Everybody has a “thing” in their life.
When I say a thing, I mean one specific gift that the universe has specifically chosen them for to do and be exceptional at it for the rest of their lives. It could be playing sports, building buildings or even cutting wood.
In high school I had no idea what that was for me. It wasn’t sports, it wasn’t building buildings and it damn sure wasn’t cutting wood. It wasn’t until college that I discovered I had a deep passion for music and writing. I would find myself in heated arguments with people about anything related to music. My passion, the thing that kept me up late at night, was finding new artists nobody else knew about, and I did it so much that it just became easy like breathing to me. I would be calling all my friends every day pleading with them that Kendrick Lamar was the next Tupac, I would write paragraphs on blogs about the potential of Sam Smith or doing extensive research for college projects on the third musical renaissance in Chicago. In short I was about this life in the fullest way. When I’m asked to take control of the aux chord, I take it seriously; with great power comes great responsibility.
Though I do more writing than music scouting these days because my major is journalism, “music scout” is still a title I am proud of and want to pursue a career in because finding and sharing great music is what I love more than anything. There are days when I wish other countless, more lucrative career paths were my calling, but you don’t choose your “thing,” it chooses you, and I’ve come to accept that discovering and proclaiming artists as "going to blow" is my thing.
Have you ever watched a movie and predicted the ending in the first 30 minutes? Ever call that someone would hit a buzzer beating three, then it happens and you jump off the couch screaming “CALLED IT!!!” in your doubting friend’s face? You have, we all have. There’s something so satisfying about a good call, even though you really didn’t do anything. That’s what I’m doing now.
In all my years of living and listening to music, there’s no “he’s gonna be huge” call I felt more strongly about than Isaiah Rashad. When I first heard the beat and his lyrics on “Sound From Friday Morning (GIL)” I knew. That sound, it was undeniable and destined. It sounded like “free music”, meaning he expressed himself fully through music. He sounded like anyone’s best friend or big brother just speaking real truths to them. With each track you can hear how he glues his personality and bares his soul onto it. Every song is a hit, every lyric is relatable and his flow is just out of this world.
As the rest of the world remained deaf, I religiously played “Hii (Fuck Love)”. I have listened to that song more than any other in the past few years; there was even a two hour car ride where it’s the only song I listened to. It was the greatest news in my life when he announced he was signing to my favorite rap label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2013. I was bouncing on walls and yelling from rooftops “Dynasty”; I’m talking about the 90’s Chicago Bulls, Motown Records and Justice League team up. I was foaming at the mouth thinking about the type of music that would be produced from Kendrick, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Isaiah being on the same label.
With each release, from “Ronnie Drake” to “R.I.P. to Kevin Miller” (and everything else on his debut LP Cilvia Demo) he’s continued to exceed my ever-growing expectations. Even though he hasn’t released that many songs after Cilvia Demo and been featured on other artists track, nobody’s music makes me feel as strongly about the future of music as Rashad’s. It’s that excitement I’ve been trying to share with the world for years. Now he’s blowing up and I called it.
To be clear, by no means am I claiming credit for Isaiah’s rise. If he wants to fly me out to L.A. to meet Dre, who recognizes my genius and makes me the Head of A&R at Aftermath, I wouldn't say no, but I certainly don't expect any acclaim. I doubt a random writer/fan he’s never actually met is even on his radar. After all, what did I really do? He’s the one with the talent, the one who spent time, money, and effort to build his career. All I did was follow my passion; I found a dope artist and pointed out his talent to people.
Finding a great new artist is like Christmas and my birthday put together. The goosebumps, the rush of adrenaline and vibe makes me lose myself. So being in a position to give that feeling to other people is something I never take for granted. That’s why I shared Isaiah’s music. Not to become best friends with the guy or for internet glory, but because he’s making great music that deserves to be shared.
