治系统困住，同时想知道他是否也会受到伤害甚至被摧毁。 考虑到其内容的重要性，这次只有少数嘉宾参与了专辑的制作featuring，这并不奇怪。Lil Yachty和Lil Baby在未经过滤的“**** Fame”上与同龄人各自展示了一些耐人寻味的Verse，而Rylo Rodriguez在“Jersey Numbers”上分享了一些宝贵的生活经验。值得庆幸的是，偶尔会出现一种充满希望的趋势来对抗焦虑的阴霾，这可以从“25”的衷心宣言和福音色彩的“The Best”背后强大的积极思想中得到证明。在他自己的故事中，他并不是一个被动的人物，他在《Apply Pressure》中回击了仇恨者的心态，并在《Passport Junkie》中进行了回应。