Isaiah Rashad Is Putting Chattanooga On The Hip-Hop Map
He’s dedicated to paying his success forward and inspiring his city.
“You never know how interesting your own world is until you document it,” says Isaiah Rashad in his Obey Your Thirst documentary presented by The FADER and Sprite. Having grown up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he says most people have never seen the ocean, Rashad is aware that he’s not exactly from the hip-hop capital of the U.S.
His ambition to be the first rapper from the city far outreaches the distance to the nearest beach, though: "I feel like in my heart of hearts, I’m an individual. Ain’t nobody on this planet like me." Rashad credits his confidence to his family, particularly his mom, who made him read the dictionary religiously growing up.
Much like Vince Staples and his hometown of Long Beach, Rashad is dedicated to remembering where he comes from: “It’s important for me to pay it forward to the people in Chattanooga, some type of way,” he says. “It’s inspiring somebody, man. Just making somebody want to do something.”
After checking out the documentary, have another look at our feature on Rashad, and then re-watch the Obey Your Thirst installments on Drake, Nas, and Vince Staples below.