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An Ultimate Guide To The Music Of Rap Sh!t
City Girls, Missy Elliott, and Trina are among creator Issa Rae’s inspirations.
In one of the final scenes of HBO Max’s Rap Sh!t premiere, Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion) perform a drunken freestyle over Khia’s “The K-Wang” beat on Instagram Live. Their “Seduce and Scheme” track went viral overnight, leading the newly reunited Miami high school friends to form a rap duo. That moment in Mia’s car was so pivotal that series creator and executive producer Issa Rae insisted on shooting the scene multiple times.
“We wanted to make sure that their dynamic felt right; we wanted to believe that they would want to start a rap group after that collaboration,” Rae explains to Bustle, adding that it was a process to craft Shawna and Mia’s musical style. “So that took a lot of trial and error and figuring out the sound, and KaMillion and Aida working together to figure that out. To embody these characters musically was a journey in itself, but they are locked in now.”
Indeed, the HBO Max series’ soundtrack takes on a life of its own, featuring a mix of classic music and original tracks made for the series, including fictional rapper Reina Reign’s “Tongue.” Rae and showrunner Syreeta Singleton say they had never done a “music-centered show in this way before.” So they tapped staffers at the Insecure alum’s Raedio label, specifically Sarah Bromberg, Stephanie Diaz-Matos, and Philippe Pierre, to act as the show’s music supervisors and help them get started. Featuring Florida artists and female rappers to contribute to the show’s sound was paramount for Rae, who added that she and her team “just lived and breathed music” while developing Rap Sh!t.
Hip hop duo Caresha “Yung Miami” Brownlee and Jatavia “JT” Johnson of City Girls — who released a track called “Rap Sh*t” in 2018 — were the most obvious influence, and Rae tapped the women early on to serve as co-executive producers. Though KaMillion never got the opportunity to interact with Yung Miami and JT personally, the Jacksonville rapper explains that the duo helped Rae select the music, “which is important because those are real Miami girls, and they poppin’.” Adds Osman, “You can’t really go to Miami and do a show about two rappers without linking in JT and Caresha,” also referencing other Florida-based artists, such as Trina, Doechii, and KaMillion’s favorite, Kodak Black. (She emphasized, however, that Shawna and Mia’s onscreen journey is very different from the City Girls story.)
Though the creators also drew inspiration from artists such as Missy Elliott, Tierra Whack, Noname, and Rapsody for Osman’s character specifically, both Shawna and Mia are ultimately an amalgamation of musicians. “There are so many female rappers who are killing it, who have fans, who are working with each other, and who have just rooted themselves in who they are,” Rae says, also noting the “come-up via social media” of such rappers as Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B. Singleton, for her part, explained that they also dug deep into the Miami scene and relied on local musicians to help them to depict that specific Miami sound.
The result is a soundtrack of new music mixed with plenty of familiar songs viewers may recognize. Here is an episode-by-episode breakdown of all the songs featured in Rap Sh!t.
Episode 1 — “Something for The City”
“Take It To Da House” by Trick Daddy
“Easy Money” by Suni MF
“How You Do That” by LightSkinKeisha
“Tongue” by Reina Reign
“Raindrops” by GoldLink feat. Flo Milli
“Put It Down” by The-Dream
“Matter of Time” by B00TY feat. Loose Ends
“Time Today” by Moneybagg Yo
“Sidewalk” by Jucee Froot
“Walk With A Walk” by Hood Brat, TT The Artist, Branbaby
“Get F#%ked Up” by Iconz, Chapta, Stage McCloud, SupaStarr, Tony Manshino
“Seduce and Scheme (Car Freestyle)” by Shawna & Mia
“The K-Wang” by Khia
“In This Bih” by Fam0us.Twinsss
Episode 2 — “Something for The Girls”
“Dough” by Key Glock
“He Ain’t Sh*t” by A. Chic, Wifeybaby
“Seduce and Scheme (Car Freestyle)” by Shawna & Mia
“DANDADAN” by Chrissa SJE feat. Fade Bully
“Freak A Leak” by OG Kurb, WilliE
“Want Sum” by Enchanting
“The K-Wang” by Khia
“Seduce and Scheme” by Shawna & Mia
“S.O.S.” by Kelela
“Told Ya’ll” by Trina feat. Rick Ross
Episode 3 — “Something for The Hood”
“Area 29” by TVGUCCI
“Shake That Monkey” by Too $hort feat. Lil’ Jon & The East Side Boyz
“Super Hyphy” by Keak Da Sneak
“Trickin Ass Ni**a” by Moneybagg Yo & Blac Youngsta
“Tick Tock” by Young Thug
“Up Down” by Tokyo Jetz
“Seduce and Scheme” by Shawna & Mia
“F**k All Dat” by Key Glock
“Stepping By My Lonely” by Kuttem Reese
“Lil Scammer That Could” by Guapdad 4000
“Shisha” by Saucy Santana & City Girls
“Molly Poppins” by Hood Brat
“Make No Sense” by YoungBoy Never Broke Again
Episode 4 — “Something for The Clubs”
“She A Winner” by Trouble feat. City Girls
“Seduce and Scheme” by Shawna & Mia
“intres-ting” by Clairmont The Second
“Wheelie” by Latto
“Big” by Hood Brat
“ZEZE” by Kodak Black feat. Travis Scott & Offset
“Papi” by Rubi Rose
“Back in Blood” by Pooh Shiesty
“DOLLAZ ON MY HEAD” by Gunna feat. Young Thug
“Shottas (Lala)” by Moneybagg Yo
“KIRK” by Duke Deuce
“Ain't FWM” by Kali feat. KenTheMan
“Summertime” by Saucy Santana
“Say Nomo” by Molly Brazy
“Period Pooh” by Big Jade
“What You Need” by Don Toliver
“Poppin' My Collar” by Three 6 Mafia
Episode 5 — “Something for The Weekend”
“Seduce and Scheme” by Shawna & Mia
“No Friends in the Industry” by Drake
“Rich” by City Girls
“Spoil Me” by Dyamond Doll
“Rose Gold Stripper Pole” by KenTheMan
“Wat U Sed” by Isaiah Rashad feat. Doechii & Kal Banx
“F*ck The World (Summer In London)” by Brent Faiyaz
“Pressure” by Bree Runway
“ill nana” by Saucy Santana
“Don Diva” by Young M.A. feat. Rubi Rose
“Scared Money” by YG feat. J. Cole, Moneybagg Yo
“Lets Go” by Tokyo Jetz
“Uproar” by Lil Wayne, Swizz Beatz
“Back to You” by Twelve’len
Episode 6 — “Something for The Gram”
“Track & Field” by Enchanting feat. Kali
“Spalding” by Rellyski
“Beef FloMix” by Flo Milli
“Sucka Free” by Jozzy
“Not Playing” by Playboi Carti
“Exit” by Sebastian Mikael
“Money Make Me Wet” by Dyamond Doll
“Seduce and Scheme” by Shawna & Mia
“Big Party” by Bryant Taylorr
“Drunk And Nasty” by Pi'erre Bourne feat. Sharc
“Miami” by Kali Uchis feat. Bia
“Nann Badder” by Shawna & Mia
“SHAKE 88” by Denzel Curry
“Nunnadet Shit” by Asian Doll
Episode 7 — “Something for The DJ”
“Nann Badder” by Shawna & Mia
“Wootie Woot” by A1 LaFlare
“PU$$Y DREAM” by BEAM
“Seduce and Scheme” by Shawna & Mia
“1, 2, 3, 4” by Bee-B
“Make Em Mad” by Big Boss Vette
“Bandits” by A. Chic
“Gno (Girls Night Out)” by Tierra Traniece
“Handle It” by City Girls feat. Kali Cass
Durag Activity by Baby Keem
“Rap Sh*t” by City Girls
“Freaky Deaky” by Enchanting feat. Coi Leray
“Slob (On My)” by Hood Brat, WifeyBaby, Tim Gent, Vicki
Episode 8 — “Something for The Road”
“You Tried It” by City Girls
“Vices” by Josh Levi
“Just Ride” by Tokyo Jetz
“Ooo I’m Scared of You” by Masego
“Dead in Miami” by Foogiano
“Do It” by Kiddo Marv feat. Dreezy
“Money” by Saucy Santana feat. Renni Rucci
“Trippin On Meh” by Chyng Diamond
“Heavy” by Big Boss Vette
“Infrunami” by Steve Lacy
“Hate The B!tch” by Jackboy
“Rap Freaks” by Yung Miami
“Florida Girl” by Lil $o$o
“Scam Bitch” by Kingg Bucc
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