Issa Rae is thinking big for Season 3 of her Max (formerly HBO Max) show, Rap Sh!t. In her recent sitdown with ET, the Insecure star dropped a bombshell concept for an all-star cameo appearance next season that the Barbz, the Hotties and the Bardi Gang would love.
The 38-year-old actress suggested rappers Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B should make cameo appearances on the show.
“There’s a list,” she said. “I mean, we want Meg. We want Cardi. Nicki would be a nice little tie-around. If we could unite them — maybe Season 3 — we can unite the fan bases.”
The idea would unite the fan bases and contribute to the goal of Rap Sh!t, in which Issa acts as the head writer and executive producer. The City Girls serve as co-executive producers.
Rap Sh!t is an ode to female rap artists of the past and present, grasping inspiration from rappers like Nicki Minaj, City Girls, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Tierra Whack and more.
The Max show draws from today’s culture to highlight female rappers in hip-hop and gives them the recognition and acknowledgment they deserve. The show also aims to inspire many women rappers out there to reclaim their space in the industry. Additionally, Rap Sh!t approaches the issues women face in the industry, like being oversexualized and later bashed for tapping into their sexuality.
Furthermore, the show demonstrates the hard hits femcees’ careers may face when they attempt to deviate from the sexual marketing the industry pushes on women. Consequences for deviating from some of the industry expectations for women include the possibility of them being ignored and taking a risk that their content will be viewed as less entertaining. Issa portrays this complicated dynamic through the character Shawna, played by Aida Osman.
In an interview with Variety, Issa shared how the pilot came about, noting it was meant for Insecure, and she had the idea for a while.
“When I was first developing the pitch for what would be Insecure, I wanted to be in that world. I was like…there’s something interesting about a female rapper because there’s so many stories that you can mime from that. So, I never got to tell that story in that way.”
Max contacted Issa about a new show idea. She told them she wanted to set the new show “in this world.”
A producer, who she refused to name, helped with the premise of the show when he brazenly told the feminist that female rappers solely rapped about their pussies and queried if their bars extended further than that.
“It pissed me off because I was like, ‘this is unfair,’ and I used that as motivation to write the pilot…That kind of served as a foundation. Then, I just thought about the other elements of what it means to be a female right now, what it means to be an artist in this moment. And I just wanted to make a piece that reflected where we are culturally.”
