'He's a highlight reel': Rapper Rod Wave signs Arkansas' Abdou Toure to his new agency

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  Kalan HooksOct 28, 2026, 12:00 PM ET

Rap superstar Rod Wave is taking his sports agency to the next level.

Sources exclusively told ESPN that Arkansas true freshman Abdou Toure has signed with Rod Wave's Mainstay Sports Agency. The official announcement was made Wednesday.

According to the rapper, whose real name is Rodarius Macell Green, he learned about Toure from his team at Mainstay Sports, which led him to look into the guard's high school highlights. Green was impressed by what he saw and immediately reached out.

"I believe he's a superstar talent, and a superstar person," Green told ESPN in a statement. "I love his family, and he trusts and believes in me the same as I believe in him. I take that seriously, it's an honor."

Toure was a standout forward at Notre Dame High School in his hometown of West Haven, Connecticut. He checked out of the SCNext 100 class of 2026 rankings at No. 16 and was the No. 6-ranked small forward.

Toure says he connected with the rapper through his high school AAU program BABC (MA), where he averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in his last summer season, and that it was a no-brainer to team up with the "Great Gatsby" rapper.

"He was honest from Day 1 with me," Toure said. "He also understood the family and trust part, which is extremely important to me and wanting to grow and learn things from each other."

For Rod Wave, he says he sees a lot of himself in Toure.

"He leads by example, he's not loud about it," Wave said, "It reminds me of myself, I never wanted to be the loudest, I wanted my results to speak for me. I believe that we have that in common.

"On the court he's a dog, though. He always seems to let the game come to him, but he knows when it's time to make the big play and he's not scared to. He's a highlight reel."

Toure committed to Arkansas in October 2025. He says head coach John Calipari's history drew him to Fayetteville.

Arkansas will open its regular season against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).