Video After The Jump
In this episode of "People's Party With Talib Kweli," Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with rapper and writer:
ISAIAH RASHAD
Here's what we dug into with one of this generation's most respected lyricists:
• Why Isaiah chose to rap under his first and middle name.
• His mother and stepfather's history of being Five-Percenters.
• The primary rap influences that gave him the emotional variations in his flow.
• Going through phases of wanting to become a preacher or a teacher.
• The impact of Outkast and their album 'ATLiens' had on his wanting to pick up a mic.
• His Chattanooga, Tennessee upbringing and the influences shaped his style.
• Diversity in today's hip hop and the future of journalism.
• How he was brought onto the Smoker's Club Music Festival.
• The excellence of Joey Bada$$ and his hitting the scene during the "creative control era".
• Why SoundCloud has been such a huge part of Isaiah's success story.
• The Top Dawg Entertainment signing feeling like a blessing from God.
• Feeling in the zone during the making of his 'Cilvia Demo'.
• Discussion of if 'The Sun's Tirade' was meant to be a concept album.
• Lupe Fiasco and Lil' Wayne inspiring him to write introspectively.
• Breaking down who Isaiah views as the most entertaining rapper.
• A debate over whether or not Magoo was a good rapper and if he stole Q-Tip's style.
• The songs 'Wat's Wrong featuring Zacari & Kendrick Lamar and 'Free Lunch'.
• Ice Cube going Hollywood while still releasing records that garner respect.
• His experience working with Syd, SZA as well as Kenny Beats.
• His highly anticipated album 'The House Is Burning' being released the day of the show.
TIME STAMPS:
2:00 -- Isaiah's birth year of 1991 is discussed, along with LeVar Burton, Batman Forever, Talib being a ghetto Transformer for Halloween as a kid, why Isaiah chose to rap under his first and middle name, Talib's early rap name as well, Isaiah listening to Scarface and Too $hort as a young kid as well as the reactions Isaiah gets from people in Ireland when they find out his last name is McLain.
8:31 -- Isaiah is asked about his mother and stepfather being Five-Percenters who later returned to the Baptist church. He goes on to talk about attempting to learn more about Five-Percenter philosophy during 'The Sun's Tirade' album, the primary rap influences that gave him the emotional variations in his flow and going through phases of wanting to become a preacher or a teacher.
12:57 -- Isaiah gets into the impact of Outkast and specifically their album 'ATLiens' had on him growing up and tells how his first exposure to the group was a chopped and screwed 'Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik'. He also tells why he would hand write the lyrics of his favorite emcees, talks about early frustrations evolving his pen game and how his Chattanooga, Tennessee upbringing and the influences shaped his style.
18:22 -- Talib and Isaiah give a shout out to the heads at DJBooth for assisting them in their careers, they talk about the diversity in today's hip hop and the future of it's journalism, Isaiah tells how he was brought onto the Smokers Club Music Festival and how it was a pivotal moment in his career. They also discuss the excellence of Joey Bada$$ out the gate, him being Talib's son's favorite rapper and how he came on to the scene during the "creative control era".
23:25 -- Isaiah speaks on how posting his early material on SoundCloud was such a huge part of his success story, Talib and Isaiah go on to compare the eras of how they first got the attention of A&Rs and Isaiah attempts to school Talib on the latest iPhone technology. He also breaks down why his Top Dawg Entertainment signing felt like a blessing from God, how they covered his rent for a while and how much he appreciated their early investment in him as an emerging artist.
29:18 -- Talib brings up how impressed he was with Isaiah's 'Cilvia Demo' album with emphasis on the 'Shot You Down (Remix)'. They get into his process of making that record and the zone he was in at the time, Jay Rock and ScHoolboy Q's contributions, they discuss how Isaiah's attained his Zaywop nickname, he tells how 'The Sun's Tirade' album with themes of overcoming depression and drug abuse wasn't necessarily intended to be a concept record and speaks on Lupe Fiasco and Lil' Wayne inspiring him to write introspectively.
34:34 -- Isaiah breaks down who he thinks is the most entertaining rapper of all-time as well as who has the best wordplay with Jay-Z, Lil’ Wayne, and Young Thug being names in play. Isaiah talks about originally just wanting to make music for his homies and Talib shares his initial reactions when he first heard groups like Little Brother and Blu & Exile as well as the day he met Kendrick Lamar when he was brought onto Talib's basement podcast.
39:03 -- Isaiah, Talib and Jas debate whether or not Magoo was a good rapper and if he stole Q-Tip's style and flow or they just have similar voices. Raekwon's 'Shark N*ggas (Biters)' track is brought up as well as the Ghostface Killah and Action Bronson beef, A Tribe Called Quest's impact on Isaiah, Magoo getting props for his part in Timbaland's success and Isaiah's songs 'Wat's Wrong featuring Zacari & Kendrick Lamar and 'Free Lunch' are also talked about.
44:13 -- Isaiah tells how Young Thug inspires him, Talib mentions people missing the artistic side of trap and Isaiah asks Talib if he would put Ludacris in his top five rap entertainers. They also discuss Ice Cube going Hollywood while still releasing records that garner respect, Isaiah's song 'Silkk da Shocka', his experience working with Syd who is featured on the track, working with SZA who he lived with for several years, his track 'Headshots' and he talks about Kenny Beats being his rap coach.
49:41 -- Isaiah's latest album 'The House Is Burning' being released the day of this episode is mentioned and Isaiah gets into some of the legendary features on the album which include the likes of Duke Deuce, Lil Uzi Vert, Smino, Amindi, Jay Rock, Jay Worthy, Iamdoechii, Kal Banx, YGTUT, 6lack and SZA. Isaiah later gets into avoiding friends' houses to eat if they're vegan, they discuss food like pig's feet becoming a delicacy with a Scarface movie reference to prove it and eating octopus alive.
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