What Rap Sh!t’s Stars Learned About Being a Mogul From Issa Rae

For an up-and-coming entertainer, you could do a lot worse than hang around Issa Rae. 

Not only did Rap Sh!t stars KaMillion and Aida Osman get to hang with Issa, but they also got to call her their boss. 

Issa executive produces Rap Sh!t, which follows the the journey of Mia (KaMillion) and Shawna (Osman), two estranged high school friends in Miami who reunite to form a rap group. The experience of being in Issa’s orbit was, as they tell it, invaluable. 

“My dreams are to be a mogul,” KaMillion exclusively told E! News. “Looking to [Issa], she has her own label. She has her own production company. She’s a successful actress. She raps on the side. Watching her do all of this stuff, as an artist myself who’s independent, I have to be everything at one time. So finding somebody that I can look to to be inspired by that’s doing it great and successfully, it’s like, ‘OK, take notes.’

This wasn’t a typical creative and production process, either. Issa, who also wrote the show’s first episode, was hands-on. 

“Seeing her be there every day on set, that’s not even common for executive producers and creators,” Aida revealed. “She was still there every day helping and maintaining the perfect amount of distance.”