You Have To Listen To This: Isaiah Rashad

Signing to a famous rapper's label might seem like a big break to those outside of the industry, but sometimes, this career path can impede an artist’s career more than it can help. Take a look at Young Money’s roster, for example—besides Lil Wayne, Drake and Nicki Minaj, there’s a horde of rappers that you’ve never heard of who can brag about being signed to Birdman but may never see a dollar from it. It goes beyond financial implications too—Omen, for example, who is signed to J. Cole’s Dreamville Records, dropped a track called “Big Shadows” that expresses his frustrations being the small guy signed to the big guy.

Despite these potential drawbacks, it’s fair to say that Isaiah Rashad has taken advantage of being signed to Kendrick Lamar’s TDE (Top Dawg Entertainment) label. In January 2014, he dropped Cilvia Demo, which despite the name, sounded nothing like a demo. It was polished, cohesive and one of the best rap projects released that year. Standout rap–oriented tracks like “Shot You Down” and “Soliloquy” showed that he could bring the heat lyrically, while tracks like “R.I.P. Kevin Miller” showed a tougher, Southern side, contrasting beautifully with the more melodic tracks like “West Savannah.”

There was a two–and–a–half–year lapse in releases from Isaiah, leaving many to assume that label issues were holding him back—typical hip–hop business. However, as the intro to his 2016 album The Sun’s Tirade explains via a voicemail from label co–president Dave Free, it was Isaiah keeping himself from releasing another project. 

“The fact that I still don’t have your goddamn album,” Dave groans. “Everybody was bumping your last shit, you don’t want to get your next shit out? You don’t care?”

Fans were up in arms and not getting answers. As it turns out, it wasn’t that Isaiah didn’t care—he was secretly battling alcoholism and a severe addiction to Xanax, the former so intense that he destroyed his stomach lining, as he disclosed in an interview he gave around the album’s release. The pain of that period can be heard all over The Sun’s Tirade—the album’s climax, with tracks like the SZA collaboration “Stuck in the Mud” or the Mike Will Made It–produced “A Lot,” features a dark, monotone delivery and lyrics like “pop a xanny, make your problems go away.” While Isaiah addressed tough topics like issues with his father and suicidal thoughts on Cilvia Demo, especially on tracks like “Heavenly Father,” he took personal topics to another level on the follow–up.

At the same time, he didn’t let us forget that he can rap. He held his own with Kendrick himself on “Wat’s Wrong,” their first collaboration on a track. On “Park,” he sounds as dominant on the mic as ever, and while his delivery isn’t overly aggressive, the confidence in his voice and words makes you believe his boasts without any second thought. “Find a Topic (Homies Begged)” has him weaving together his more melodic tendencies with dense lyricism, covering the topic of not having a topic to rap about. At the end of the track (which is also the end of the album), he barely audibly mumbles about being in a padded room. While the padded room he’s literally referring to is the studio booth, it also functions as the solitary confinement room in a prison—forcing him to talk with himself, and with us, about issues he may not have initially felt comfortable telling us. But even though it took him some time, we’re all glad he finally found a topic.

Photo: The Come Up Show / Flickr