Rod Wave lawsuit

Photo Credit: Rod Wave for Spotify

Rapper and singer Rod Wave allegedly owes more than $27 million in funds from his unfinished tour, according to a lawsuit filed by Grizzly Touring.

Rod Wave faces a lawsuit accusing the rapper and singer of owing over $27 million to Grizzly Touring, a promoter of “large-scale events for hip-hop and other musical artists.” Grizzly Touring’s legal team asserts that the $27 million accounts for “unearned and unrecouped advances” made to Rod and his company, Hit House Entertainment.

What makes this filing unusual is its inclusion of extensive paperwork related to Rod Wave’s tour agreements, including a North American tour offer he signed in February 2023. Grizzly says it agreed to guarantee Rod a cool $40,250,000 for 35 shows—half of which was paid upfront. Grizzly alleges that additional funds were later advanced, and Rod ultimately failed to “honor his obligations” under an amended tour deal.

“[Rod Wave] has only performed 26 shows since the Last Lap tour began in October 2024,” Grizzly’s lawyers write. “That means [Rod] has only earned $29,900,000 against the guarantee, pursuant to its terms, and, as a result, now owes $27 million for the amounts Grizzly advanced and paid on [his] behalf.”

The lawsuit further claims that Rod “refuses to pay Grizzly a single penny,” adding that he “has instead chosen to spend his advance on private jets and lavish second homes.”

Grizzly’s receipts also include cancelled shows, which contradict Rod’s claims that dates were rescheduled or called off entirely due to “poor scheduling and routing” on the part of the promoter. Grizzly argues that production issues, over which they have no control, were to blame.

Further, Rod’s announcement of an entirely new tour through his own company marks a “direct violation” of the exclusivity obligations agreed upon in their amended tour deal with the artist. Grizzly says the move adds “insult to injury.”

In a recent conversation with Billboard, Rod discussed the launch of his Mainstay Touring company, claiming that his most recent tour “had to get taken down because of the routing.” He says this was the last straw that led to him aiming to be “more hands-on” with his touring going forward.