At long last, the time has come. Isaiah Rashad is dropping his brand new album, his first since The Sun's Tirade released in 2016. Though it has certainly been a wild ride, with some fans genuinely wondering as to whether the project would ever see the light of day, it would appear that a rollout is officially underway. Possibly as soon as tomorrow, in fact, as Rashad is rumored to be delivering the lead single of the upcoming album The House Is Burning.
In tandem with the big kick-off, which was originally teased by Rashad's label TDE at the beginning of May, The FADER covered Rashad with an extensive and informative profile penned by Jeff Weiss. Confirming that the album is currently scheduled for a June release, Weiss notes a potential thematic throughline, citing several of Rashad's musings on mortality. A telling section arrives when Weiss asks Rashad if he thinks often about death, to which the rapper replies: I used to, but not so much anymore. I’m kinda okay with it, as long as it don’t hurt.”
Paras Griffin/BET/Getty Images
Musically, Weiss notes that the project evokes similarities to Dilla's work, revealing that the album's opening track is titled "Darkseid." It's also confirmed that Kenny Beats, who Rashad fondly credits as his "rap coach," is contributing two beats to the project. As the piece reveals, Rashad compiled the final tracklist from a vault of sixty tracks, noting that many of his personal favorites were ultimately cut from the "up-tempo" project.
Given the scope of the cover story, there's certainly much to unpack throughout -- in fact, it's a truly compelling and brilliantly penned read, one worth checking in full for any fan of hip-hop journalism. Do so right here via The FADER, and be sure to keep a watchful eye to see if Rashad's heavily-rumored new single indeed drops tonight at midnight.