Source: Scott Dudelson / Getty
Isaiah Rashad has kept a very low profile since an alleged sex tape of him, and two other men was leaked this past February. The Top Dawg Entertainment artist received a strong show of support from fans during that time, but Rashad himself never made any statement since then. At the outset of his performance at Coachella 2022 on Sunday, however, he finally addressed the sex tape — without ever directly saying a single word about it.
Rashad’s set began with a video montage where various personalities, including Joe Budden, DJ Akademiks, and The Game discussed the impact of the leak, how “messed up” it was, and the fallout it could have on his future.
“What do you think, uh, uh, it’s gonna do to his career?” one voice asked in the clip. And the respondent said the only thing it would do for Rashad’s career is “boost it.”
“The purpose of doing that was to embarrass him,” another voice said in Rashad’s opening video. “However, it backfired. When his video leaked, his streams and everything went up. He’s up on the charts now.”
At that moment, Rashad broke into some of his most popular cuts from The Sun’s Tirade as well as tracks from his latest album, The House Is Burning. Fellow TDE artist SiR showed up to perform alongside Rashad, too. And Doechii, his newest labelmate, also came on stage to do their song, “Wat U Sed.”
The 30-year-old reportedly started tearing up as he delivered another song, “Wats Wrong.” Rashad has been open about his struggles with addiction and self-harm in his lyrics, and he reached out to his fans as he stood beneath Coachella’s Sahara Tent. “I’ve seen y’all messages and sh*t,” he said as the audience cheered him on with approval, “all the positivity, y’all n-ggas kept me alive these last couple months. So we gon’ keep this muthaf-cka rockin…,” and Rashad let out a shout as he proceeded to close out his set.
