Set in Miami and shot on location, the story follows high school friends who reconnect in their twenties to form a rap duo. Mia (rapper KaMillion) is a single mother with a five-figure IG following, who gets by doing makeup and stripping on OnlyFans but still feels the weight of her responsibilities. Shawna (comedian Aida Osman) is a struggling rapper who spends her days working the counter at a South Beach hotel. Her politically charged rhymes in the style of Noname (only without her humor and playful flows) haven’t taken off, while her ex-producer (Jaboukie Young-White) has made it big by shaping the sound of Reina Reign (an Iggy Azalea stand-in). At one point in the pilot a man gives Shawna’s music the backhanded compliment, “We need more rappers like you, sistahs with self-respect.”
After a drunken night in the city, Shawna lays down an off-the-dome freestyle on IG Live while Mia does her thing on the ad-libs. The clip goes viral and Shawna pleads with Mia to capitalize on their buzz with an actual song. Their ideologies about what type of rap women should make quickly clash: Mia wants to make “fine bitch shit” while Shawna is concerned about the line between sexual empowerment and playing into the male gaze. They talk it over and don’t find a magic solution, but Mia is able to broaden her friend’s narrow view of art. Their first song, a City Girls-esque anthem, is a leap for Shawna, who goes from conscious punchlines that might make Joyner Lucas cringe (she writes a rap from the perspective of student loans) to having Megan Thee Stallion’s mannerisms down.
Once the premise is established, the show gets to work on what sets it apart: digging in the weeds of the rap world, from its commentary on streaming success to the Southern-rap soundtrack and thoughtful original songs. The snippet of Shawna and Mia’s second single, as revealed in episode six, is probably the most I’ve been interested in a rap song performed by original characters since 2005 when DJay (Terrence Howard) dove into the struggles of pimping in Hustle & Flow. Over a beat that taps into the ’00s Cash Money revival, Mia’s assertive “my bitch so bad” hook gives off the feel of Trina, while Shawna’s flow is now a breezy bounce that wouldn’t be out of place in Memphis. It’s pointed and regionally specific, notes that are helped by having the real-life influence of the City Girls as a foundation.
Plus, the duo’s conversations about rap feel similar to the ones that fans have in reality: What does selling out look like? Who gets platformed and why? And what does hip-hop stand for? Rap Sh!t isn’t the first scripted comedy to foreground rappers, but with its critical eye towards power dynamics in the industry, it just might be the most in-touch with the genre.
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