Isaiah Rashad puts on for TDE with the release of “The House Is Burning” (This review also includes the deluxe version of the album)

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TOP 5

 

5. RIP YOUNG

“RIP Young” is so f**king smooth. It’s the kind of track that you are going to want to bump while driving down a backroad.

“RIP Young” features an instrumental that will calm your nerves. It also features an easygoing style of rapping by Isaiah Rashad. As for lyrically, Isaiah does a good job of hitting us with bars that highlight his carefree, money-making, violent, and braggadocios ways.

The remix to “RIP Young” is fantastic. It features nostalgic verses by Juicy J and Project Pat. Matter of fact, I can see a bunch of people thinking that the remix is better than the original song.

 

 

4. 9-3 FREESTYLE

I wish “9-3 Freestyle” was longer.

It’s a damn shame that you get Isaiah Rashad’s best rap performance in the very short “9-3 Freestyle.” I mean, seriously, he hits us with superb rap flows, a galvanizing hook, and lyrics that everybody can relate to in the song. All in all, I feel like Isaiah is in a pocket that is extremely impressive in the song.

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3. HEADSHOTS (4R DA LOCALS)

Forget Isaiah Rashad, the instrumental that powers this song is fascinating.

“Headshots (4r Da Locals)” boasts one of those serene instrumentals that I am confident that both Big Boi and Andre 3000 would love. Over it, Isaiah shines by hitting us with slick-ass flows and a hook that you might hear at a playa’s ball. All in all, this is a track that completely showcases the TDE rapper’s strengths.

 

 

2. CLAYMORE

Two rappers that are grossly underrated in Smino and Isaiah Rashad showcase their Captain-Save-A-Chick sides in “Claymore.”

Over a breezy instrumental that actually makes me want to take a nap, Isaiah Rashad and Smino rap and sing about potentially spoiling, taking their time with, and impressing their respective chicks. While the two rappers sound high off anesthesia in their verses, there are a few melodies that they drop that will catch your attention for sure.

 

 

1. FROM THE GARDEN

While scouring through the tracklisting for this album, the guest feature that popped out to me the most was Lil Uzi Vert. While I have always been down for Uzi features, I simply wasn’t sure how his sound would mesh with Isaiah’s sound. Well, based on what I heard in “From The Garden,” I can tell you that the two rappers sound solid together.

If you have dreads, fake dreads, or loose cornrows, you are going to want to shake them whenever “From The Garden” comes on. The song boasts a high octane beat that features a helluva tempo, spazzy flows by Isaiah Rashad, and very sly deliveries by Uzi. The song also features braggadocios, competitive, and mackadocios lyrics.

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SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. DARKSEID (3/5)

2. FROM THE GARDEN (4/5)

3. RIP YOUNG (4/5)

4. LAY WIT YA (3/5)

5. CLAYMORE (4/5)

6. HEADSHOTS (4R DA LOCALS) (4/5)

7. ALL HERB (3/5)

8. HEY MISTA (3/5)

9. TRUE STORY (4/5)

10. WAT U SED (3/5)

11. DON’T SHOOT (3/5)

12. CHAD (4/5)

13. 9-3 FREESTYLE (4/5)

14. SCORE (4/5)

15. THIB (4/5)

16. HB2U (3/5)

*17. RIP Young – Remix (4/5)

*18. Deep Blue (4/5)

*19. Geordan Favors (4/5)

*20. Donuts (3/5)

*indicates deluxe version of the album

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RGM RATING

(B-)

 

I’ll be real, this is one of those albums that I think folks should sit on. With that being said, here is my opinion on it (I’m such a hypocrite)!

Isaiah Rashad’s style is an acquired taste. While your average person would probably think that he is a boring rapper that is more than capable of putting folks to sleep with his dull deliveries, I actually think that he is an interesting rapper that knows how to make music that is hypnotizing. In The House Is Burning, the TDE product never uses his outside voice and talks like a dude that doesn’t sweat s**t. However, I love how he puts himself in situations that make his somewhat ho-hum style sound more so unorthodox as opposed to forgettable in the album.

If you ask me, Isaiah is not supposed to fit on songs like “From The Garden” or “Score,” but he does, and I think that’s because sometimes beats ask to be pimped by folks that don’t do too much. Also, there’s a group of weed heads music fans that strictly listen to songs for vibes; Isaiah’s music is all about vibes. If you are rolling up or getting a massage, I can see your body f**king with The House is Burning more than your ears.

Do you know what is pretty interesting about The House Of Burning? Isaiah Rashad talks tons of s**t in the album. Don’t let his calm demeanor fool you, throughout his verses, he totes himself as a womanizer, a dude that is packing (Guns), a dude that spends recklessly, and a dude that is better at life than us. As somber as Isaiah sounds in The House Is Burning, surprisingly, he comes across as a very bold dude lyrically.

The guest features on The House Is Burning range from A-listers to D-listers (No offense to anyone). My favorite appearance came from 6LACK on “Score.” Overall, I do think everyone on the album did a great job of ignoring Isaiah’s vibes and plugging their own vibes into the songs they were featured on.

The beats on The House Is Burning are so f**king good, right? Each one boasts therapeutic elements and old-school hood feels. I give the beats on this album an A!

Don’t you just love how TDE artists create music that shares similar vibes? On the real, The House is Burning feels like the perfect appetizer to Kendrick Lamar’s upcoming album (Kendrick, please get back into the studio! The COVID cases are declining…somewhat).