The first time they sit down to write together, Shawna presents an expletive-laced, unintentionally silly verse where she's rapping from the perspective of student loans. As the one who embodies the flamboyant attitude and capitalistic ethos of many of the biggest current rappers (Meghan thee Stallion, Cardi B, and real-life analog and Rap Sh!t co-producers City Girls), Mia acts as a stand-in for the masses, pushing Shawna to loosen up a bit and think more commercially. The show is at its freshest and funniest when this eternal struggle to strike a balance is front and center. But that tension between artistry and commercialism, politics and entertainment, is a central recurring theme in this zeitgeist-y take on the current landscape of hip-hop and the music industry at large.

After reconnecting with Mia (KaMillion), an estranged friend from high school who's now a single mother juggling multiple side hustles – makeup artistry, an OnlyFans page, and wealthy sugar daddies – Shawna rediscovers her love for rap and the two of them decide to form a rap duo. It's not spoiling things to say that Shawna comes out of retirement faster than Jay-Z did in the mid-'00s. 'Cause you don't support me! You don't support any of us!' She gives it another try

NO YOU DON'T!' she bemoans to her handful of Instagram Live followers. 'Y'all say, 'I want a different type of female rapper.'. In her accompanying videos, she dons a decorated face mask, a giant 'fro, and a hoodie, 'because I want people to focus on my lyricism, not what I look like.'Īn admirable, if potentially non-lucrative, aim to have. To pay the bills, Shawna has been working the reception desk in a Miami hotel lobby by day while writing rhymes at night (think lyrics about 'goddesses,' 'nurturers,' and the 'garden of Eden') under the stage name The Vision. Over an industry that only values female rappers who show off all their assets while putting in the 'bare minimum with no originality.' Never mind that she's a relatively unknown 20-something artist who's barely stepped foot in the game to begin with – after dropping out of college to work with a producer, she's found only fleeting, minor viral success, and that was. In the premiere episode of the HBO Max comedy Rap Sh!t, executive producer Issa Rae's first major project post- Insecure, Shawna (Aida Osman), a socially conscious rapper, fervently announces her retirement from the rap game. Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion) in Rap Sh!t.

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