Today I'm reviewing the very anticipated debut project from Isaiah Rashad, Cilvia. This guy became pretty popular in the underground after signing with the acclaimed label TDE, making an appearance on a BET cypher with the group, and releasing some pretty promising songs and music videos. I have really enjoyed his songs that he has dropped so far, and this album is one of my most anticpated for this year. Will Isaiah Rashad release the fantastic project that I am expecting him to?
The first thing that really hit me upon listening to this was Isaiah Rashad's very unique rapping style. The guy is so unconventional, with a choppy, aggressive delivery that really doesn't sound like anyone else. He really knows how to ride a beat though, as there weren't any moments where I felt his flow was off. Everything just sounded smooth. In terms of lyrics, Isaiah's verses are all over the place, but he always manages to a sneak some great lines into his songs. My favorite song on this album is Soliloquy, which is sadly the shortest song here. This track embodies Rashad's rapping style perfectly. As he just really packs a lot of nice bars into a short song. Every other line on this track just makes you think twice. It was sort of like a freestyle, but it was awesome. Isaiah's rapping is pretty attention grabbing on a lot of other songs here, such as Webbie Flow, Menthol, and Shot You Down. The main highlight of all these songs is definitely the rapping, as Isaiah Rashad is such an interesting MC. When he really gets aggressive on a song, he almost reminds me of Kendrick Lamar. In addition to his great rapping, Isaiah can put together a nice, catchy hook. On most of the songs here where Rashad does the hook himself, it ended up getting stuck in my head. R.I.P. Kevin Miller had an awesomely infectious and simple hook, as did Cilvia Demo and Brad Jordan. He even has a full singing track here, West Savannah, and it was just so relaxed, as the love story atmosphere of the song was done perfectly. I also loved the catchy hook on it. That was definitely one of my favorites on the album. Overall, Isaiah Rashad is one of the most fascinating MCs I have heard in a while, and it was just so cool hearing him do all these different things.
While I do feel that Isaiah Rashad is the main focus of this album, the instrumentals are effective in setting a nice backdrop for Isaiah to do his thing. A majority of these are very laid-back, smooth, and atmospheric. They do not stray away from the signature TDE sound at all. I really love how the laid-back beats create a contrast with Isaiah's tough delivery. One of the most simple, but best beats here was Webbie Flow. This one made use of some catchy drums and vocal samples mixed with some atmospheric synths just hanging around. The beat on the song Ronnie Drake was great too, with some very unique and relaxing percussion flowing in and out of the track. The song Tranquility, as the title might suggest, had a calm, minimal beat that set the stage for Rashad's storytelling on the track. As far as features go, they were really nice on Cilvia Demo. On Shot You Down, TDE label mates Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q kill their verses, especially Jay Rock, who came through with an absolutely nasty verse, as usual. Michael Da Vinci had a decent verse on Brad Jordan, despite some corny lines. Finally, SZA and Jean Deaux used their beautiful voices to make great hooks on Ronnie Drake and Menthol, respectively. Ronnie Drake in particular had a fantastic hook, one of the best I have heard in a while. While there is no credited singer on the song Heavenly Father, that was another great, emotional hook.
CILVIA DEMO WRAP UP
+Isaiah Rashad is ridiculously unique, with a jittery flow that sounds smooth at the same time
+Some cool lyrical ideas, as well as great punchlines
+Isaiah has a whole lot of passion and aggressiveness when rapping
+Awesomely catchy hooks all over the album
+Laid-back, smooth, instrumentals
-Some of the more relaxed songs end up sounding samey
Best: R.I.P. Kevin Miller, West Savannah, Soliloquy
Worst: Brad Jordan
Isaiah Rashad- Cilvia Demo
8.7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment