One of the most highly anticipated albums of this early year has hit us, Top Dawg Entertainments newest member Isaiah Rashad has released his first official project with the Los Angeles based power house record label.

As expected with everything that comes out of TDE’s studio, quality is most important, and this album showed us nothing different. As one of the latest signers­­­­­­­, Rashad has undoubtedly taken on some pressure, with the other members of the label being so successful, such as Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock, people are certainly expecting the usual powerful lyrics out of Rashad.

He delivered; the lyrics in this album are very relatable, at the same time, you don’t need to relate to the lyrics to respect good music, and this album is good music. The production on this album should also be recognized, subtle beats, smooth transition between songs, and great editing, should all be noted and displayed in songs such as “Shot You Down (Remix)”, and “Ronnie Drake”.

This is the type of album that you could have playing in the background as you continue throughout your day, whether you’re at your house when you’re just hanging out, in your car with your friends, or at the gym because of how heavy some of the beats are like “Soliloquy”.

There is a song on this album for whatever mood you are in. There’s a few songs on here that I really like a lot, “Shot You Down (Remix),” because of the beat, and the collaborations with the other TDE members, Jay Rock, And Schoolboy Q. “Ronnie Drake,” because of the smoothness of the song, and also the feature with another new artist from TDE, Sza, she has a really beautiful and soothing voice that goes perfect with the beat and lyrics.

Also, “Brad Jordan,” is one of my favorites, it almost has an old school jazz feel to it, I like the vibe the song gives off. Usually a debut album doesn’t really live up to the hype, I was excited about this album since the release date was set a month and a half ago, I had a feeling this album could be a nice listen due to the rawness, and southern rap style that it comes with.

There really hasn’t been an album like this in a while, usually southern music is all “trap” based, so to hear some solid hip-hop come out from the south is refreshing . Although I give this album a great rating, there is of course always room for improvement.

I feel as if sometimes Rashad may need to clear up his lyrics as he records them, sometimes he sounds muffled to me, it may have to do with his thick southern accent. It’s nothing to major, and it will definitely not stop me from listening to any of his music in the future.

I highly recommend you go out and spend the 10 dollars for this album, I wasn’t disappointed. If you’re a hip-hop fan I’m sure you won’t be either. TDE still remains the power house in the music industry, out of Los Angeles, as for Isaiah Rashad, he put Chattanooga, Tennessee on the map with this one.