An iconic artist is always getting better with each piece of material they produce, and as a critic, I’m reminded of this immediately when watching the music video for Timothy Isaiah’s “Ropes.” Released just recently to quite positive reviews from the press, “Ropes” invites us into a dreamy world that blends somewhat familiar elements of hip-hop with what would otherwise be considered Hollywood frills, leaving behind the bare feel of previous releases by Isaiah’s closest contemporaries completely. This is a full-color graduation into the higher class of players he and his competition have been dying to join, and it couldn’t have come at a better time than the present.
Compositionally, I think “Ropes” is far more mature than the much-discussed content coming out of the Atlanta underground in the last few months, and not because of its rebellious tonal presence and visually-appealing music video alone.
This just feels more personal to me, more vulnerable on the part of Timothy Isaiah, and I would say that in the grander scheme of things it demonstrates more of his talent beyond the vocal virtuosities so many critics have already praised in their breakdown of this same work. I get the idea this track was more about showing us some intellectual prowess, and in that regard, it’s easily a high mark in Isaiah’s young career.
I think it goes without saying that this is a rapper that we all need to be keeping an eye on, and if that wasn’t clear ahead of “Ropes,” it’s painfully obvious now. Timothy Isaiah has a casual demeanor to his lyricism that could easily mask some of the pain buried inside of the narrative his music constructs, but in this piece, I think the concealment becomes just a bit thinner than it could have been. I don’t know what he’s going to do next, but you’d best believe I’m going to be looking for his future work to find out.
