A Day with Zay: My experience at the Isaiah Rashad concert
When it comes to concert experience, I am a complete beginner. Before last Thursday I had been to a single legitimate concert and, while fun, it was for the relatively new and underground rap collective AG club (check them out), so the venue and crowd had left me desiring more.
I found my next opportunity when I opened up Twitter this past July and saw one of my favorite artists, Isaiah Rashad, was coming to town. I was completely ecstatic and his shows started selling out within a week, so I had to act fast. Rashad is an interesting artist, he’s signed to TDE alongside big names like Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy Q, however, he hasn't quite garnered the same mainstream respect. As a label member since 2013, his rise to prominence has been slow and deliberate, which is pretty apt for an artist who averages a project every 3-4 years. Thankfully, he is someone who has internalized quality over quantity; his projects have spoken for him while building momentum without a ton of PR – they’re cult favorites, if you will. His projects range from soulful rap, arguably his signature genre, to hard-hitting bangers such as those featured on his latest project, The House is Burning, which features names such as Lil Uzi Vert, SZA, and Smino.
While Zay was my main motivation to buy tickets, he was not the only one performing. In fact, for the first 20 minutes there was actually no one performing as the show got going a little late. This gave me time to appreciate the venue, The Fillmore, and get a sense of the crowd. While it’s no First Ave, The Fillmore can fit 1,850 people and with the packed upper decks and the sizable crowd on the floor, it didn't feel far off from max capacity. Despite the human crush, the venue remained reasonably cool, which was a blessing. Finally the first performer of the night, Ray Vaughn, made his entrance. The first of the two openers and TDE’s newest signee, Ray quickly showed us why he made it on such a renowned label with an impressive, relentless flow and a fun acapella start to many of his songs. It didn't hurt that he was showing some MN love with a Randy Moss jersey.
Next was the second opener and an act I had definitely heard of, Childish Major. Childish is an independent rapper with a pretty good range of sound, from trap to soulful R&B, although on this occasion he kept it more trap-centric. I think it’s quite possible Childish brought the most energy out of any act and was out there for some of Rays and Rashads songs which showed some great camaraderie between the artists.
Finally, it was time. We had made the treacherous journey to the very front, I had a lot of lyrics memorized, and I felt ready. Rashad stepped on stage and it was the start of a whirlwind performance. He definitely brought the variety; we got the smooth soul of his 2016 project “The Sun's Tirade” and the star-studded bangers of his newest project which was really what I had been hoping for. To only get to see one side of such a dynamic artist is a pittance compared to what we got. I got to hear personal favorites such as Claymore, Rip Young, 4r Da Squaw, and Heavenly Father.
The show really felt like 3 separate performances with how impactful the openers were. It was more than I could have hoped for and now I’m on the lookout for tickets for any and every concert. I’m hooked.