Twenty-one-year-old Isaiah Rashad lets loose an earnest debut that manages to reach the high expectations that have been placed on him with the new EP “Cilvia Demo.” Recently the hottest label in hip-hop, Top Dawg Entertainment, TDE, which manages talent such as Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock, signed him. Rashad managed to get signed with only a scattering of songs appearing on his Soundcloud. TDE has slowly been promoting him along their lineup of stars, teasing songs and having him appear with Kendrick at award shows. This all led up to the release of his first official body of work, the “Cilvia Demo” tape, which is a collection of 14 songs showing off Rashad’s various skills. Rashad creates a contrasting, contemplative and emotional image of the young Southern black male in today’s society. The EP is easy to listen to with Rashad’s slight southern twang blending effortlessly with his beat selection. Thematically, Rashad touches on elements of growing up without a father, death of friends from his youth, women’s rights and religion.
The EP begins with Rashad showing off his technical skill. On “Hereditary” and “Webbie Flow (U Like),” he effortlessly blends the line between the hooks, couplets and triplets that occupy his quick rhyme scheme. The jazzy vibe of “Webbie Flow” is different than the rest of the album; while most of the album features more soul sampling and boom-bap production, “Webbie Flow” has a more slowed down, jazz-inspired punch.
The next few songs are unremarkable. This is not to say they are bad, but compared with the fantastic, final nine songs, these tracks leave something to be desired. Beginning with track six, “West Savannah,” Rashad unleashes a flurry of songs that is best listened to with no distraction. “West Savannah” is an ode to love and an Outkast tribute that features female singer and fellow new TDE signee, SZA.
“Soliloquy” is perhaps the hardest hitting song on the album; the beat is much more intense and meant to be played loudly. On “Tranquility,” Rashad’s smoky voice glides over the minimalist beat indenting itself into your brain as one force of sound instead of two contrasting ones. This and “Heavenly Father” feature Rashad at his lyrical height. Lines such as “Some of us fall and some of us hover / Some of us shooters and some of us lovers / I see the sum of it all, I’m running for cover” in “Tranquility” and “And hanging from the playground wasn’t wrong / Until you got a rope up on your neck / And I been losing more than my mind / Gathering what’s left of self-respect” from “Heavenly Father” really show a self-awareness and intelligence that is a far stretch from a lot of today’s southern hip-hop. On “Heavenly Father,” Rashad spends some time analyzing the vices of the youth and why media influences are more powerful than ever. On “Tranquility,” he turns the theme of a lot of his songs around; instead of talking about his relationship (or lack there of) with his father, he wonders how his songs will influence his young son.
“Menthol,” “Modest” and “Banana” are all great songs that feature more of his hook-infused rapping and interesting lyricism. “Banana” is a slightly faster song, which sounds like it could be right at home on Kendrick’s “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.” “Menthol” is a love song similar to “West Savannah” that features singer Jean Deaux. Rashad excels at these love songs because his voice is incredibly smooth, sliding in and out of verses right next to the sexy vocals of a female accompaniment. The final song on the album, “Shot You Down,” is a remix of one of Rashad’s earlier recordings. This time it features fellow label mates Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q. Rashad handles the first verse and hook before handing it over to Rock and Q, who make the track their own, introducing Rashad to the good life.
“Cilvia Demo” is one of the more impressive hip-hop debuts in recent memory. Rashad does not overload the album with features, which helps him identify his own sound. His southern, smoky voice is different than anything else in the industry today and it will be interesting to see where this rising star goes next.
