Issa Rae, actress, writer and all-around entertainment creative, announced on January 18 that season two of her television series “Rap Sh!t” would be its final season following its cancellation.
On Jan. 29, Rae told Net-A-Porter: “You’re seeing so many Black shows get canceled, you’re seeing so many executives – especially on the DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] side – get canned. You’re seeing very clearly now that our stories are less of a priority,” she said.
“Rap Sh!t’s” cancellation came as a surprise to many who’ve been awaiting the announcement of season 3. Even KaMillion took to social media to voice her disappointment on the cancellation in a video she uploaded to X.
“I love this show and I am so proud of the work we’ve done. We created something fun, raw, and original and we did it our way! I will forever be grateful to Issa, our incredible cast, the amazing writers and crew that made this show possible. And so grateful to Max for giving us the chance to bring ‘Rap Sh!t’ to the screen,” said Syreeta Singleton to Variety.
“Rap Sh!t” wasn’t just a fun, intriguing television show - the show shed light on some of the music industry’s most “hush hush” elements, from toxic masculinity to nepotism. In addition to highlighting such items, the show also gave more representation to Black women, making them the centerfold and the proponents of a “rags to riches” story that was both exciting and suspenseful to follow.
Another thematic aspect of “Rap Sh!t” was the multi-faceted representation it offered to women in rap: “What I appreciated was the variety of mentalities that the women characters brought to the game of rap. Shawna considers rap an artform and a craft to cultivate and express her opinions on Black female identity and hip-hop consciousness. Mia embodies the free-spirited, fun and financial side of rap, seeing it predominantly as a come-up to get rich and an outlet to express her sexuality,” said Deborah Jane Burke, a creative filmmaker, actress, musician, and graduate of Stanford University.
“Rap Sh!t” starred lead actresses Aida Osman and KaMillion, who played a pair of high school friends who reunited to make a rap group. The show was created by Rae alongside showrunner Syreeta Singleton, under Hoorae media, Rae’s entertainment company. It first aired its first season in 2022, with its second season following in 2023: its second season was paused due to the SAG-AFTRA Strike.
Representation
When it comes to representation, the show offered a safe space for Black women in the music industry.
“As a Black woman, I believe the representation displayed in the show was most important to me. Very few shows feature a majority black cast, especially on a prominent platform such as Max. I felt seen and that my culture and life was accurately portrayed through the screen,” said Nya Hearn, a publicity rep at Universal Music Group °1824.
The television show also did something that mainstream media doesn’t always do - it gave representation to a new body type - women with “normal’' bodies. Oftentimes in the mainstream media, only one beauty standard is perpetuated - actress Aida Osman represents beautiful, “normal” bodies that society may deem as “average,” giving a space to women all around the world who might feel from the lack of representation in the media.
“I loved that the show featured two Black female artists from Miami! Since the show revolved around the music industry, featured South Florida, which is where I’m from, and had two black female leads, I believed I could relate greatly to Shawna and Mia,” said Hearn.
In the show, KaMillion played Mia, and Aida Osman played Shawna, former high school friends from Miami who reunited and started their rap music careers together under the name Shawna & Mia.
For viewers, “Rap Sh!t” offers an array of relatable characters to resonate with - and even some not-so relatable characters. Reigna Reign, for example, is a white female rapper in the show whose character was there to highlight appropriation, drawing on prejudices and misconceptions that people may have about female rappers.
Deborah Jane Burke, a filmmaker and graduate of Stanford University, found herself liking the character, Mia: “There is something very endearing about Mia. Perhaps it is her commitment to her daughter, her sincerity, desperation or her honesty. Whatever it is, and even though she is very rough around the edges, it feels like she is always coming from a place of truth. So, she is loveable,” said Burke.
Background on “Rap Sh!t”
“Rap Sh!t” is about more than just the music industry. The show offers representation to the perspective of women in rap - highlighting different factors like body positivity, a respect for lyricism, oversexualization, colorism, attention from the male gaze, and even perception.
Loosely, the show is actually based on the careers of the City Girls, a duo composed of JT and Yung Miami, who actually served as co-executive producers of the show. Issa Rae is the creator of the series. Other producers included Montrel McKay, Jonathan Berry, Dave Becky, and Jim Kleverweis. Co-executive producers included Yung Miami and JT, along with Kevin “Coach K” Lee, Pierre “P” Thomas, Sara Rastogi, and Jax Clark.
Rae graduated from Stanford in 2007. She first gained attention for her Youtube series, “Awkward Black Girl,” Rae is known for her hit television show “Insecure” and she recently starred as President Barbie in Barbie (2023).
The show is known for its high-energy and animated cast, as well as its playlist and soundtrack that actually earned Guild of Music Supervisors Award nomination for the original track “Seduce & Scheme” by Shawna & Mia, which was created by Raedio, Issa Rae’s music supervision arm of her media company.
“Since I want to pursue a career in the music industry, I really loved that this show examined the ins and outs of it and highlighted important issues such as artist-manager conflicts and label contracts,” said Hearn.
Rae’s entertainment company, Hoorae Media, looks to continue its entertainment legacy with endeavors including its music supervision/audio-centered arm, Raedio, and its management arm, Color Creative, which was founded by Issa Rae and Deniese Davis. The entertainment mogul has been making multi-faceted moves across industries, most recently dropping her own prosecco brand, Viarae.
In an interview with Net-A-Porter, Rae revealed, amidst this frustrating entertainment industry climate, that her expectations and ambitions for herself and her career extend far beyond Hollywood.
“I want, in 10 years’ time, to be transitioning towards service,” she said. “This is fun,” she said, “but at some point, it’ll feel like not enough – and I want to be able to do more.”