It felt like he had spent the last two months clamoring to return to the stage. Related Story ‘Montero’ holds a mirror to the anti-gay bias and trauma of the Christian church Read nowĭuring his set, he snarled through his verses on “Shot You Down,” “Park” and “Tity and Dolla” to the point of sounding as if he was going hoarse. He acknowledged the devastation and put on a fiery set that let the world know he wasn’t going to let a life-changing violation of privacy ruin him. It’s Rashad’s openness that led me to think about his mental health after the video was released in February, and why his Coachella performance felt triumphant. … Not saying stuff to myself just to say it.” “The only way I could get through most stuff I’ve gone through is by talking about it. “I try to just be open,” he told Complex in 2016. One close-up camera angle showed Rashad possibly shedding a tear as he raps his verse on “Wat’s Wrong” from 2016’s The Sun’s Tirade, a verse that ends with “ lost my God tonight.” Later in the set, Rashad took a break to tell the crowd, “I see all the messages and all the positivity.” His declaration that his fans - rap fans, no less - “kept me alive” hit hard, considering his lyrics lyrics about mortality, mental health and his own addictions that landed him in rehab and nearly derailed his music career some years back. As soon as the clip ended, Rashad hit the stage, tearing through his biggest hits and cult classics. ![]() The performance was Rashad’s first public acknowledgment of the video, and it was a defiant act of taking back control of the narratives and speculation about his sexuality, his future and his insecurities. When his video leaked, his streams and everything went up. “The purpose of doing that was to embarrass him,” the person said. Rashad’s Coachella set opened with a 90-second video aggregating some of the reactions to the video that outed him, including sound bites from fellow emcee The Game, who expressed his support for the Chattanooga, Tennessee, rapper and Boosie Badazz, who has aimed several anti-gay rants at Lil Nas X in the past, talking about Rashad’s “sins.” Another voice in the opening clip argued that whoever released the video of Rashad had failed to take him down. He spent the two months that followed the incident away from the spotlight. He was victimized by anti-gay bias via a video shared without his consent. While there are some successful queer male rappers out today - Tyler, The Creator and Lil Nas X among them - they came out on their own terms. ![]() Rashad’s cathartic performance at Coachella, one of the biggest music festivals in the world, illustrates how far hip-hop has come and how much further the genre has to go. Related Story Best albums of 2021: Isaiah Rashad’s ‘The House Is Burning’ Read now In those days, a rapper being outed as gay would be a career death sentence. If you grew up as a rap fan in the ’90s and 2000s, you heard the rumors all over barbershops and even hip-hop publications about the so-called Gay Rapper - a boogeyman who lived in the culture in secret, purporting to be straight, but behind closed doors would prowl for straight rappers and executives on their way to the top of the industry. Anti-gay slurs have been prevalent in its lyrics for decades and a rapper’s greatness is often only as stout as his masculinity. Hip-hop has had a complicated and often oppressive history with queerness. ![]() In February, a video circulated on the internet that allegedly depicted the Top Dawg Entertainment rapper engaged in sexual acts with another man. But this year, Rashad experienced a public devastation that threatened to end his career. ![]() Rashad’s set should have been the culmination of his ascent to superstardom after his 2021 masterpiece, The House Is Burning, solidified him as a consistently great artist. It will kick off on September 8 in Boston.“Y’all kept me alive these last couple months,” Isaiah Rashad told the crowd during his powerful performance during the first weekend of this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. He has announced his tour, ‘Lil’ Sunny’s Awesome Vacation,’ that is support of his album this week. Isaiah has already released several tracks from the album that includes “Lay Wit Ya” that features Duke Deuce, “Wat U Sed” that features Doechii and Kal Banx and “Headshots.”ĩ. It has special guest appearances by Smino, SZA, Jay Rock, Lil Uzi Vert, Duke Deuce and more from the 16-track project. With his first project that was dropped five years ago, this is the anticipated album we are waiting from the Chattanooga native. It will be dropping this Friday, July 30 as the first artist dropping from the TDE record label. Days before he announced his ‘Lil’ Sunny’s Awesome Vacation’ tour dates, he has dropped the track list for his forthcoming album The House Is Burning.
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