On May 31, 2019, Rod Wave released the album's lead single, "Heart on Ice" which would first appear on his fourth commercial mixtape, PTSD. However, following its release, the song began to go viral on social media resulting in it appearing on Ghetto Gospel.[3] The album's second single, "Cuban Links" featuring Kevin Gates was released on October 11, 2019.[4] The album's third and final single, "Close Enough to Hurt" was released on October 23, 2019, just a week prior to the release of the album.[5] Alongside the release of the single, Rod Wave announced the album while also reporting that Kevin Gates would act as an executive producer.[6]
Ghetto Gospel was met with generally positive reviews. At Album of the Year, the album received an average score of 68 out of 100, based on two reviews.[9]
Writing for HipHopDX, Kenan Draughorne described the album as a "summation of all his pain, packaged together" highlighting "his vocal performances [that] shine throughout the album". However, Draughorne wrote that he sensed an "overall lack of ambition" on the project and noted that the trap beats are "bland". Concluding his review, he wrote that his "artistic potential" is "sky-high", though the album in its entirety is a "missed opportunity".[7]Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre describes the album's sound as "bloodletting over somber pianos and country guitars". He notes that Rod is at the "forefront" of "pain music".[8]
