Isaiah Rashad is back. After five years away, he has released IT'S BEEN AWFUL, a return that lands with the kind of ease and ache that have long defined his best work.
The new album includes “SCARED 2 LOOK DOWN,” “HAPPY HOUR,” and “BOY IN RED,” with SZA featured on the last of those tracks, Dominic Fike on “CAMERAS,” and Juliam Sintonia on “DO I LOOK HIGH?” A new review from Ratings Game Music gave the project a 4/5, and said Rashad uses the record to open up about the highs and lows of fame, missing home, and the emotional weight of breakups, flings, old friends, and new connections that never feel clean or simple.
That same review places the album in a smooth hip-hop and R&B pocket with indie and alternative influences, which fits the way Rashad has often worked. He has always balanced raw vulnerability with a sharp edge, and IT'S BEEN AWFUL leans into that mix instead of sanding it down. One of the review’s clearest takes came on “SCARED 2 LOOK DOWN,” where it said it was not sold on the track as a single at first, but changed its mind once it heard it in the context of the full album. The same writeup said the song taps into the reality of leveling up.
“HAPPY HOUR” also drew a close listen. The review described it as pure good vibes on the surface, while suggesting something heavier sits underneath. That split is part of the album’s pull: the songs can sound easy while carrying the weight of distance, memory and what it takes to keep moving. On “BOY IN RED,” Rashad and SZA are heard together again, and the review said the two still click with unusual naturalness. Dominic Fike also drew praise on “CAMERAS,” with the review saying he and Rashad absolutely show out there.
The tension in IT'S BEEN AWFUL is not whether Rashad can still make this kind of record. It is whether he can return after a five-year gap and make the separation feel like part of the story rather than a break in it. The album’s answer is yes. It sounds like a homecoming, but not a clean one. It carries the distance in its title, then spends its run showing why the distance mattered.
In the end, IT'S BEEN AWFUL does what a strong comeback should do: it makes the wait feel like part of the payoff. Rashad does not arrive as a different artist. He comes back as the one listeners were waiting for, only with more to say and less interest in making any of it easy.
