Issa Rae Makes Another Hit With 'Rap Sh!t'
In 2018, Miami-bred rap duo City Girls (JT and Yung Miami) dropped the mixtape Period, featuring a song detailing their rise to success: “Rap Shit.”
My own daddy said I wouldn't be shit / I looked at him, like we gon' see bitch / I'm up now, I don't give a fuck about my past bitch / I don't really fuck with this rap shit
The track has all the elements of City Girls music: a braggadocio anthem for the girls who are defying the odds and making it in a fake, male dominated industry on their own terms, with your daddy’s money. Even as they share their real hardships, the mood is fun, something for the summertime, no matter the season.
Creator and executive producer Issa Rae captured the mood and the mission of this song and the City Girls as a whole and turned it into TV magic with her latest HBO hit series Rap Sh!t.
Set in Miami, Florida, and very loosely based on the show's executive producers City Girls, Rap Sh!t follows Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion), two former high school friends who grew apart and find themselves back in each other’s orbit when life doesn’t go as planned.
Now a hotel clerk, Shawna’s rapper dreams have stalled as her conscious lyrics and incessant need to cover up her face and body keep her music and style from resonating widely. Mia turned to sex work to support her young daughter, but her large social media fanbase doesn’t always translate into the dollars she needs to make ends meet. After a drunken night of reconnecting, Shawna and Mia decide to form a rap group.
Issa may have come to prominence being relatably awkward and insecure, but in Rap Sh!t we see a creator standing fully in her confidence, using social media as a cinematic device to expose layers of her characters. So much could go wrong with switching between IG lives, stories, FaceTime and IRL to tell the story of these Black women and how they perform vs. who they really are. But under the leadership of showrunner Syreeta Singleton, the transitions are smooth, and the device is not an indictment of the characters' (and the viewers!) social media obsession, but a compelling revelation.
With Issa's Raedio label serving up the soundtrack for the series, the music becomes a character itself, revealing even more about where Mia and Shawna are in their lives. Their first hit song, “Seduce and Scheme” sums up the duo perfectly. While Mia knows how to get a man to break some bread off, Shawna’s also got some tricks up her sleeve that might not be totally legal. The two are in survival mode and become each other’s life rafts. Their rebuilt friendship is the heart of the show and works because Osman and KaMillion ooze chemistry.
Osman, who also writes for the show, brings sincerity and vulnerability to Shawna who may be oblivious to her own self-righteousness but has a heart of gold that makes you root for her, even as she’s stealing people’s credit cards at work. And real-life rapper KaMillion was a reality TV star on Love and Hip Hop: Miami and the “Queen of Twerk Music,” but the multi-faceted talent moves like a seasoned vet through Mia’s hilarious one-liners and heart-breaking desperation.
READ OUR RAP SH!T EP. 1 & 2 RECAP: BAD BITCH RENAISSANCE HERE
In a show full of rising stars, Jonica Booth stands out as pimp and club-promoter Chastity, the self-proclaimed Duke of Miami, who tries to hustle her way into being Shawna and Mia’s manager. The always excellent RJ Cyler rounds out the cast as Mia’s baby daddy Lamont, whose immaturity makes him seem like more of a deadbeat than he intends.
Devon Terrell’s Cliff serves as the foil to Lamont as Shawna’s law school-future politician boyfriend. But this is a show about the complexities of Black life and Black love, and it shatters the stereotypes of what makes for a good partner. By episode six, Cyler has an opportunity to flex his charm, and does not disappoint.
It’s in that sixth episode (directed by Insecure alum Amy Aniobi and the last of the eight-episode first season given to press) when it clicks for me why I love this show. Yes, it’s fun and laugh-out-loud funny from the jump and the characters are consistently full and beautifully Black and specific to Miami – but there’s something else that’s crystallized toward the latter end of the series.
Episodes five and six take us through some serious issues that Black women face; in other hands, bringing this subject matter to screen could have done some damage to its Black audience. But if we know anything about Issa Rae, it’s that she’s rooting for everybody Black. In her and Singleton's hands, the trauma explored on screen is authentic without retraumatizing the Black audience for the white gaze.
Though I haven’t seen the final two episodes yet, if they cover any of the real-life drama the City Girls have publicly faced, Shawna and Mia might be in for some serious heartbreak. But there is joy in knowing that this team of writers cares about the viewers as much as its characters. Like all of Issa’s work, we love it because it loved us first.
Rap Sh!t premieres on HBO July 21 at 9 p.m. EST.'
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ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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How To Use Oils Properly If Long And Healthy Hair Is Your Goal
Not too long ago, I was talking to a senior Black woman who has super long, healthy hair about what her secret was. Her immediate response is what inspired me to pen this because, low-key, I couldn’t agree more with what she said. “I know everyone thinks that the internet knows every damn thing these days, but I still grease my scalp. It worked for my grandmother, it worked for my mom, it works for me and my own daughters and granddaughters.”
LISTEN. And what’s wild is, when it comes to Black haircare, few topics are more polarizing than whether you actually need oil — or not (Google “should you grease your scalp” to see what I mean). While I do agree that, for the most part, you should avoid things like mineral oil and petroleum-based products because they can clog your hair follicles, weigh your hair down, and sometimes even make your hair drier and harder (because the oil is sitting on top of your hair instead of actually penetrating it), I firmly believe that certain oils can perform all sorts of miracles and wonders for your hair and scalp. It’s all about knowing your hair type, what it needs, and how to apply oils properly and effectively.
How To Use Hair Oil Properly
Are you ready to learn how to do that? Let’s get into it.
Massage Your Scalp
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Let’s start with the foundation of your hair: your scalp. First up, if you want to reduce stress, pretty much anywhere on your body, a massage will help make that happen. In fact, there are even studies to support that a scalp (head) massage can also help lower your blood pressure and ease headache and migraine tension. As far as hair growth goes, using your fingers to rub your scalp can also reduce hair shedding and increase the thickness of your hair (by slightly stretching out your hair follicles) over time.
And here’s the thing: If you warm up an oil like rosemary to massage your scalp with, thanks to the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties that are in it, it can help stimulate your hair follicles. Also, if you battle with dandruff on some level and you bring a few drops of tea tree oil into the mix, its antifungal properties can help to bring relief to itching and flaking while actually reducing some of the fungi that create dandruff in the first place.
(For the record, some other essential oils that are great for fighting dandruff and overall scalp irritation include frankincense, peppermint, and cedarwood.)
Pre-Poo
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It’s kinda wild, the small steps we will skip, thinking that they are no big deal when they actually are. In walks, pre-pooing. I’m thinking that a lot of you know something about the concept; however, just to be on the safe side…since shampooing can oftentimes strip your hair of the moisture that it needs, pre-pooing is all about applying conditioner, a hair mask, or some type of hair oil to your tresses, before washing them, in order to retain hydration. Since this article is all about oil, I’ll focus on some of the ones that are great for moisture retention as far as pre-pooing goes.
- Olive oil is a dope one because it’s loaded with antioxidants and fatty acids.
- Avocado oil is beneficial because it has biotin, vitamin E, and moisturizing properties in it.
- Jojoba oil is good because it has the ability to add moisture to your hair from the inside out.
Once you’ve selected the oil of your choice, divide your hair into 4-8 sections, generously apply the oil to dry hair (you can dampen it a bit if you’d like), and allow it to penetrate your hair for about 20-30 minutes before you shampoo your hair. That way, your hair will still be soft, manageable, and pretty protected as far as dryness goes before the shampoo starts doing its cleansing thing.
Add Some to Your Conditioner
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Listen, I don’t care who you are or what your hair type is; if there’s something that you definitely should be doing, it’s deep conditioning your tresses. As someone who does it religiously, to do a thorough job, you’re gonna need about an hour just to accomplish that. So, what if you’re pressed for time? Another thing that you can do is add some oil to your hair conditioner, apply it, put on a thermal heating cap, and leave it on for, say, 10 minutes or so. The mixture of the oil with your conditioner and heat while your hair is already damp will penetrate your cuticles and make them feel like you did a pretty solid version of deep conditioning.
Oils that are great for this? Thanks to all of the vitamin E that it contains, argan oil; if you want to add some additional shine, macadamia oil, and if you’re looking for something that will help to reduce the damage that hair dyes can cause (like drying your hair out), camellia oil.
Lock in Moisture (with Layering)
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Speaking of adding (additional) moisture to your hair, something that many sistahs do is either take the LOC (Liquid, Oil, Cream) or LCO (Liquid, Cream, Oil) approach. It’s pretty explanatory yet the bottom line is, if your hair is particularly dry, layering a liquid with a cream or oil could help you keep moisture in your hair for longer. As far as whether LOC or LCO is best for you, LOC fans typically have high porosity hair (meaning that your hair both takes in and loses moisture quickly because there are “holes” in your hair’s cuticle), and LCO is best for low porosity (which means it’s hard for their hair to get moisture to penetrate).
As far as the cream goes, it can be anything from a creamy hair conditioner to a hair butter like mango or shea butter. Oils that are effective include evening primrose oil, pumpkin seed oil, and moringa oil because they all help strengthen your tresses.
Seal Your Ends
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Because the ends of your hair are the oldest parts of it, you need to be intentional about giving them as much TLC as possible; that’s the only way that you’ll ultimately be able to retain length long-term. One way you can do that is by sealing your ends, which simply means that you apply some oil to the ends of your hair while it’s damp. Sweet almond oil deeply hydrates dry hair without weighing it down, soybean oil is full of fatty acids, and Jamaican black castor oil is also a deep moisturizer.
For tips on how to seal your ends properly, check out this instructional video here. Oh, and if some of you were waiting for me to mention coconut oil, although it doesn’t personally work for me, there is a YouTuber who shouts it out as far as hair sealing goes here.
Add a Bit of Oil At Night
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Probably until each and every cow comes home, there’s gonna be a debate about whether or not it’s beneficial to apply oil to hair while it’s dry. Personally, to get the most lasting effects, when it’s damp is always gonna be best. Oh, but don’t sleep on applying a bit of oil to your hair at night before turning in, too. I’ve been doing it for quite some time now and I’ve noticed that it’s helped to pamper my ends in between wash days. What I like to do is cornrow my hair (to keep it stretched out without the use of any heat) and then apply oil to the ends before tying it up and turning in.
Oils that I recommend? Carrot seed oil helps to prevent split ends, hemp seed oil helps to strengthen your hair and reduce breakage, and grapeseed oil is a potent moisturizer that also reduces frizz.
BONUS: Blue Magic, Anyone?
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As I wind this down… back to the whole, “greasing your scalp” thing. A few years back, I wrote “Looking For Hair Growth? It Might Be Time To Bring 'Blue Magic' Back” for the platform because if there is one woman whose hair is something magnificent out in these internet streets, it’s a woman whose YouTube channel is EfikZara. When I tell you that she ain’t tryin’ to hear nobody tell her to give up petroleum and mineral oil? Not one bit. Anyway, one of her videos is inside of the article if you want to check out her regimen.
What I will say for now is I tried it on my mostly 4B hair, and I hard passed. Blue Magic ultimately made it hard and stiff. HOWEVER, I know some people with 4-type hair who have low porosity, and when they applied grease to damp hair, they said that it kept their locks soft and moisturized longer than just about anything else.
Bottom line: Figure out what works for you and stick to it. And chile, if that happens to be hair grease…so be it, sis. DO IT.
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I’m hoping that I did a thorough enough job to where, if someone tells you that oiling your hair is futile, you can immediately refute those claims. Oil can be a real godsend — so long as you know what you’re doing.
Hopefully now…you do.
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