Season 2 of Rap Sh!t is finally making its debut on Max, and ET chatted with the iconic producing duo behind the series, Issa Rae and Syreeta Singleton, about what fans can expect this time around and which artists they want to make cameos on the show.
Marveling over the success of season 1, Syreeta tells ET’s Denny Directo that it’s still hard to grasp the show’s rapid rise among fans.
“It’s really exciting, and it’s encouraging ’cause it’s always just us talking about it over and over, you know? So, sometimes it’s a surprise when people are like, ‘I love that show!’ and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, you do?’ Because I know we’ve cried over it and we, like, fought over it, we bled, you know what I mean? And so for it to resonate with people, it feels so good. It makes it feel meaningful,” the showrunner gushes.
Season 2 of the Max Original comedy picks up where the first batch of episodes left off after estranged besties Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion) reunite in Miami to form their rap group. In their rise to fame, Shawna and Mia find themselves at a pivotal moment in their rap career as they are forced to decide if they will stay true to themselves or conform to the demands of the music industry.
Jonica Booth, RJ Cyler and Daniel Augustin star alongside Osman and KaMillion in the new chapter.
Discussing the upcoming season, Issa shares how season 2 will delve deeper into how the music industry treats green artists like Shawna and Mia.
“In the first season, they were kind of dipping their toe in — they were aspiring. And in this season, they are fully in it, and they jumped into it really quickly and compromised a lot to get there. I think they’re questioning, ‘Did we jump in this too fast? Are we fully prepared? Is this who we wanna be? Is this how we want to be presented? Is this how we want our debut to be?'” the show creator reveals.
She shares that the rap duo is constantly trying to stay a few steps ahead of where they need to be as they try to stay in the game. “There’s a constant discussion of who needs to represent us, what are our next steps and anybody who’s created something, who’s been an artist, who’s just felt deeply about something [can] relate to their journey,” she adds.
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As Issa has previously shared with ET, Rap Sh!t is inspired by the real-life stories of women in the hip-hop industry, including Yung Miami and JT of the City Girls, who also serve as co-executive producers.
The series also draws experiences from those in the writers’ room, with Issa and Syreeta sharing how they’ve related their life experiences for the fictional duo.
“One of my things was like, when something is announced, the pressure to live up to that that made me be like, ‘I don’t want no one else in what I’m doing,’ cause if you have a project that gets announced, then all of a sudden it falls apart,” Issa notes. “Then it’s just like, people are constantly asking what happened with this. These girls are in a position where the outside world sees what they’re doing, and they don’t know the circumstances of it. So, you have to pretend like it’s this great thing… when in silence, you might be like, ‘This is nothing that I wanted. This is not my dream, this is not the dream that I imagined.'”
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Syreeta closely related to Mia’s journey in this season, telling ET that having the rapper go on tour and leaving her daughter behind for the first time was an emotional rollercoaster that she personally understood.
“I mean, that’s what happened with me shooting the show in Miami [while] my kids go to school in L.A.,” she shares. “But it’s like, I have this dream that I’m trying to accomplish, that I am hoping and praying will pay off for my family and that they’ll understand. So, that story was really personal to me and I think also personal to the other mothers in the room.”
And when it comes to future installments of the show, the duo already have big ideas in mind. Issa admits they have a list of rappers they would love to have guest star in upcoming seasons, including Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj. It’s a seemingly impossible ask, but the ladies are down to unite the fandoms for an epic ladies’ night!
Season 2 of Rap Sh!t will premiere Nov. 9 on Max and will continue to air one episode weekly.
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