Modern Review: The House Is Burning

Score: 4/5 | Released: July 30th, 2021

Written By: Anthony Seaman     

   5 long years, endless IG live snippets, sparse features and a whole lot of hiding lead most fans of Isaiah Rashad to assume he had just given up. Had he already said everything he needed to say? Were the addictions and mental health struggles that inspired nearly his whole body of work taking too heavy a toll? After going broke thanks to, in his own words, “really expensive sandwiches”, along with rehab stints and medical issues he finally fulfilled a promise years in the making; something new. The House Is Burning is the side-swiping child of these years away, breaking the mold of music made to drive alone talking to the universe for clarity into something worth inviting everyone you know to party in the car with you. It's not that everything is OK and the pains of life have subsided, but the choice to be happy and remind yourself of the things worth living for have been made.

        For the first time in his career, the self loathing and depression are nearly out of sight, giving room for the inner child to play over the best beats of his career. Every single song knocks the wind into your sails. “Lay Wit Ya” is a Memphis style mosh pit starter, “Score” is a thumping pseudo-soul record with signature Kenny Beats low end, and the kicks on “RIP Young” leave more dents in your chest than a golf ball. Even the less raucous closers “THIB” and “HB2U” have a head swinging soul at their core. Producer Kal Banx and Devin Malik take up most of the production credits, making even the dips into new sonic ground sound like branches of the same tree. Jay Rock, Doechii and SZA steal the show when featured, reminding the world of the TDE Supremacy that has hung over the music world despite extended breaks being the norm. YGTUT (fka Tut, of Preacher’s Son fame) has a short appearance on the Pimp C referencing “Chad”, harkening back to their days together in the Tennessee collective TheHouse (a group featuring the duo along with Michael Da Vinci, Brian Brown, Park Ave, D. Sanders, Shoey, and Chris P).

        As a writer a subtle weapon turned signature is Rashad’s quest to be the new king of word choice. Where other rappers would grab the easiest word to end bars with, he’s digging into 4th and 5th options in the thesaurus. Unorthodox writing styles have replaced the bleeding diary verses that lined his first two projects, becoming something closer to a Chattanooga-bred Ghostface Killah than a youthful reincarnation of Scarface. Being straightforward has become a novelty, mixing and matching meaningful barbs with fun one off bars that could mean everything and nothing to the record. Lines like “I’m a Gucci Mane / you a Captain Kirk” and “I told her / bitch eat it like Doja Cat” are references so niche only he and his group chat may truly know what the joke is. Not only in specific lines but in concepts does Rashad lean into looseness. “All Herb” has a sense of poetic mystery to it, alluding to the futility of life and long lost love. The refreshing mist that floats through “Claymore” and “All Herb” solidifies into smoke on the existential “HB2U”, where the phrase “you are now a human being” stamps itself into your brain like a cult chant. What were once raw stories delivered with visceral emotions have evolved into shifting puzzles, just when you think things slide together perfectly you notice something else just slightly out of place. It's to be commended how each song is lean, all the frills present serve a purpose, yet they're still a half step off from perfect into something more mischievous.

        Cilvia Demo was facing and assessing young trauma, The Sun’s Tirade was dark room coping, and now The House Is Burning breathes like a man finally feeling the sun hit his face again. Time in the dark has made an appreciation of the light come full force, one of raps many hermits made a perfect summertime album. Even in the music videos you see Isaiah as the main character zooming around down in a customized Jeep or at the center of a Van Wilder level pool party. Not breaking any new ground, but being young is super fucking depressing. A common thread with Zay and many of his peers is fighting through that early 20’s stage where the weight of the world is constantly breaking your back. You can blame more emotionally literate parents and teachers, the internet or the ires of late stage capitalism, but it takes living life to realize life is rough, but powering through builds a tolerance to pain. This tolerance makes creating an album that’s light enough to rock everyday a reality. Even if repeat listens shows fragments of that darker self still rearing its head. Some would say that’s life, a lot of good days sprinkled with pain that you can’t let warp you back to the worst times. Fresh starts come every morning, and once the world has burned around you, sifting through what’s left and building a new safer space is as empowering as life gets.

Best Song: "Headshots (4r Da Locals)"

Best Beat: "Chad"

Best Moments: Isaiah’s 2nd verse on “From The Garden” / SZA floating down from Heaven on “Score” / First verse on “HB2U” / Zay berating Kal Banx on the “Hey Mista” intro / Doechii on “Wat U Sed”