Isaiah Rashad fans have been waiting for over two and a half years for the TDE rapper to release the follow up the Cilvia Demo, and he's finally going to do it this Friday. Until about a month ago, he had released only two songs in that span. In a revelatory new interview with Peter Rosenberg and Cipha Sounds, he explained why: he was addicted to Xanax and alcohol.
Rashad's addiction began on the Oxymoron tour, which started in March 2014, one month after he released Cilvia Demo. He didn't have anyone monitoring his recreational time, and he took up Xanax and alcohol. He tore his stomach lining. "I fucked up," he said. "I almost got dropped three times."
It took a while for the TDE brass to notice Rashad's behavior; when CEO Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith found out, he forbade him from releasing any music until he got his act together, which he eventually, gradually did. He no longer pops Xanax and he rarely drinks. "I was in real bad place up until about six months ago," he said.
Rashad explained the mindset that helped him overcome his addiction: "I just know I got a bigger goal to do. I got example of the outcome of that shit is. I just don't want to be one of those niggas. Especially when you coming from Chattanooga, when you coming from a small ass city, when you not doing some shit, I could feel my clout going away and I like my clout. I could feel my little power of words going away. Not putting out no music, niggas wonder what the fuck you doing. You either making the biggest shit ever or you fucking off. So everybody either knows or giving me the benefit of the doubt."
Listen to the full interview below.