Isaiah Rashad, whose real name is Isaiah McClain, is an American rapper known for projects like Cilvia Demo and singles such as “Fake Trill”, “4r Da Squaw”, and more. He was born on May 16, 1991 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Isaiah Rashad began rapping seriously while in school at Middle Tennessee State University when he met a cousin who had a studio where he could record for free. After dropping out of school, he bounced around from job to job while recording music full-time. Want to learn more about similar artists? Check out all of our Artist Spotlight articles.
Underground Success
He hustled his way through the underground scene for several years creating relationships with music bloggers and A&Rs. He released songs on Soundcloud such as “Fake Trill” and “Part III” that garnered him attention in the underground and eventually led to him opening for The Smokers Club Tour with Wiz Khalifa, Joey Badass, and Smoke Dza in 2012.
Signing to TDE and Cilvia Demo
He began to gain the attention of labels and eventually his music made its way to Dave Free, former President of Top Dawg Entertainment in early 2013. He would go on to sign to the label in late 2013 and release his debut project Cilvia Demo in January 2014. The project featured Michael Da Vinci, Sza, Schoolboy Q, and Jay Rock.
Cilvia Demo was met with rave reviews, as listeners praised him for his gut wrenching lyrics, tight flows, and strong songwriting. Fans were taken aback by his honest description of his history with Depression. The mixtape was compared to early Outkast and Goodie Mob. 4 months later, he would be honored as an XXL Freshman for their May 2014 issue.
Releasing The Sun’s Tirade
Two years later, his project, The Sun’s Tirade, was released and would solidify his spot in the rap game. The project not only received positive reviews but also was his most successful commercially. Songs such as “Wat’s Wrong” with Zacari and Kendrick Lamar and “4r Da Squaw” have 100 million streams on Spotify each.
What’s next for Isaiah Rashad?
After the release of this project, Isaiah Rashad would spiral into a cycle of drug dependency and depression, which he has been dealing with his whole life. He focused on his sobriety, entered rehab, and took a break from music until 2021 when he released The House is Burning, a project that is his most successful to date selling almost 50,000 records in the first week.
Conclusion
Isaiah Rashad has proven that you can tackle any emotional problems head on, share your struggles with others, and put that pain into your art to build a community and fanbase of people who can relate. Check out some of his music on Spotify!