Whenever I write or talk about IshDARR, I can’t help but feel a little like a fake fan. I’ve been saying such over the top things about how talented he is, but a couple months ago I hadn’t even heard his name. With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s move on to the part where I talk about how talented IshDARR is.
IshDARR’s new album, Broken Hearts & Bankrolls, is proof that he deserves a spot on my list of the most slept-on artists of 2016. With only twelve songs, IshDARR demonstrates his technical rapping prowess, his willingness to delve into sensitive topics, and a musicality that you don’t often find in the hip hop industry. He manages to roll all of these things together with an unapologetic blackness, a style that says “this is who I am and people will like it, even if the industry doesn’t.”
I could go on about why IshDARR is so talented, but I promised to give you five reasons to love him. Before I get too carried away with my own descriptions, let’s get into IshDARR’s music. This twelve track album really demonstrates twelve reasons to love the man, but let’s stick to five of my favorite tracks:
1. ‘Yes, You’
This song is a great example of the Notorious B.I.G.’s influence on rap music. A lot of people, including rappers and people who don’t even like rap, complain that rap is all about getting laid or paid, or it’s about clubbing and the high life. That may be true, but we need a little lesson in hip hop history to understand why.
Biggie Smalls was the first rapper to bring decadence into mainstream rap. His music focused largely on storytelling, emphasizing the difference between the life of poverty and crime that he knew with the luxurious surroundings he was suddenly able to afford.
Unfortunately, most rappers decided to imitate Biggie’s love of the finer things in life while ignoring the significance of achieving those things when you come from a life of poverty. But IshDARR is different. IshDARR talks about the high life and all the luxuries he can afford, but he remembers to touch on the perseverance that got him there and the sacrifices he made along the way. This is clear throughout ‘Yes, You,’ especially in the first verse:
All my pride
I might choose to put aside
Always worth the while
Dreams of moving out
Condo super-size
Others you ignore
You say fuck them guys,
Probably movin’ on road now
I-95 super zoned out
Want an Atari Ferrari
And a boathouse
They ain’t on it
Girl I know
This song, and this verse in particular, is an example of a common theme in IshDARR’s music: I want that high life, but I’ll never get everything I want unless I keep working. In other words, I’ll never have it all as long as I keep slacking off and enjoying what I’ve got.
2. ‘Side Weighs’
This might be my favorite track on the whole album. ‘Side Weighs’ is actually one of my top songs of 2016, easily. Like most of Broken Hearts & Bankrolls, this song is about staying focused on creating music rather than partying. What really sets the song apart, however, is how far IshDARR takes it. He discusses how the industry, as well as most rap listeners, doesn’t want conscious rap with lines like:
So tell me why your fans twisted
I’m pit stoppin’, told that girl I’m day trippin
Havin’ battles with my inner
Hopin’ that I don’t get ig’nant
Up in SoHo with my niggas
Rockin Polo for the image
Too wild n too young
Posted up with two huns
We don’t bite, nor bother
Inhale it for my lungs
Never runnin’ out of options
Why I always save one
Every time you talkin’ conscious
You know they gone play dumb
IshDARR is basically saying “conscious rap doesn’t need to sound like conscious rap.” He’s saying that he can cover very real topics, he can deal with social issues and bare his soul, without sounding as preachy as other conscious rappers. He proves this throughout the song.
3. ‘Dumb Playing’
Like most of the album, this song focuses on IshDARR’s unwavering focus. Specifically, this is a track about how IshDARR walked away from what others call “success” in order to chase his dream of being a rapper. Though there’s obviously some significance in the lyrics, this song is really about IshDARR taking a few minutes to show off his technical prowess. The song is basically one long verse, followed by a hook. You can’t fully appreciate the significance of what IshDARR accomplishes here without listening to it, but I’ve copied my favorite part below:
Platinum medals like I’m back in O state
Life accomplishments I’m lookin’ at my dad’s face
Jim Tressel knew that I was special in my younger days
Switched my career and told my moma I’m gon’ innovate
This song has a special place in my heart, and I think it should resonate with most Americans as well. There aren’t many people who know from childhood what they want to do with their lives. Most of us go through a point where we at least ask “is this really what I want to do? Is this who I want to be?” Not many people have the guts to admit they’re on the wrong path and chase their dreams instead. IshDARR is speaking to everyone who feels they’ve made a mistake in their personal or professional lives. He’s telling us it’s okay to switch things up and follow our dreams. What’s the point of living if you don’t like your life? Check ‘Dumb Playing’ out below if you need a reason to live.
4. ‘Mistakes’
I’ve already mentioned how IshDARR reminds me of Biggie. ‘Mistakes’ reminds me of Tupac. A common theme in Tupac’s music was this idea that young black men who find themselves caught up in lives of crime didn’t choose to live that way; rather, established power structures more or less force them into certain roles. The hook in ‘Mistakes’ gives us IshDARR’s thoughts on the topic:
‘Cause life gon’ throw some shit your way
Some things you just can’t handle
Negativity is the root of evil
So we learn how to channel
Maybe just a mistake, just a mistake
Feel like I’m caught up in a maze
I’m in a daze
But I’m gon’ do it anyways
Yeah anyways.”
There’s a double-meaning here that I think was intentional, especially considering the content of the verses. The rest of the song is, broadly speaking, about committing crimes. On the one hand, the hook can be interpreted as “when we do negative things, we’re just channeling the environment we’re trapped in.” The second interpretation seems much more closely linked to IshDARR himself: “we channel the negativity around us into our art and music.”
IshDARR plays with the whole concept of dual-meanings throughout the song. He ends the first verse with “quick reminisce when I was choosing Kool-Aid flavors.” This line is clearly a reference to Kool-Aid, which every person who had a childhood can relate to. But more importantly, it’s a reference to his own blackness (Kool-Aid is a stereotypically black beverage), as well as a reference to joining in or being a follower (“drinking the Kool-Aid” is slang for blind adherence to a belief, derived from the Jonestown Massacre).
5. ‘Breaking Hearts’
This song is, by and large, just an excuse for IshDARR to flex his lyrical muscles. I am 100% okay with that. He spends a good portion of the song doing the whole battle rap thing and talking about how great he is, but what makes this song really incredible is how IshDARR effortlessly blends references in with his rhyme scheme. For anyone reading this who has never written a rap before, just know that it is INCREDIBLY impressive. It’s easy to fit a fun reference or insightful comment into a simple rhyme scheme, but this song is structurally impressive. That technical or structural impressiveness makes little references, like this potential Kendrick reference, so much more impressive:
Hold my tongue might be some truth to that
Told you I’m so used to that
Prudent stupid who is
You is
I’m rollin’ like four in fact
Lungs blacker than my heart
Black the berry sweet the juice
Ya innocence my ignorance
The only part you say is true
Whether IshDARR intended to reference Kendrick’s ‘Blacker the Berry’ or he was merely referencing the old saying “the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice,” the reference is inspiring in such a complex rhyme scheme. I specifically used the word “inspiring” because I think IshDARR sets a new standard for rappers. It seems like all of the most impressive rappers focus on lyrical content or lyrical structure, and anyone who tries too hard to be impressive in both regards ends up mediocre at best. Immortal Technique is one of the best storytellers in the rap game, but structurally his songs are pretty simple; R.A. the Rugged Man is one of the most technically impressive rappers alive right now, but he tends to forgo stories and messages in favor of breathtaking lyrical structures. Without naming any names, a lot of mainstream rappers try to sound impressive while delivering a message, and they end up failing in both regards. IshDARR has shown us that it’s possible and that even a young rapper with relatively little experience can accomplish it. He’s show us that we can, and should, expect more from the hip hop industry.
I’ve made some pretty strong claims in this piece. Do you agree? Disagree? Tell us in the comments why I’m right or why I’m wrong! Be sure to bump the whole project below.
