King Iso - Get Well Soon (Album)

When it comes to mental health, King Iso supplies the best music for the cause, check his entire catalog, let alone debut under Strange Music “World War Me” but as Tech N9ne stamped, Iso really leveled up his signature sound on his sophomore effort with the label, “Get Well Soon”. Entirely produced by Iso himself, Iso gets even more personal as he delves deeper into his psyche. Opening up with some words of affirmation from Iso’s son on the title track, Iso takes it back to the park he used to take him to back when life wasn’t so peachy keen. Still, Iso was determined to make it out of the mental hospital he had been placed into, in order to come out & be a better man but he did that all on his own, as you hear from the slight resentments for those who weren’t there for him in those dark times. 

On “Zero Dark Thirty Four”, Iso takes us into that isolation he felt, day in & day out being stuck in that cell, just biding his time until he could be discharged. Making numerology the focal point, Iso feels like nobody can help him but himself, though he’s finding it difficult to do so. It was probably the best place he could be though it wasn’t ideal, the outside world hadn’t been too kind to him prior to entering. It seems he spent a long while doing for others rather than doing for himself but he’s done with that for “Today” cause people only seem to reach out when they need something, never to check in with him, I’m sure a lot of people can relate to that. 

Iso is taking us through a day of his in the ward, waking up “6AM” every morning, medicated before he can start the day, I remember those days of hardly sleeping & getting high just so I can get through the days. That’s how “Big Farm A” gets you under their thumb & I’m glad he, as well as C-Mob & X-Raided are breaking down the evils of the pharmaceutical system & it’s coming from someone who unfortunately was a test subject for some of these medications but as we hear on “Under My Tongue”, Iso found a way around being a lab rat for these evil people. Cheating the system has never sounded more gangsta than this. It won’t be long before he self destructs & when he does, you won’t want to be in the blast radius. Rittz & Twista deliver some of their signature chopping, mixed with that introspection in one of the labels best chopper cuts.

He’s hell bent for leather on “Hellthy”, one of the most tragic cuts on this record. It’s like, to have that self awareness but to be so deep in your own madness that you can’t stop yourself from doing what you know isn’t serving you well, not many can make it out of that place. Of course though, people never see what’s behind the mask cause whenever they ask us if we’re alright, we just hit them with the biggest lie ever, “I’m Okay”. Iso, like many others, has struggled with this greatly but he’s giving those who haven’t been able to admit that they’re not okay, a green light to be able to let their guard down, even though some people make it difficult to do so. It’s okay if you’re “Not Well” but it’s important that you do all you can to get well.

As humans, we tend to question a lot, it’s normal though for us to & honestly, quite necessary. Especially when you got all this time to yourself, as Iso did being stuck in that cell, only having that little “Window” to stare outside of & ponder the ills in the world, as well as his life. Even now that he’s out of it, he still stares out whatever window he comes across, especially if he’s driving around, just overthinking as a lot of us do. You can drive yourself crazy if you overthink too much though so do so with caution. This sentiment bleeds perfectly into the next track, an anthem for the psychos with “Made Me Crazy”, this is that sound that technicians claim the label has abandoned but I don’t feel bad for any strangers who fell off before they could see Iso carry that torch, let alone label on his back. It’s also nice to hear from Snake Lucci again, who we last heard on his “Dementia” album & of course, the OG Tech delivers a scathing verse that finds Tech at his most maniacal.

It’s also beautiful to hear his right hand man throughout this album, let alone kill his two lone features on here, starting with the bar overload that is “Big Facts”, pun intended given the single cover art, let alone concept of the whole project. Also gotta point out the chemistry between him & A-Wax, which only continues to grow with each collab they muster up. This could’ve been a leftover for their “Written In Blood” project but “My Flowers” fits perfectly in here, as in this point in the album, Iso is demanding his respect. He recalls the times when he didn’t have it on “6PM” & how it’s really only been him, he didn’t wait around for the respect, he simply went out & did what was necessary in order to garner it naturally & even then some people refuse but he & Taebo got no time they wish to spare on those individuals. Hearing his son as well continue writing to him as he’s in the mental ward will surely get anybody right in the feels. It’s beautiful the faith he never lost in his father, I’m certain it’s the one constant that helped him get through his ordeal & it’s the one constant that continues to bring him immense joy. “Get Well Soon” is an important album, especially in these trying times & another beautiful example of how strongly Iso urges mental health awareness, it remains the focal point of his music & only continues to help those like me who have slowly been learning to help themselves. We appreciate the  honesty throughout your music Iso & for helping us listeners not “Cover The Scars” but rather embrace them in all their tortured beauty.