When you think of Top Dawg Entertainment, some huge names come to mind. Kendrick Lamar was a staple of the label until he left in February 2022, SZA has been blowing up and just recently earned three Grammys. Older rap fans would be keen to include talents like Ab-Soul, ScHoolboy Q, or Jay Rock on the list.
However, the TDE member I want to celebrate today is Isaiah Rashad. He is, in my opinion, not only the most underrated rapper in TDE but perhaps one of the most underrated musicians out there. His sound can be ethereal or grounding, but more often than not he uses a fusion of rapping and neo-soul elements that provide a calming feeling. His lyrics do cover heavy topics, and his music at times gets exciting, but in a word, I’d have to describe Rashad as chill.
Rashad just recently wrapped up a two-week, eight-show tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his debut album, “Cilvia Demo,” which came out January 28th, 2014. Even though Rashad has dropped only two other projects since then, he’s a name you should know, and he’s been a mainstay of the genre since his breakout over a decade ago. But before I ramble on and on about how amazing Isaiah Rashad’s career has been, I need to start from the very beginning.
The album starts with “Hereditary,” which is a soft song with some vocal distortion and a catchy hook that you can’t help but bop your head to. The lyrics are really harrowing though, as Rashad talks about an abusive, alcoholic father. This theme of a calm song with deep lyrics continues throughout the album.
The next song I want to talk about is the album’s title track, “Cilvia Demo,” which maintains that similar vibe. This one is much more eerie I think, aided by the phone call and background vocals that open the song. It’s another song with a great chorus, complete with a crazy line, “Be cool for a minute, ’93 ‘Til be cool for Emmett.” Rashad annotated his own Genius page and said that this was a joint “‘93 ‘Til Infinity” and Emmett Till reference. Mac Miller is one of my favorite artists ever, and ‘93 ‘Til Infinity is a reference to a very old song of his. Emmett Till is of course incredibly important in his own right as well.
After “Cilvia Demo” comes two songs with SZA features; “Ronnie Drake” and “West Savannah” respectively. “Ronnie Drake” is a song that lo-fi fans may like the most. A soft, yet distinct, synth plays with some basic drums as Rashad raps the verses. SZA’s hook on this song isn’t all that special in my opinion, and could do a better job of showcasing her singing ability by better utilizing the distortion on her voice. It’s a solid song, but “West Savannah” is my favorite of the two features, blowing “Ronnie Drake” out of the water.
“West Savannah” starts with this drum beat that almost drags, along with a very unique synth riff that plays throughout the whole song. Like a lot of Rashad’s music, I think this song was created to be played around a campfire and a small gathering of friends. In the lyrics, Rashad pays homage to those who got him into rap in the first place, with a reference to OutKast’s “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” in the very first line. In the next line, he also references the rap group Do or Die, which Rashad cites as another one of his biggest influences. Although he was raised in Tennessee, it’s clear he grew up on the rap scene out of Atlanta and has no trouble acknowledging those he looked up to.
The last few songs I think are the most worthy of note are two of my favorites on the album, “Modest” and “Heavenly Father”. “Modest” is the most vocally emotive Rashad gets on the album. He raps about his rise in the Southern scene and how Southern hip-hop was constantly beaten down by the rest of the community. Through his come up he’s also learning how to deal with new fame and signing with TDE. The flows on this song are up there with the best in his whole catalog, and it’s another classic catchy song.
Heavenly Father is the most popular song on the album by streams, and it’s that way for a reason. It’s more upbeat with a quicker drum beat than the other songs. It has a similar vibe to a lot of the other songs on the album with the staticky distorted vocals and guitar, but what separates it is a secret SZA feature in the chorus. It’s by far her best of the three features on the album and one of her best ever in my opinion. “Heavenly Father” is personally my favorite song on the whole album, and despite its popularity, I still think it’s very underrated.
All in all, “Cilvia Demo” is an album that doesn’t get appreciated nearly enough. While people criticize it for being one-trick sonically, no one does Isaiah Rashad’s sound as well as him. Even a decade later Rashad’s debut should continue to get its flowers for a decade more.
