“Rap Shit”: We Talk to Issa Rae and Syreeta Singleton After the New Season Premiere

Shawna and Mia, two high school friends, are reunited after several years apart. Each with different jobs, families, and realities, they catch up and discover that they have a passion in common: music. “We can start a rap group,” proposes Mia, who defends a style “fun, sexy and provocative”; “I may be all of that, but my art is not for male gazes,” Shawna replies. In this mix of styles, expectations and aspirations, the artists devote all their effort and dedication to fulfilling their dream, under the guidance of their manager, Chastity.Se it is the series “Rap Sh!t”, starring Aida Osman, KaMillion, Jonica Booth, Devon Terrell and RJ Cyler, which recently premiered its second season on HBO Max. And if we’re talking about female friendship, of course there’s Issa Rae (“Barbie”) behind it; She was also the creator and star of “Insecure,” the five-season strip focused on two friends who are approaching their 30s and who face existential questions about their own desires. Showrunner Syreeta Singleton (“Central Park”) worked on both productions with Issa; “When I saw the pilot for this new rap project, I said, ‘I have to be there anyway,’ because I love that world.”Singleton confessed to this newspaper. Throughout the chapters, together they worked on different topics from a deep and dynamic perspective: the ideal of success, the quest to stay true to oneself, machismo in the music industry and more. Photo: Instagram @shutupaidaEn an exclusive Zoom interview with Filo News, Rae and Singleton reflected on the main challenges of this new installment, building the bond between the protagonists, the women who influenced them in rap, and more. Filo News: What relationship do you have with rap and why did you decide to focus on that industry for the series? Who are your favorite female rappers? Syreeta: I’m a fan of rap in general, I grew up with that music. I’m so excited to see so many women in rap, I love this world. It’s something I was really excited to write. Issa: Music in general motivates me, but rap in particular, and listening to women in rap is empowering, fun. Issa: I was asked about it in another interview but I want to correct myself: I said my favorite was Megan Thee Stallion, and I’m a big fan of hers; but it was a little disrespectful, because I think Nicki Minaj is the greatest rapper of all time. I think she influenced this whole genre that we have now. Syreeta: I also want to mention Lil’ Kim. The first time I saw her rap she gave me so much confidence, I aspired to have a little bit of that. She’s always going to be at my top of legends. Filo News: You’ve already worked together on “Insecure,” both series that focus on female friendship. How do those links work? Syreeta: I think we try to represent female friendship as authentically as possible. We know how friends can lift your spirits, inspire you, motivate you, challenge you, make you angry, cheer you up. I think we try to talk about these different levels of friendship, you see that in Insecure and in this series. Issa: And in this particular series it was different, because in ‘Insecure’ we had a grassroots friendship; But here we had the opportunity to show these estranged friends who are rebuilding their relationship, and see how they find ways to reconnect. Those stages also exist, they’re trying to find where they are in life. Photo: Instagram @shutupaidaFilo News: Why do you think the female gaze behind the camera is key to talking about that topic? What debates arise when building the characters? Issa: There’s a lot of talk about that. I think the best thing about the female gaze is that we’re in charge of telling stories, there’s no assumptions because it’s our experience that we’re sharing when we’re in the writers’ room, we have active discussions, which are true for us. That goes for the male characters as well, there’s a constant debate about making them as realistic as possible, finding the balance between the ideal man and the one we know in real life, and attributing those characteristics to the man on the screen. The actors themselves also bring their opinions about their characters. Filo News: What were the main challenges of this second season, compared to the first? Why would you recommend it? Issa: There were a lot of technical things that we had to deal with, a lot of legal situations. Luckily the father of one of the screenwriters is a judge, we made calls with him to consult him, and also one of the screenwriters is a lawyer… We wanted to make sure we were presenting the right facts. But it’s hard, we’re not “Law & Order” but we wanted to make sure we represented it in the best way. Syreeta: And I would recommend this season because it’s much bigger than the first one, more fun. There are a lot of twists in the story, it’s definitely another level. Issa: It’s a lot more fun. If you’re looking for an engaging story, strong performances, and a lot of laughs, check out this second season. Photo: Instagram @shutupaidaEpisodes of “Rap Sh!t” are available on HBO Max.

Original source in Spanish