It's been 29 months since Isaiah Rashad dropped Cilvia Demo. The celebrated 14-track EP showcased Rashad's capacity for both the cerebral and emotional and left fans eager to hear more.
Instead, they have suffered through a veritable drought. Other than Rashad's 2014 tour with ScHoolboy Q, the Chattanooga rapper has kept a decidedly low profile as he's prepared his debut album.
In the words of Ab-Soul, the bench is getting warm as fuck. Read on to see what Rashad's been up to since Cilvia Demo.
Scored a spot on the XXL Freshman cover
XXL rewarded Rashad for Cilvia Demo with a spot in their 2014 Freshman class. Given his lack of output, Rashad is not the biggest star to emerge from the '14 class. But at least he's doing better than his fellow cover star Troy Ave.
Watch Rashad's Freshman freestyles below.
Got ScHooled over his lackluster car collection
One of ScHoolboy Q's signature Snapchat moments occurred last September, when, sitting in his parked McLaren, he turned the camera on Isaiah Rashad as Rashad walked away from what appeared to be a Scion hatchback. "That your car, bro?" ScHoolboy asked.
Rashad smiled sheepishly and replied, "That's one of 'em." He left the scene and ScHoolboy kept the camera zoomed in on his hatchback. "You gotta drop another album mane, get you a little Benz or something."
Rashad wasn't lying. He has other cars. He named Cilvia Demo after his '94 Honda Civic "Cilvia." He rapped about the car in "Gusto": "I just ride around in my Bentley, it's a Civic." He gave MySpace a tour of his signature whip during a 2013 video profile. "This is my baby," he said. "This the homie... I got my girlfriend pregnant in this car."
Released two songs
Rashad has not exactly overwhelmed fans with new music since Cilvia Demo came out 29 months ago. He's made guest appearances on several songs and released two songs of his own. Below is his complete output of music since January 2014.
2014
Tut - “Sunday Service” feat. Isaiah Rashad
SZA - “Warm Winds” feat. Isaiah Rashad
Kembe X - “Caged Bird (Jager)” feat. Isaiah Rashad
Benny Cassette - “Virgo Season” feat. Isaiah Rashad
Audio Push - “Jumpin'” feat. Isaiah Rashad
2015
King Los - “Black Blood”
Jay Rock - “Wanna Ride”
Isaiah Rashad - "Nelly"
2016
Isaiah Rashad - "Smile"
Made an album
Isaiah Rashad's debut album was originally supposed to drop in 2014 -- then in 2015 -- and now it's 2016. Rashad fans have once again promised that album will drop this year, though given TDE's crowded release schedule (ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and SZA also have albums due out this year), there's no saying when.
Rashad's album was finished as of September 2015. It was in the mixing stage as of three weeks ago. The process has been excruciating for Rashad fans, and no doubt for Rashad himself. The process is damned. The process is cursed. But, in the case of Rashad, the process must be trusted, for it leads to the promised land.
