From a hobby to a full-time career, Darren Waller traded cleats for chords and never looked back. He’s no longer catching passes — he’s catching melodies, flipping pain into performance, and making noise in an entirely new arena. After his retirement in 2024 from the Giants, Waller has been busy. He turned quite a few heads with his diss track after going through a divorce last year. The target? — his ex and WNBA star Kelsey Plum. Waller seems to have found his new calling. Once suspended, written off, and nearly out of the league, Waller’s now running routes through R&B and airing out heartbreak.
Waller announced the drop of his new song via an X post on May 15. The caption read, “Streets Get Cold Music Video premieres tonight 9pm PT / 12am ET.“ It features both Darren Waller and J-Rod. The visuals of the music video match the energy of the track itself, with both the ex-player and the artist draped in full street fashion. The duo also dropped a reel on Instagram promoting the release of their new track. It’s captioned as “Streets Get Cold with my brother @jrodpionears OUT NOW .”
The piano-tinged Streets Get Cold is produced by PALE1080, a French music producer known for his melodic, emotion-driven beats. The music video, directed by ARod2Up, is now streaming across platforms. The duo has high hopes for the song. And it should not be a difficulty. After all, Waller commands 60.9K subscribers. But the video has only gathered 100 views in the first 10 hours. Still, the buzz is building, thanks to the personal undertones and Waller’s newfound musical chemistry.
His pairing with the young artist J-rod seems to be quite the spark. “That’s one benefit of working with JRod. He’s also an R&B artist, that’s his realm,” Waller said. “So that’s invited me more into taking risks in that type of environment, that type of vibe and kinda just the way my life has headed, I’ve had experiences to where it’s kind of forced me to open my heart up. I have like experiences of love and R&B type of topics to talk about now ‘cause I’ve kind of lived through things. So it’s a natural process of yeah, I’ve gotten to that point in my life where I’m able to talk about these things and I have somebody that I’m with that kinda challenges me to kinda go in that direction.”
Streets Get Cold is all about the emotional push and pull after a romance fizzles out. The lyrics go something like this: “Ain’t no one to hold without you.” Is this a hint at a long-lost love? A year ago, Waller released the single Who Knew (Her Perspective); maybe fans tend to believe that it is a sequel.
Did Darren Waller Catch a Fictional Knife in the Back… in Love?
Waller’s only talent isn’t stacking touchdowns on Sundays. Turns out, he’s just as effective turning heartbreak into a hook. His single Who Knew (Her Perspective) wasn’t just a track — it was a full-on emotional playbook. Fans watched the former Pro Bowl tight end swap shoulder pads for studio time. He poured raw vulnerability into lyrics after a very public breakup. The timing? No accident. Waller and WNBA star Kelsey Plum called it quits just a year into their marriage.
Plum had written, “now I see it’s time to go” and promised to “share my story” eventually. But Waller got to the mic first. The video for Who Knew is basically a cinematic breakup diary. An actress plays Plum, reenacting real-life moments from their marriage, from sweet bowling dates to full-blown arguments. The final scene? A beach, a hug, and a literal knife in the back. Yeah — fake Plum stabs fake Waller. He drops face down in the sand.
Waller has tried to play it cool, insisting the video wasn’t a diss track. In his words, it was about “reflecting on his own struggles with intimacy and how they affected his relationships.” But fans are not buying this theory. When the on-screen ex stabs you and you fake-die dramatically, fans will raise eyebrows. The symbolism was loud, and the internet heard it. That final hug-turned-betrayal felt like something straight out of a soap opera.
To most fans, the split wasn’t a plot twist. Waller and Plum had tied the knot in Vegas. Add in his long history of setbacks — injuries, substance ab——e, and a 2016 suspension, it was clear. Waller had already lived through a few emotional fourth quarters. This time, instead of running routes, he’s laying down tracks. And heartbreak might be his best muse yet.
The post Darren Waller Turns Heads With New Music Release After Diss Track on Ex Kelsey Plum Went Viral appeared first on EssentiallySports.
