Isaiah Rashad has been making waves since his inception as a member of Top Dawg Entertainment, where he raps among the label's impressive roster, including recent classics like Kendrick Lamar. Isaiah finds that, “When I got signed to Top Dawg, I feel like I had something to live up to…I feel like I got an opportunity to open a lane for myself where that shit’s crazy.”
It's true, TDE is likely to be a breeding ground for eventual game changers down the line. And if Clivia Demo was any indicator, it looks like Rashad has the talent to live up to the hype and to minimize the risk of being overshadowed by some of his mega-star cohorts. When talking to Sidewalk Hustle, the rapper details why he thinks his new projects differ from his past efforts.
“I think it’s more just a growth from my previous stuff,” Isaiah says. “[The only thing] I got is opportunity to put anything of mine before to the side by itself to be examined as a piece. It was just more they was just like—you could say it was just doodles…I don’t think you could really even measure it up. It’s more just like the development of it versus a comparison.”
He then continues to define his sound, saying, “Three words I would [use to] describe my sound would be original,” he said. “It’d be misconstrued. I think people—I think from the reactions that people give me they kinda understand it, but they don’t get it all the way…Sometimes when half of it is feeling like getting people on the boat to like my shit and then the other half is more of seeing [if] people can figure it out. You know what I’m saying? I like to know that my listeners are on the same level as me. So, I like seeing that type of shit.”
As the interview came to a close, Isaiah was asked to choose between Biggie and Tupac. Isaiah opted to answer with Jay-Z instead, pointedly leaving out the other two much-adored artists.
Check out the full interview below.
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