.IssaRae’s new show 'Rap Sh!t' spotlights female rap—and a side of Miami not often seen on screen
—out today on HBO Max—the main character, Shawna , voices her frustrations with the music industry. For years, she’s been trying to make it as a solo artist after a promising early break. “Y’all say, ‘Oh, I want a different type of female rapper.’ No, you fucking don’t! You don’t support me, you don’t support any of us!” she shouts.
Yet she soon sets herself up for a wild ride with her childhood friend Mia after they accidentally go viral for a tipsy freestyle they broadcast on Instagram Live. In the glow of the clip’s attention, they decide to form a rap group, but they’re at odds about the messaging: While Shawna longs to create something meaningful, Mia wants to rap about money, fast cars, and sex. “Mia, I knew exactly who she was—I’m friends with her,” Rae says with a laugh over a Zoom call from New York.
We won’t say anything more about the plot—no spoilers here—but the show is great, not only for its quick comedy but also the seriousness of its lensing and layering. is about gender dynamics, relationships, cash, bodies, fame, and power; there are double standards, false starts, family conflicts, romance roadblocks, friendship squabbles, and questions of what to put on social media—in this show, the characters record nearly everything.
In Shawna and Mia, Rae created amalgams of some of today’s biggest female rap stars and their come-ups. “I wanted to mimic the way that we discover musical talent right now,” she says. “[In some ways], our relationships to these people become less about the music and more about their personalities and social media presences. Even Megan Thee Stallion—I talk about how before I even knew about her music, I saw her video where she was at the gas station twerking.
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