My Favorite’s of All Time #10: 3 Songs from Isaiah Rashad

Alright. So this one is gonna be set up a little bit differently than the other ones. I just have TOO MANY favorite songs lol, so I’m gonna group a couple of these up to make it easier on myself. I haven’t talked a lot about Isaiah Rashad on here, which is trash of me because he is FIRE. He’s such an amazing lyricist, and his songs are absolute perfection. Him joining TDE was one of the best things to ever happen. And he’s a southern Black person??? Y’all know I’m always here for the southern Black folks!!! I have a lot more favorite Isaiah songs than these three, but “Free Lunch,” “Heavenly Father,” and “AA” are T O P.

“Heavenly Father”

Sigh. “Heavenly Father” really came at a great time in my life. It’s such a V U L N E R A B L E song and so well written. It feels like taking a long walk with a really good friend where you just tell each other about all the BS you’ve been going through. Then you feel that like wave of relief and catharsis after just spilling out all your innermost thoughts and knowing that the person you were talking to understands. At the point in my life where I heard this song, I wasn’t used to rappers (other than Cudi) talking about their mental health and growing up having some of the same problems with mental health that I felt like I was experiencing. I’m sure I cried to that song a couple of times in high school. I’m listening to the song D. Sanders sampled for the production (which is gorgeous btw!) – “Lord Hold Me in Your Arms” by The Crowns of Glory….I’ve never heard this song before but it’s absolutely b e a u t i f u l!!!! Are you kidding me???? I don’t know why I didn’t know about this song until right NOW. It’s like the perfect mix of soul and gospel; I am LIVING.

“Free Lunch”

More amazing production on this song! Cam O’bi really DID THAT! Cam really does always give us amazing production. This song so smooth; the guitar loop throughout the instrumental is perfect. The way the production and Zay’s verses come together???? *chef’s kiss x1000*. It never feels like Zay is outrapping the production or that the production is too good for the bars. On every song he makes, the lyrics and production come together so harmoniously; they feel like one entity. And that’s something that I don’t recognize in a lot of rappers. The production and the lyrics being good is one thing. But when no one else could make the song sound like it does but you???? That’s magic. And Zay’s verses………….”The blow is good, the hoe is good / The show is good, you know it, scrub / Cool as me out front that Kanku’s store / Kinfolk, you know it’s love.” His flow is so dreamy! Like, it immediately takes me to a very nostalgic place. I also just realized how much Mick Jenkins’s “Carefree” from The Circus (2020) reminds me of this song. They both have that very like golden hour car ride feeling. Let me go make a playlist real quick lol.

“AA”

Again, the PRODUCTION. I mean, come ON!!!!! Zay + vibey, slow production = a HIT!!!!! I don’t have anything more to say.

I need Isaiah to give us a project soon! He previewed a song on IG a couple months ago I think, and I really need him to stop playing with us because the little bit that he shared has me HYPE! He’s such a consistent artist and amazing storyteller. And I NEED MORE!!!!!!

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