After releasing what may be his most personal album yet, Isaiah Rashad has made it clear that he isn’t comfortable being defined by labels.
The It’s Been Awful rapper spoke about being unwillingly placed in a position of representation during an interview with Andscape’s David Dennis Jr. At around the nine-minute mark of the video below, Dennis mentioned how Rashad is viewed as a “voice” for “different communities.”
“I know that people put that on me, but that’s too much pressure, man,” the Top Dawg Entertainment artist responded. “I could see an imperfect reflection like that I could give to somebody, ‘cause I’ve definitely had that from other artists myself. But being the drug guy and the queer guy–it’s too much pressure. I’m just an imperfect person.”
Rashad added that while he’s open to “hug” and “listen” to fans who need someone to turn to, he doesn’t see himself as “somebody’s hero.”
The Tennessee native previously described himself as “sexually fluid” after an alleged sex tape involving him was leaked. During a recent conversation with alt-rock musician Dominic Fike for Pigeons and Planes, he jokingly mentioned that he hadn’t received any “Frank Ocean perks” since coming out. Ocean, who has released two studio albums so far, publicly came out as bisexual in a 2012 open letter shared on Tumblr.
