Chattanooga, Tennessee emcee & singer/songwriter Isaiah Rashad finally back for his 3rd studio LP. Coming up over a decade ago by signing to Top Dawg Entertainment & dropping his 2nd EP cilvia demo to universal acclaim the following year, the full-length debut The Sun’s Tirade as well as the sophomore effort albeit major label debut The House is Burning under Warner Records would continue to cement Zaywop was the most underrated weapon in the TDE arsenal. It’s Been Awful however could wake some people up since many would use that name to describe the past year & a half.
“The New Sublime” begins with this slow beat talking about wanting someone to pray for him & his family because of everyone going crazy whereas “M.O.M. (Man On a Mission)” rhythmically describes himself as the type who’s determined to get what he wants. “Same Sh!t” made for a tolerable trap single talking about the plan being to make money until he dies leading into “Boy in Red” featuring SZA coming through with this synergistically buttery R&B duet.
As for “Supaficial”, we have Zay further embracing a smoother vibe instrumentally asking if he & his lover can lay outside due to his dislike of lights in the ceiling while “Scared 2 Look Down” combines elements of cloud rap & trap to talk about him changing for the greater good. “Happy Hour” doesn’t shy away regarding him giving up on love from his side of things & sippin’ lean slowly just before “Do I Look High?” reaches the halfway point talks about dancing with the dark to fall in love with what he really is.
“Ain’t Givin’ Up” kicks off the 2nd leg of It’s Been Awful discussing his refusal of killing this high he’s experiencing while “G.T.K.Y. (Get To Know You)” produced by Wu10 talks about a desire of wanting a better understanding of his romantic interest from a personal standpoint. “Cameras” featuring Dominic Fike finds the pair pleading for their partners to pull up for a bit while “Act Normal” ponders what love is when he doesn’t trust men or women.
Rounding out 3rd, the song “10 States Away” talks about getting fucked up during the middle of the day & planning his escape route while “Nuthin’ 2 Hide” admits to an individual killing his love through lying & pushing his limits in the evening without having a single thing to hide. “Superpowers” blends jazz rap & trap so he can talk about having extraordinary abilities of his own while the “719” freestyle samples “It Doesn’t Make Sense” by The Family Circle to speak of running back to his bitch.
It’s a shame that some closed-minded bigots will overlook Isaiah Rashad for the rest of his career all because of some asshole outing him as bisexual because he gets a lot of confessions & contemplations off his chest over the course of It’s Been Awful, possibly becoming the darkest material in his entire discography. The production in general feels like a different sound for him balancing conscious hip hop & contemporary R&B, limiting the amount of guest compared to The House is Burning to break down the Hell he’s gone through.
Score: 4/5
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