St. Petersburg rapper Rod Wave arrested, faces battery charge
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St. Petersburg rapper Rod Wave has been arrested and faces a charge of battery by strangulation, according to booking records from the Pinellas County Jail.
The rap star, whose real name is Rodarius Marcell Green, was arrested on a warrant originating out of Osceola County, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Amanda Sinni told the Tampa Bay Times.
According to his arrest affidavit from the St. Petersburg Police Department, Green was taken into custody during a traffic stop at 5119 Venetian Boulevard NE on Sunday night. He was riding in the passenger seat of the vehicle, a 2021 Grey Dodge Durango which he owned, and was identified by his driver’s license photo.
Green was booked into the Pinellas County Jail just after midnight Monday, jail records show. No further details were immediately available.
Green grew up on 13th Street S in the Cromwell Heights neighborhood. The local musician began developing his career in high school, after a video of him singing in a Lakewood High School hallway gained a following on Facebook. His first performance was at a strip club in Clearwater called the Menage Lounge.
Green signed with startup label Alamo Records in 2018. His career really took off in 2020, after his song Heart on Ice caught fire on TikTok and broke the Billboard Hot 100.
In an email to the Times, Alamo Records, which was acquired by Sony Music Entertainment last year, declined to comment on Green’s arrest.
Recently, the rap star gave away $25,000 in gas to local drivers — drawing long lines and a large crowd at a St. Petersburg station April 9.
Green had another high-profile arrest in 2020 in Atlanta. After he narrowly avoided injury when a stage collapsed during a performance in the city, Green punched a promoter, police said in his arrest affidavit. He faced a battery charge in the altercation, court records show.
This is a developing story. Stay with tampabay.com for updates.
Times staff writer Christopher Spata contributed to this story.
