Every one of us can credit our now great music taste and catalogues to certain, special individuals. In pop culture we refer these very special people as "plugs". This section of Fluid
Thoughts will focus on that very specific thing, plugging. Our mission statement is to unearth new musical acts that you might not yet be well acquainted with or shed light on artists that do not get the praise and recognition they deserve, unsung heroes of music, so to say.
To start off. We will be shedding light on a generational talent, Isaiah Rashad McClain aka Zaywop. He is Top Dawg's "diamond in the rough" and hip hop’s next big thing (that being a very objective opinion). Zaywop is a modern-day underground legend with a very loyal cult following. He is rumored to be releasing his much anticipated second studio album later this year (sheds man tears). And honestly speaking, if he drops something as good as "The Suns Tirade" he'll be in the top 5 of his generation debate, if he already wasn't that is.
So I spent a few minutes thinking about this, even picking the brain of some of my fellow hip hop head's - all in the effort of trying to find someone comparable to Isaiah from the past. Fruitless effort really, but I believe this speaks to his greatness. Isaiah is an artist in its truest form. He molded his own unique sound thus creating a lane of his own. As fans, I also think what draws us to him his how down to earth and relatable the man is. If you ever bored and check on his IG story, you can catch homie smoking a blunt and chilling with the homies and goofing around - showing us he's really just like one of us, except for the fact that he makes amazing music and is a generational talent, you know. Also, these days, an artist who is unique is hard to come by. So that plays a big part in his fandom. Isaiah is also one of those artists that can disappear for 4 years before dropping and album but gets away with it, cuz we all know it'll be worth it. This isn't an easy thing to do and is a part of a very small group of people who can commit such crimes... if you haven't noticed I'm subbing Frank Ocean. Honestly speaking tho, this time to go away and come back with a classic is needed and fellow artists on his label could use a 4 year break to come back with a classic and repent for his sins (catch your sub Kendrick).
To date, Isaiah has 4 bodies of work, namely; "Fly times, Cool places", "Welcome to the game", "Cilvia Demo" and "The Suns Tirade." In my (yet again) very objective opinion, TST is his best and most complete body of work. Most fans really connected to him thanks to it - which personally, is where it really sank in for me how special Isaiah was. "TST" is a complete album - it's a well written, honest and introspective story which has a beginning, middle and ending. A heavily base-driven sonic experience. What I like most about this tape and what it has in common with most of my favourite albums is that it can be played at any time and sets the mood. I would personally rank TST as the hip hop album with the most replay value, ever. But I might be wylin but hey, it's my opinion. Also, since I'm wylin I just wanna say his soundcloud is better than some of your favourite artist entire discographies.
Anyway, Isaiah has unlimited potential. And if you've heard any of the snippets he's released or that have been leaked, you kinda know were in for something amazing. His next tape might even be a classic (fingers crossed). But until then, we can all kick back and bump TST for the 1000th time, cuz you know, it'll still bang.