Rod Wave hit with $27 million lawsuit from touring company
Rod Wave is facing a hefty lawsuit from a concert promoter. The rapper from St. Petersburg, Florida, has been accused of breaching a tour deal, resulting in him being sued for $27 million.
Grizzly Touring has alleged that Rod kept tens of millions of dollars despite not meeting the minimum requirement of concerts.
The company claims it gave the artist $57 million towards production, insurance, and other expenses. However, Rod allegedly only performed 26 of the 35 planned shows, with Grizzly claiming he spent the money on aircraft and properties.
In documents obtained by AllHipHop, lawyer Pravin Patel said, “[Rod Wave] refuses to pay Grizzly a single penny of the more than $27 million he owes, and was required to pay in the first instance, and has instead chosen to spend his advance on private jets and lavish second homes.”
An alleged agreement in February 2024 guaranteed Rod Wave $40.25 million. Grizzly says Rod refused to return $29.9 million from the shows he didn’t perform after withdrawing from the dates.
The Last Lap Tour began in October 2024 in support of his sixth studio album, Last Lap, which was released that same month and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart.
Grizzly claims delays were caused by production issues, which were Rod’s responsibility. The company alleges it tried to reschedule the shows while still paying for venues and crew members.
Rod then allegedly announced plans to promote his concerts through a separate company, which is a violation of the exclusivity clause in his contract.
Patel added, “[Rod Wave] has made unfortunate statements about Grizzly, falsely claiming that some of the Shows during the Last Lap tour were cancelled or rescheduled as a result of poor scheduling and routing by Grizzly, which is simply not true.”
Rod has over six million monthly Spotify listeners and eight million Instagram followers. He has three number one albums, including SoulFly, Beautiful Mind, and Nostalgia.