Isaiah Rashad – Cilvia Demo

Isaiah Rashad – Cilvia Demo
TDE: 2014

Just before Kendrick Lamar delivered yet another of his “I dare you to come at me”-type verses of 2013 at the BET awards, a relatively unknown member of TDE came in with his first time in the spotlight. Assigned the middle spot amongst four of the most talented MCs in the game, it was easy to miss Isaiah Rashad. He doesn’t have a commanding, cartoonish voice like ScHoolboy Q. He doesn’t have the grit of Jay Rock. He doesn’t have the momentum or star power of Kendrick. Rashad rapped at the cypher, “I think I found my second home in Southern California”; while he’s in the passenger seat to his other TDE label- mates, he’s calmly demanding our attention with his debut Cilvia Demo.

Although around fifty minutes, Cilvia feels like a brief project. Many tracks clock in at barely three minutes and the entire listen tends to float past without much fanfare. It’s like listening to Rashad reflecting on life from the comfort of his own home. Weed, question of race, suicide and women all weave through his calculatedly laid-back delivery. It’s not until the neck-snap of “Soliloquy” hits that Rashad starts to flash his reserved confrontational delivery. He doesn’t veer far from his median emotional level, but it’s part of what makes the project so inviting. In a wake of blown-up characters dominating the rap conversation, including those signed to the same TDE label, Isaiah Rashad feels completely human.

His closet is thrown wide open on Civlia Demo. It’s personal on a level that borders on invasive, but effectively casts Rashad as the kind of every-day man that feels so refreshing. While the project treads a middle-ground between safe and risky, it’s executed so well it remains engaging and, for the most part, avoids any serious lulls. It takes until the album’s final moment for everything to come together. Jay Rock and ScHoolboy Q both make appearances on an extended version of “Shot You Down”, the closer and undeniable highlight. Arguments could be waged for any of the trio for who had the best showing, but it’s ultimately beside the point: TDE is going to continue winning.

Isaiah Rashad dropped his debut alongside what is arguably the most talented rising label roster in the industry. They form a collection of diverse and endlessly talented individuals who really have yet to put out a bad project. Cilvia Demo comes bookended by Kendrick Lamar’s booming 2013 and ScHoolboy Q’s upcoming Oxymoron. By matter of association Rashad is in the background of his own crew, but he sounds completely content operating within his own sphere. Cilvia Demo doesn’t have much crossover potential and in theory it’s in the shadow of TDE. None of that seems to matter considering Isaiah Rashad has quietly released the best album of the year so far.

4 out of 5

You can buy the album on Amazon.