Tag: Isaiah Rashad

Isaiah Rashad – “It’s Been Awful” review

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 guests compared to The House is Burning to break down the Hell he’s gone through.

Score: 4/5

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Isaiah Rashad – “The House’s Burning” review

Isaiah Rashad is a 30 year old rapper from Chattanooga, Tennessee emerging in 2013 by signing to Top Dawg Entertainment & dropping his 2nd EP cilvia demo to universal acclaim the following year. Then came the full-length debut The Sun’s Tirade in 2016, which received as much praise. But after 4 years in the making, TDE is finally letting Zaywop put out a follow-up with the help of Warner Records.

“Darkseid” starts things out with a melancholic ballad produced by Beat Butcha about how toddlers got Purple Hearts whereas “From the Garden” with Lil Uzi Vert is an energetic trap banger about them comin’ out bustin’ referencing former 3-time WWE world champion, 5-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion, 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion, 3-time TNA World Champion, ΩCW Heavyweight Champion, 9-time WWE Tag Team Champion, ROH World Tag Team Champion, HOG Tag Team Champion, 2-time ΩCW Tag Team Champion, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion & The Crash Mundial Parejas Campeon Jeff Hardy. “RIP Young” beautifully samples “Cheese & Dope” by Project Pat addressing his fame & although I love the vibe of “Lay Wit Ya” (especially the “Ridin’ n’ tha Chevy” sample), the Duke Deuce verse is fucking garbage.

Meanwhile on “Claymore”, we have Zaywop & Smino coming together for a tropical tune asking their lovers if they runnin’ or exercisin’ just before “Headshots (4r da Locals)” serving as an equally excellent sequel to “4r da Squaw”. He & Amindi jump on top of a boom bap instrumental on “All Herb” saying they all hurtin’ & you can’t seem them like 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena leading into the luscious “Hey Mista”, which is a nice lil off-the-top freestyle.

Jay Rock & Jay Worthy come into the picture to talk about smokin’ on the fumes yesterday with the slick banger “True Story” whereas “Wat U Sed” with Doechii is an atmospheric tribute to “Bunny Hop”. Zay details someone who says he ain’t got nothing to lose on the psychedelic “Don’t Shoot” while YGTUT-assisted “Chad” calls out “cats foldin’ like huns” & I really dig the guitar playing behind the snares.

“9-3” works in some keyboards & hi-hats to get a bit repetitive in terms of the lyricism, but then SZA & 6LACK come in for the Kenny Beats-produced slowjam “Score” without sounding forced or corny as fuck. The title track is a pillowy look at Zaywop’s struggles with addiction & the closer “HB2U” goes into a jazzier direction saying he did this all for his baby.

I didn’t think this day would ever come, but it goes without saying that The House is Burning is the best project that we’ve seen come out of the TDE camp since CTRL. It serves as a fantastic tribute to the dirty south in terms of the overall sound to the blatant references throughout the lyrics. I really hope we don’t have to wait another 5 years for this dude to drop.

Score: 4/5