Issa Rae’s “Rap Sh!t” won’t be returning for a third season at Max.
The music industry series, which starred Aida Osman and KaMillion as rap duo Shawna and Mia, has been canceled by the streamer after two seasons. The news comes just under a month after the half-hour show aired its Season 2 finale on Dec. 21.
“We are extremely grateful to Issa Rae for creating Rap Sh!t, a one-of-a-kind comedy with compelling social commentary that reached viewers in a way only Issa’s talents can accomplish,” a spokesperson for Max said in a statement. “A huge thank you to Issa, showrunner Syreeta Singleton and the teams at Hoorae and 3 Arts Entertainment for introducing us to Shawna and Mia, a duo whose journey fans have been invested in and who they have continued to root for through everything. We’ll never get Seduce and Scheme out of our heads and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
After first debuting in July 2022, “Rap Sh!t” Season 2 picked up with Shawna and Mia mending their broken trust while Shawna faced the music of her ongoing legal issues. The sophomore season saw the rap group head on tour with problematic rapper Reina Reign, putting pressure on the pair to weigh out their management options between longtime ally Chastity (Jonica Booth) and lucrative manager Francois Boom (Jaboukie Young-White).
After turning their back on Chastity, the Season 2 finale saw an interesting alliance form as Chastity met with established rapper Gat — who Shawna had been feuding with online — as the two now shared a “common enemy,” according to showrunner Syreeta Singleton.
Created by Rae and showrun by Singleton, the second installment of “Rap Sh!t” also spotlighted the mental health struggles felt by many within the hip hop community through tour headliner Lord AK (Jacob Romero).
“It was a lot of conversation around the pressures of the industry, the lack of support that people feel when it comes to your mental health, but also as a young Black person who’s at the height of their career and has all these expectations and pressures on them … and just this constant “go, go, go” society that never allows you the chance to really check in with yourself and get the help that you need,” Singleton told TheWrap following the Season 2 finale.
“Rap Sh!t” Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Max.
