For years, Isaiah Rashad has existed as the atmospheric heartbeat of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), the Chattanooga-born artist often operating in the velvet shadows cast by the towering presence of Kendrick Lamar. While Lamar provided the label’s ideological and commercial thunder, Rashad offered something more intimate: a hazy, melancholic exploration of the Southern psyche. With his third album, It’s Been Awful, that intimacy has evolved into a raw, unfiltered public reckoning.
The project is not merely a collection of songs but a calculated act of vulnerability. At its core is the track “Act Normal,” a direct response to a viral 2022 incident in which private tapes of Rashad with men were leaked online. In a genre that has historically weaponized masculinity and marginalized fluidity, Rashad does not retreat. Instead, he leans into the chaos, using the album to dissect the intersection of his sexuality, his fraught family history, and the crushing weight of expectations.
At 34, Rashad finds himself at a crossroads of identity and artistry. Having previously seen 2021’s The House Is Burning debut at Number Seven on the Billboard 200, he possesses the commercial leverage to play it safe. He chooses not to. Through 16 tracks and 54 minutes of “slushy” production, he presents a portrait of a man who is no longer interested in the performance of normalcy, opting instead for a truth that is as uncomfortable as it is liberating.
The Architecture of Fluidity and Truth
The central tension of It’s Been Awful lies in the struggle to reconcile a public image with a private reality. On “Act Normal,” Rashad describes a childhood defined by secrets, recalling a household of “sex addicts” and a mother in love with her best friend. This ancestral blueprint of hidden desires informs his current perspective. He candidly describes himself as “a porn star” and offers a shrug of acceptance with the line, “Some girls come with a dick / Some with the child support.”
This openness is further illuminated in an interview with Joe Budden, where Rashad identified as “sexually fluid” while maintaining a monogamous relationship with a woman who shares a similar understanding of self. In the context of hip-hop’s evolution, this is a seismic shift. For those who remember the aggressive homophobia of 1990s rap—typified by groups like Brand Nubian—Rashad’s transparency represents a new era of masculine liberation. He joins a small but influential vanguard, including Tyler, the Creator, who are subtly dismantling the genre’s rigid gender binaries.
The fluidity extends to the music itself. On the SZA-assisted duet “Boy in Red,” Rashad harmonizes in a “crusty whisper,” playing with gender roles in a way that echoes the daring versatility of Prince. The lyric, “See, maybe stay the night, then I could be your boyfriend / And if that doesn’t work, then I’ll just be your girlfriend,” serves as a manifesto for the album: a refusal to be pinned down by a single label or expectation.
A Sonic Homecoming to the Dirty South
Sonically, It’s Been Awful is a love letter to the “muddy” aesthetics of the mid-’90s South. Rashad describes the production as “slow-ass beats,” a filtered, atmospheric soundscape that evokes the melancholy of UGK’s Ridin’ Dirty and Scarface’s The Untouchable. The album is a masterclass in mood, utilizing filtered melodies and echoing female backing vocals—most notably from Nina Woods—to create a sense of psychic displacement.
The influence of Outkast is woven into the project’s DNA. From the “break” callout at the start of “M.O.M.” (Man On a Mission) to the explicit nods to the ATLiens and Aquemini eras, Rashad positions himself as a revivalist of the “Dirty South” middle class. On “Do I Look High?,” he explicitly commemorates the Idlewild era, signaling a desire to return to a time when Southern rap was as experimental as it was grounded.
| Sonic Influence | Key Reference/Track | Atmospheric Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Outkast | “M.O.M.” / “Do I Look High?” | Warm keyboard melodies, experimental structures |
| UGK & Scarface | General Album Tone | Muddy, melancholy Southern blues |
| Prince | “Boy in Red” | Gender-blurring harmonies, sensual whispers |
| Noah Kahan/Hozier | “Nuthin’ to Hide” | Big-hearted pop-rock emotionality |
The Quiet Influence of the Artist’s Artist
Despite his critical acclaim, Rashad has often been viewed as a secondary figure within TDE. However, It’s Been Awful underscores his role as a “quiet influencer”—the artist whose work informs the stars who eventually break into the pop mainstream. Billie Eilish previously cited Rashad and SZA’s “Stuck in the Mud” as a primary inspiration for her hit “Bad Guy,” and Dominic Fike has publicly credited Rashad’s flows and visual style as blueprints for his own work.
This positioning is intentional. Rashad represents a shift away from the “arena-smashing” singles and tabloid-driven antics of the past. Alongside peers like Earl Sweatshirt and Rapsody, he is pushing the art form forward through subtlety and nuance rather than volume. He is not chasing the chart-topping high; he is documenting the low.
The Cycle of Sobriety and Struggle
While the album explores identity, it is equally preoccupied with the ghosts of addiction. Despite public claims of sobriety, Rashad spends a significant portion of the record rapping about substance abuse. The narrative is one of relapse and regret: a drunk-dial to his mother on “Scared 2 Look Down” results in a chilling warning that he is on a “death wish.” On “10 States Away,” he admits to using substances to cope with the distance from his children.
There is a stark honesty in the track “Happy Hour,” where he admits, “All my heroes are junkies, yeah.” It is a moment of vulnerability that lacks the glamour often associated with “tortured artist” tropes. The album concludes with “719 Freestyle,” a burst of energy that ends with a cryptic, unsettling question: “What’s that cage for?”
It’s Been Awful does not offer a clean resolution. There is no triumphant finale or a sudden epiphany of healing. Instead, Rashad provides a snapshot of a man in progress. On the track “Supaficial,” he acknowledges his shortcomings with a simple plea: “I know I’m flawed / But stay with me.” In doing so, he transforms his personal turmoil into a universal study of human imperfection.
As TDE continues to navigate its post-Kendrick era, the trajectory of Isaiah Rashad will be a key indicator of the label’s future direction. While no official tour dates have been announced for It’s Been Awful, the project sets the stage for a new, more transparent chapter of his career. The next milestone for Rashad will likely be the official rollout of accompanying visuals for the album’s key singles, which are expected to further explore the themes of identity and isolation.
We want to hear your thoughts on Isaiah Rashad’s return. Does “It’s Been Awful” signal a new era for hip-hop masculinity? Share this article and join the conversation in the comments below.
