Isaiah Rashad Details Pressure To Represent Recovery And Queer Communities

Isaiah Rashad said the pressure to represent people in recovery and queer communities was too much for him to carry.

The TDE rapper from Chattanooga discussed those expectations with David Dennis Jr. in an Andscape interview, where they talked about sobriety, growth and forgiveness.

“But being the drug guy and the queer guy–it’s too much pressure. I’m just an imperfect person,” Rashad said.

His album It’s Been Awful explored childhood and generational trauma. It was also his first album since private footage of him was leaked in 2022.

Rashad had already discussed what came with being treated as a public example earlier this year.

In a separate May conversation with Dominic Fike, he talked about the expectations placed on him as a Black bisexual rapper and a person in recovery. He joked about not receiving the benefits he associated with Frank Ocean.

The two artists had also worked together: Fike appeared on “CAMERAS” on It’s Been Awful.

It’s Been Awful followed a five-year gap after 2021’s The House Is Burning. He addressed the limits of what he could offer listeners in an October interview with The Village Voice, too.

Rashad said messages about his music helping people were easier to receive than being told he had saved someone’s life.

“I’m not a counselor. I’m not giving advice to anybody. I’m answering the question because I have no advice,” he said.

The same interview described how he approached sobriety day to day. He said he stayed away from bars and kept a 12-step app on his phone.

Family was part of that account, too.

Rashad, who has three children, said being a parent pushed him to figure himself out.

His brother, Keem the Cipher, lived with him, traveled with him and served as the lead producer on It’s Been Awful. He also described his mother’s presence at important moments on the tour.