It’s been radio silence for Top Dawg Entertainment’s Isaiah Rashad in the five years since his debut studio album “The Sun’s Tirade.” Outside of semi-regular Instagram live broadcasts and tweets, and one single, “Why Worry,” during TDE’s Fan Appreciation Week, fans hadn’t gotten much from Rashad. And then, almost exactly five years after “The Sun’s Tirade,” Rashad dropped his sophomore studio album, “The House is Burning.”
“The House is Burning” is Isaiah Rashad at his purest. But in order to fully commit to the album, it’s critical to look back at Rashad’s incredible and unique path from bottom to top.
At just 19 years old, Rashad attempted to take his own life. Then, while recording “The Sun’s Tirade,” Rashad revealed that he had been struggling with depression and addictions to Xanax and alcohol. TDE nearly dropped Rashad from the label a grand total of three times. Rashad was almost arrested for being drunk on a flight. At one point, he spent all of his money to support his family, including his children. At another point, Rashad had to detox for 30 days following his 2016 release.
It’s no doubt been a tumultuous journey for the now-30-year-old Rashad. But against all odds, the Chattanooga, Tennessee native fought his way from the brink of his own destruction to deliver “The House is Burning.”
The album’s intro track, “Darkseid,” pulls listeners in immediately with a hypnotic melody. Rashad opens by prompting his listeners with a simple but effective question, “what am I supposed to do outside but get rich?” It’s reflective of Rashad questioning his own place in the world, perhaps in 2016. The title of the track is a reference to notorious DC Comics villain Darkseid, the archnemesis of Mister Miracle, whom Rashad compares himself to.
“He was tortured his whole life, and he learned from being tortured,” Rashad said to The Fader’s Jeff Weiss. “[Mister Miracle] kept on trying to escape from hell and did it so much that it became a superpower of its own. Man, you got to read it to understand.”
Interestingly enough, Rashad stated that comics were his form of escape, and were his replacement to the thrills he sought while coping with addiction.
The project’s second track, “From the Garden,” is one of four singles dropped prior to release, and it’s where Rashad takes an energetic three-song step forward. It’s during this stretch where we see Rashad indulge a little, having fun and seeking thrills but scattering enough references throughout to sober his listeners up and remind him of the ultimate journey, as seen in the lyric “Mister magic, Billy Batson, mister magic, Billy Batson,” another DC Comics reference, this time to “Shazam!” The track is catchy and a great party song, though it does get a bit repetitive with its chorus and Lil Uzi Vert’s intriguing, but relatively forgettable feature.
“RIP Young” follows the energetic tone set in the previous track and may just be the best song on the project. The song fantastically samples Project Pat’s “Cheese and Dope” and is about exactly that: Rashad flexes his musical muscles and his rejuvenated lifestyle while reminding listeners that “I’m a Top Dawg.”
“Lay Wit Ya” is the famous lead single of the album and is a genuine head banger and party anthem complete with Rashad staying true to his Tennessee roots by featuring Memphis-native Duke Deuce, who pops off with a solid verse of his own. Deuce isn’t the only Tennessean on the project, as he once again collaborates with YGTUT on “Chad,” a hard track that boasts an even harder interpolation of the late Pimp C’s verse from the classic “Big Pimpin’” in its chorus.
The other collaborations on the album all offer unique, but strong, additions to the project, from SZA and 6LACK’s vibe-worthy “Score” produced by the one and only Kenny Beats, which features the artists talking about what they would do for their one and only, to Amindi’s dreamy contribution on “All Herb.” Smino delivers on his feature on “Claymore” and both Jay Rock and Jay Worthy are outstanding on the rap-heavy “True Story.”
Outside of these, Rashad delivers on the rest of his album. “Wat U Sed” with Iamdoechii and Kal Banx is Rashad having pure fun, and alongside fellow single “Headshots (4r Da Locals),” leaves lasting impressions. The remaining three tracks “Hey Mista,” “Don’t Shoot” and “9-3 Freestyle” are also outstanding, though they make less of an impression than the rest.
But where “The House is Burning” really defines itself is on the two-song stretch that concludes the project.
The title track, and the second-to-last song on the album, “THIB,” may also be its most underrated. Set to a “Cell Therapy” interpolation/sample, one of many in the industry, the track sees Rashad be as transparent as ever about his battle with substance abuse: “Intriguin’, sound checking, perfect/Soul searchin’, no purpose, purchase/Been an addict, been starvin’, thirsty…”
“HB2U” is the album’s concluding piece and it strongly delivers. The track sees Rashad going from questioning his place in society in the opening (resembling past times in his life) to accepting who he is, his journey, where he stands today and the vast unknown of the future. It’s a beautiful track, one that does its best to evoke the strongest emotions out of its listeners. It’s Isaiah at his most reflective: “If you don’t ever get yourself straight, who the fuck is you gonna help mane?”
Isaiah Rashad, through all the pain and suffering he’s been through, is a reminder that depression and anxiety have crippling effects. Rashad’s journey is poetic, and his sophomore album “The House is Burning” is an outstanding and unique addition to Rashad’s discography that offers a sobering perspective on the importance of mental health and loving yourself.
