After nearly five years away, Isaiah Rashad returns with his latest album, It’s Been Awful. Releasing on May 1, 2026, with TDE, the record has three features in total. Track No. 4, “Boy in Red”, continues the strong streak of collaborations Rashad and SZA have had since their debuts. The latter two features include Julian Sintonia and Dominic Fike. The lead single for the album, “SAME SH!T”, released April 9. This comes on the heels of his 2021 album The House is Burning, his grand return after another 5-year disappearance.
In the comments, Isaiah Rashad responded to some fans who asked for more details about It’s Been Awful. Apparently, there’s a deluxe on the way with a Lexa Gates feature. One person was a little disappointed that a fan favorite teaser and leak, “Calculators,” didn’t make the final cut. However, Rashad teases that one of the album’s primary producers, Keem the Cipher, also produced that song. Consequently, we can expect that “the vibes there somewhere.”
Isaiah Rashad Reveals The Direction of his Next Album ‘It’s Been Awful’
If his first single is any indicator, we should anticipate a fair share of Southern trunk rattlers. However, in a conversation with Noisey back in August, Rashad mentioned some artists that might throw a wrinkle into our expectations.
“The biggest inspiration for me was Fousheé… Prince, I’ve been having “If I Was Your Girlfriend” on repeat for 2-3 months. Then, for this tail-end part of my project, this girl, PLUTO, from Atlanta. She’s been inspiring me and this other girl, BunnaB,” Isaiah Rashad told us. “I’m touching more [Outkast’s] Stankonia and The Love Below more than anything else. I would say Top made compromises for the creativity on this one, so I appreciate it.”
What excited the Chattanooga rapper the most about It’s Been Awful was being able to go back on tour. In contrast to his prior shows, he excitedly told Noisey that there will be a live band for his newer songs. The only time he was able to pull that off was when he was overseas. Now, Isaiah Rashad is aiming to have it done for the entire span he’s on the road.
“We did it in Europe on the last [tour.] I wish I could’ve did it the whole time. The first time I played with a band was with this guy, Tony Royster Jr., one of Jay-Z’s drummers. That was the coldest drummer I’ve ever seen, the first time I ever did something like that,” he said.
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