Mistakes People Made In Season 2 Episode 1 of Rap Sh!t (That I Predict) The Characters Will Regret Later This Season...
Sometimes when I watch TV shows I feel like That's So Raven, except the only futures I see are messy ones. Am I the only one that feels like that? It's like I can see when people are making a very bad decision, and I literally mentally play out the tragic future in my mind. This first episode of the season 2 of Rap Sh!t had my spidey senses tingling off the Richter scale as it was full of bad choices made by the main characters, and emotional decisions that I fear will lead to serious obstacles along their journey to fame.
Just like Raven Baxtor, the TV psychic I am comparing myself to, I am sometimes off in my predictions, because I don't have all the details. So, if my predictions about the future of the show are not correct at the end of the season, we can all come back here and have a good laugh. But for now, just in case you don't know what Rap Sh!t is, let me give you a brief explaination.
Rap Sh!t is the brain child of Issa Rae and airs on HBO Max (now called simply Max). It follows the lives of a rising Miami female rap duo personified in Shauna and Mia, and the struggles they go through trying to chase their dreams of fame and fortune.
In Season 1, they became a rap duo when they gained mutual respect for each other due to a shared interest in music and discovered they can benefit from each other's talents and connections (I'm really oversimplifying it). But now, in Season 2 it seems like their careers are really taking off as they are finally going on tour. An old "friend" from Shauna's past is giving them a hook up and taking them on tour with his hot new artist.
This opening episode of Rap Sh!t has already lived up to my expectations and I'm sure it will be my guilty pleasure watch this winter. It was full of heart-warming moments, funny bits and juicy drama that should keep me entertained and full of watercooler conversations throughout the holiday season. I can just hear the Thanksgiving gist amongst the young and young-at-heart crowd "you been watching Rap Sh!t?" This is definitely one of those shows people will be talking about. So, if you're not watching it. You need to be. Let me get back to the trouble my spidey senses foresee coming for our main characters. Let's just get right to it. They are as follows:
- Chastity not having her numbers and paperwork-game tight. Chastity is the girls' manager. I personally think she's really street smart, by virtue of having been around and seen a lot of different things in the stripper world and music world and hustling, etc. She's really trying her best to prove herself as a manager. However, she is clearly more street smart than she is aware of how things are done in the big leagues. All three of them failed at negotiating when they met with Francois about the girls going on tour with his artist. Although Chastity sounded like the smart one, because she was trying to tell them to ask for more from Francois, I believe Chastity is the one who is responsible for pushing the sale (both to the girls and to Francois). So, she should have been the one bringing evidence of the girls' success to the meeting with Francois. Yes, she told him that the girls were streaming with big numbers on Spotify, but she should have pulled the numbers and brough charts to the meeting and been able to say we're doing so and so hundred thousand streams on Pandora and this number on Apple Music and this on Tidal and Amazon and in these demographics and markets, etc. etc. She did none of that. She just spoke up a couple times and then backed down. Also, I haven't seen them sign one contract! And Francois literally said to them "this is an investment." These are all serious red flags to me, and I predict that is why they will be taken advantage of in the industry. Which is kind of sad, because the show really has me invested in them, and rooting for their success.
- Shauna always mixing business with pleasure. One of the main reasons the girls folded so fast in that negotiation with Francois was, because Shauna insisted that Francois was trustworthy and that they should just go with it and not mess up the little bit that they have. When I saw that, I thought it was a little uncharacteristic at first seeing as how she was so reluctant to shake it for the cameras in the music video where they were baking...cause I don't think they were cooking crack...flour was involved. They were surely baking...LOL!!! Anyway, I digress. She knows how to object, but then she folded like freshly washed laundry in the negotiation, and then we see her by the pool with Francois afterwards drinking liquor and playing never have I ever by the pool. Taking off her clothes and jumping in the pool. She doesn't seem to be able to protect herself in business situations. I don't know if her parents were too hard on her and she's just trying too hard to be "down." But she is definitely putting too much of herself on the table when she should be holding some of that back, and letting her talent speak for her. I don't think she should be as friendly with Francois as she was (especially since he screwed her over in the past... supposedly giving her music to his other artists in Season 1). Yet, she's playing drinking games and jumping into the pool in her underwear with him. I think it's telling that she is doing this with him alone, and Mia and Chastity are not around when this takes place... And then there is her relationship with Maurice the scammer. This dude is literally a scammer. She has the threat of prison looming over her head, because of him. Yet, she's still over there cuddled up with him like she hasn't learned her lesson. But I have to admit, that's why we're watching it, right? LOL
- Mia being too pressed to get rich quick. Since season 1, Mia's love of money has gotten her into hot water. From her OnlyFans account getting leaked, to her getting assaulted by a sugar daddy. Now, this season in that same negotiation meeting with Francois, her face said, "I see the bull sh*t" in this deal, but her lips said, "One million dollars..." My impression was that Mia was torn during that meeting, and she probably underneath it all agreed with Chastity that they should ask for more stuff out of the tour deal (at least the ability to sing their own songs). However, her desire to get to the bag made her just follow the leader and not rock the boat. Honestly, I think she just wants to get out of her current situation, and going on tour seems glamorous. So, I think that's why Mia chose to ignore the warning signs.
So, those are what I feel are the fatal flaws of these characters this season. Let's see how the season plays out. I may write an article after every episode. We shall see. I'm definitely going to be tuning in to this show this season. It's going to be my cuffing season/holiday season/winter guilty pleasure for sure.
Are you watching Rap Sh!t? Did you notice the same things I noticed? Or did something else stand out to you? What's your favorite thing about the show? Let's continue the conversation in the comment section.
