“Meal ticket, meal ticket, comma.” Some of the sweetest words that penetrate the ears of those in the struggle, and to Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) rapper Isaiah Rashad those words were like music to his ears. He took things like commas and meal tickets, turned them into hooks and ran with them. Isaiah was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and was influenced by rap early. As a kid, he was put on with artists such as Too $hort and Scarface. For a short time, Isaiah aspired to be a preacher, until his step-brother gave him a copy of Outkast’s ATLiens, which fueled his rap dreams. Isaiah began to take rap seriously while he was in 10th grade. He began recording with his friends off laptops. When he went on to college at Middle Tennessee State University, he began recording in several studios, moving from studio to studio when they weren’t accessible anymore.

     After constant recording and building up a name for himself, Rashad caught his first break in the summer of 2012 when he joined Juicy J, Joey Bada$$, & Smoke Dza on the 2012 Smoker’s Club Tour. During the latter half of the year Rashad received attention from labels after he released several singles on Soundcloud. This attention allowed him to connect with producers MF Doom and Flying Lotus. Rashad caught attention from Top Dawg Entertainment in 2013, who then signed him that March. During October of 2013, Isaiah made his debut with TDE during a cypher for the BET Awards, rapping alongside Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock. 2014 served as a big year for Rashad. He released his Cilvia Demo EP weeks after the new year, and was voted into the 2014 XXL Freshman class, alongside Chicago rappers Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa, Lil Bibby, and Lil Durk.

Rashad has made noise since, and his recently released debut LP The Sun’s Tirade is helping him work towards being a household name. His smooth flows and effortless soliloquies over vintage-esque beats with a taste of Outkast, Cadillac on 24’s, smooth southern/west coast modernized sound take up most of the 17 song LP. With features from artists like Kendrick and SZA, Rashad was able to solidify that smooth sound that’s heard in songs like Free Lunch, Silkk Da Shocka, and Park among others. Isaiah is probably too busy counting more commas than he is meal tickets, but he’s still flowing nevertheless while doing so. I asked some Whitney Young students about how they feel about Isaiah Rashad, and I got some mixed responses. Senior Adanna Byrd asked “Who’s Isaiah Rashad?” Senior Justin Stovall said “I’ve heard of him. Never really listened to him though.” Senior Ellis Bobbitt said, “Yeah, I’ve heard some of his stuff. He’s actually decent.” If this is your first time hearing of Isaiah, or you’ve heard of him and just never listened, then you should become a fan now. Either way it goes, just know Isaiah Rashad is on the come up.

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