Issa Rae is back with another nuanced examination of women’s friendships, ambition, and sex lives with “Rap Sh!t.” The HBO Max comedy is set in the music industry and tells the story of estranged best friends in Miami who reunite to form a rap group.
Since dropping out of school to pursue music in a deal with a producer that went wrong, Shawna (Aida Osman) has been floundering. Her videos aren’t getting many views. Her long-distance boyfriend, a law student at NYU, seems tolerant of her dreams rather than supportive of them. She’s selling credit card information to help pay her bills. Mia (KaMillion) has a handful of jobs and is simultaneously juggling the demands of motherhood. Her kid’s dad is in the picture, but the responsibilities of raising their daughter fall mostly on her shoulders.
It feels like Shawna and Mia may be just what one another need — someone who pushes them outside of their comfort zone, and offers a different perspective than what they’re used to. Their distinct takes on the world and experiences within it make their collaborative mind-melds all the more thrilling.
“Insecure,” Rae’s Emmy-winning series about an unfulfilled 20-something (Rae) finding her way in East LA, devoted its later seasons to exploring how her character grows apart from, and then later reconciles with, her long-term bestie, overachiever Molly (Yvonne Orji). The friendship at the center of “Rap Sh!t” feels very different from Molly and Issa’s. For starters, Shawna and Mia share plenty of history, but when we’re first introduced to them, they’re mostly out of touch besides keeping tabs on one another via social media. It’s fascinating to watch their early interactions play out. In some ways, they have the kind of intimacy that’s only possible when you’ve shared formative experiences with someone. In other ways, they’re practically strangers. Their dynamic is even further complicated by the fact that they suddenly become creative and business partners when they start a rap group together. (If you’re missing Issa’s mirror raps from “Insecure,” rest assured that “Rap Sh!t” isn’t just about rappers — their music features prominently in the series.)
Shawna, who is demeaned daily, even hourly, at the luxury hotel she works for, is determined to make art that’s not “for the male gaze,” so much so that she’s been performing under a mask in the videos she releases. Mia, who counts makeup artist and cam girl among her many gigs, feels differently. She considers herself blessed to be “in the middle of a bad bitch renaissance,” and embraces the kind of aesthetic Shawna feels is dehumanizing. For her, it’s empowering.
“Rap Sh!t” grapples with what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated, image-obsessed industry. As Osman, who is also a writer on the show, told The Hollywood Reporter, “All of us wanted to talk about the fact that our bodies get politicized so much and policed; women’s bodies in rap become intellectualized before they become celebrated.” She added, “Any young woman trying to make it in the rap game is not going to be free of those critiques and she’s going to have that inner monologue and have to figure out what she feels about it.”
Besides looking forward to seeing how Shawna and Mia navigate the politics of the biz, I’m just happy to spend more time with them. Watching “Rap Sh!t” can feel like hanging out with a group of particularly funny, entertaining friends, which helps to fill the void created by “Insecure’s” absence.
“Rap Sh!t” premieres on HBO Max tomorrow, July 21.
