Issa Rae & the ‘Rap Sh!t’ Cast on What Makes the Show Different From ‘Insecure’ (VIDEO)
Issa Rae is Emmy-nominated for her performance in the final season of the breakout hit she created, Insecure. But the writer/actress/executive producer steps off screen for her new comedy about two estranged high school besties who reunite to form a Miami rap duo.
“It’s different from Insecure in that it’s younger, and set very much in the now. It tells the story of their coming up in this male-dominated industry and what they have to put out there in the world to succeed,” says Rae who wrote the pilot and then refined the series with Syreeta Singleton, a writer on Insecure, Black Monday and other shows.
Two real-life rappers were cast as the leads. Aida Osman plays Shawna, who dropped out of Spellman College after a music producer guaranteed she could “make it.” She didn’t. Instead, she’s tolerating spoiled customers at a hotel front desk job while recording earnest, political raps that aren’t getting much attention. KaMillion is Mia, a single mom doing a range of gigs to make ends meet yet projecting a glamorous image on social media.
Over eight episodes, the ladies navigate the music biz – with tons of fun and hilarious scenes set in the Miami club world; weather the ups and downs of their loves lives (a romantic squabble is even live streamed, one of the many ways social media is incorporated into the show); and form a friendship and artistic partnership that changes both of them for the better.
Says Singleton, “It’s like the hustler and the dreamer come together. Shawna’s got the vision and Mia’s got the work ethic. She’s going to help them make it by any means necessary. They’re like the perfect little power couple when you put them together.”
Rap Sh!t, Series Premiere, Thursday, July 21, 9/8c, HBO Max
