Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith

Isaiah Rashad Once Wrecked Top Dawg’s Car But Got It Fixed Before He Found Out

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TDE rapper Isaiah Rashad is set to return soon after a nearly five-year absence from the spotlight that began after his 2017 tour for The Sun’s Tirade and only sporadic appearances since. He’s bringing with him a new album, The House Is Burning, as well as a new outlook courtesy of a stint at a rehab facility and a bout with COVID. As he reveals in a new cover story for The Fader, his alcoholism was at one point so bad that he not only wrecked his own car, but he also wrecked his benefactor, Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith’s, as well.

Although story author Jeff Weiss doesn’t go into details, Isaiah explains that his drinking problem, which he openly copped to while promoting The Sun’s Tirade, nearly got him arrested boarding a flight, caused him to wreck his Jeep, and sent him back home to Chattanooga after he spent nearly all of his rap money buying expensive clothes, supporting family and friends, and buying “really expensive sandwiches.” But through it all, the TDE CEO patiently stuck it out with his mercurial second-wave signing, even after Zay wrecked his Honda — but that might be because the rapper paid to have it fixed before his label boss could find out.

Eventually, though, he came clean, which resulted in a stay at Dana Point Rehab facility, where he learned to cope and secretly signed autographs for the staff members’ kids. Now, he’s back on track for another run at rap superstardom, with The House Is Burning set for release any day — although fans are convinced it’s this Friday after Top Dawg tweeted out “the wait is over” with that release date.

You can read the full profile here.

Top Dawg’s Cryptic ‘Wait’ Tweet Has Fans Convinced Kendrick Lamar’s Album Is Dropping Soon

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When TDE CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith tweeted “THE WAIT IS OVAH!!!” with a video showing a release date of May 7, he set Twitter ablaze with speculation about just which TDE-instigated “wait” would be concluding next week. A resounding consensus has emerged favoring Kendrick Lamar — who last released a full-length album in 2017 — making “Kendrick” one of the top trends on Twitter just an hour after the tweet.

However, some were skeptical about the possibility that it’d be the Compton rapper, as TDE has had follow-ups for a handful of projects in the works, including Isaiah Rashad’s 2016 album The Sun’s Tirade and SZA’s 2017 debut CTRL, which were both critically acclaimed fan favorites.

Meanwhile, some seemed resigned to the possibility that it might not be any of the “big three,” considering the label’s gift for constantly upending expectations. A few fans seemed less excited, skeptically preparing themselves for May 7 bringing disappointment instead.

One thing seems to remain certain: Even without revealing a single detail about whatever is coming on May 7, TDE’s roster collectively has enough pull to dominate the discussion, meaning that whenever any of the speculated albums actually do release — whether that’s in May or another time entirely — they’ll surely be able to capture fans’ attention all over again.

TDE’s Top Dawg Reveals A May Release Date For … Something

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Top Dawg Entertainment is well-known for esoteric rollouts which include blacked-out profile pics and surprise single releases, but it’s been a while since we’ve heard from the West Coast-based label home of Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, and SZA. Today, the Top Dawg himself, TDE CEO Anthony Tiffith, broke the silence, tweeting out a mysterious release date reveal with a triumphant caption. “THE WAIT IS OVAH!!!!” he wrote, while a video displayed a simulated loading screen with a progress bar that rapidly reaches the 99% mark before resolving into a simple “5/7/21.”

In typical TDE fashion, though, this leaves us with more questions than answers. What is the label planning? Which member of the roster warrants such excitement from the head honcho? It’s been a while since most of the marquee stars of TDE last released full-length projects; fans have been anxiously awaiting updates from Ab-Soul (who last released Do What Thou Wilt. in 2016), Isaiah Rashad (The Sun’s Tirade, 2016), Kendrick Lamar (DAMN., 2017) and SZA (CTRL, 2017). That’s not counting Jay Rock, whose last album dropped in 2018, Schoolboy Q, who last released in 2019, or group efforts like Black Hippy or the collaborative project Reason and Jay Rock hinted at in 2019.

For now, it looks like we’ll just have to wait to see if the label plans to release more information before next Friday or stay glued to their social channels to find out who it is. Check out Top Dawg’s tweet above.