Rude awakening for Roddy Ricch Monday morning -- he's now the butt of Internet jokes after seemingly forgetting the words to his MASSIVE hit "The Box," but it was really a huge technical error to blame ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned.
Roddy was hired as a secret performer for the Stoned Ape Crew NFT group's showcase Saturday night in L.A., and the crowd thought he flamed out during the first verse of his Diamond-certified hit.
You can see him sheepishly pointing to his earpiece while signaling to the DJ booth before jumping back on the beat later in the verse.
Roddy's label reps tell us the Compton-bred rapper powered through "major" audio issues during his set -- his earpiece wasn't connecting with the track, leaving him to take his cues from the sound blaring from the speakers.
When you know that, it's actually impressive how quickly he snapped back into action.
Released in December 2019 just as the COVID-19 pandemic was setting in, it would be kinda crazy to forget the lyrics to such a well-traveled song as "The Box."
After spending 11 straight weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, it was eventually given Diamond honors by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for going 10x Platinum.
Roddy has plenty of festival appearances coming up this year -- Governors Ball, Hot 97, UK's Wireless to name a few -- so, it's definitely time to sharpen that stage setup.
Safe to assume, we think, all 'Box' performances will be flawless going forward.