''The Sun's Tirade'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American rapper

Isaiah Rashad Isaiah Rashad Joel McClain (born May 16, 1991) is an American rapper. He first gained recognition following his performances on the 2012 Smoker's Club Tour alongside rappers Juicy J, Joey Badass and Smoke DZA. He is a founding member of the Chat ...

. It was released on September 2, 2016, and is his second release with

Top Dawg Entertainment Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label. Specializing in hip hop and R&B artists, TDE is based in Carson, California. The label was founded in 2004 by record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, who is the chief exec ...

(TDE), following 2014's acclaimed mixtape '' Cilvia Demo''. The album, recorded during a period in which Rashad experienced struggles with depression and

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

, features a strongly reflective and conscious tone with production that takes influence from

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

, trap,

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. It features

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s from SiR,

Zacari Zacari Moses Pacaldo I (born April 8, 1994), known mononymously as Zacari, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his guest appearance on American rapper and Top Dawg Entertainment labelmate Ke ...

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

, Deacon Blues, Kari Faux, Syd tha Kyd, Hugh Augustine,

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1985), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. Rock signed with local independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. He secured a major lab ...

and

SZA Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA ( ), is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her diaristic lyrics and genre explorations, she has been credited as a prominent figure in influencing contemporary R& ...

. The album's production was handled by several producers, including

Mike Will Made It Michael Len Williams II (born March 23, 1989), known professionally as Mike Will Made It (often stylized as Mike WiLL Made-It) or simply Mike Will, is an American record producer. He is best known for producing trap beats for several Southern hi ...

, D. Sanders, Cam O'bi, J. LBS, The Antydote and Chris Calor. ''The Sun's Tirade'' was met with critical acclaim from music critics, and appeared on numerous end-of-year best album lists from various publications. The album debuted at number 17 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 19,000 copies its first week. The album was supported by the critically acclaimed

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

, "Free Lunch".

Background and promotion

On August 26, 2016, Isaiah Rashad announced the album's title, release date and the reveal of the artwork. On August 30, he shared the album's track listing, which features

s from Kari Faux, Syd and SiR, along with Top Dawg label-mates such as

and

. Rashad released ''The Sun's Tirade'' on September 2, 2016. During various interviews in promotion of the album, Rashad revealed that he was addicted to

Xanax Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of moderate duration within the triazolobenzodiazepine group of chemicals called benzodiazepines. Alprazolam is most commonly prescribed in the ...

and alcohol, and was suffering from depression, anxiety and isolation during the time between the release of ''Cilvia Demo'' and ''The Sun's Tirade''. He further stated that he "fucked up", and almost got dropped from

a total of three times during the recording of his album. "Free Lunch" was released as the album's lead

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on August 7, 2016. The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the single, directed by APLUS Filmz, was uploaded to Top Dawg Entertainment's

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel on August 10. On August 27, 2016, Rashad performed "Free Lunch" with Kendrick Lamar during Lamar's headlining set at FYF Fest. On September 17, 2016, he performed "Tity and Dolla" at the

BET Hip Hop Awards The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006; it was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and was first ...

, which aired in the next month. Rashad also released music videos for the songs "4r da Squaw" and "Park", which have not been released as singles. The album was removed from

streaming services A streaming media service (also simply called a streaming service) is an online platform that allows users to watch or listen to content, such as film, movies, Television show, TV shows, music, or podcasts, over the internet. Instead of downloadi ...

for unknown reasons on October 29, 2024 but has since been restored on Spotify as of November 8, as well as other streaming services by the end of the year.

Music and lyrics

''The Sun's Tirade'', much like its predecessor, is a loose

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

. The project is characterized by its personal themes, such as

substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...

, depression, and Rashad's personal struggles with

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

and

. The album incorporates stylistic and production elements of southern hip hop,

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from Soul music, soul ...

trap music Trap music, also known simply as trap, is a subgenre of hip-hop music which originated in the Southern United States, with lyrical references to trap starting in 1991 but the modern sound of trap appearing in 1999. The genre gets its name from t ...

, and progressive

. Musically, the project has been noted by publications for its diversity and unique sonic palate, and for being "much more jazzy and upbeat" than ''Cilvia Demo''. Rashad's vocals are layered and textured. His voice throughout the record displays a "heavy rasp" and "sing-songy flow".

Critical reception

''The Sun's Tirade'' received positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

upon its release. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 80, which indicates "generally positive reviews," based on 11 reviews. Sheldon Pearce of ''

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

'' praised ''The Sun's Tirade'', dubbing the album "a complex portrait of a man in transition", and further applauded Rashad for "wear nghis anxieties" on his sleeve. Ryan Lunn of ''The Line of Best Fit'' lauded the album, saying "while the album may have been crafted during a two-year tsunami of struggle, Isaiah Rashad still manages to sound as calm as an ocean’s gentle waves; sounding so effortless has never taken so much effort." Andy Kellman of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

similarly praised the album, citing its creativity and production as a highlight, while also directing praise at Rashad's rapping, stating "Rashad's voice is dispirited, on the brink of disintegration". Stephen Kearse of ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

'' reviewed the album favorably, noting the album's "experimental aesthetic" as more refined than on Rashad's previous efforts. In a less positive review, Michael G. Barilleaux of ''No Ripcord'' found the album to be boring, stating "Each song on this album makes its own point, but does it in exactly the same tone as the last. The end result is 17 tracks of one sound in a row, all bleeding into each other."

Accolades

''The Sun's Tirade'' appeared on numerous end-of-year best album lists from various publications.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 17 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 19,000 copies its first week.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suns Tirade 2016 debut albums Isaiah Rashad albums Top Dawg Entertainment albums Albums produced by Mike Will Made It Albums produced by Steve Lacy Albums produced by Dave Free Albums produced by Frank Dukes