Issa Rae Reveals What Rappers Helped Her Write Music For ‘Rap S—‘

On the heels of Issa Rae's upcoming HBO comedy Rap S---, the television executive is shouting out some musical talents that helped her write some raps for the show. Rae discussed her newest project during a recent appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers.

"We were able to have a traditional writers room, which was really funny, brilliant writers. Some of them were from Miami. And then, just to be able to have authentic rap-- like the music has to be good, they actually have to be good rappers, we got to employ some of my favorite rap artists,” Rae said, citing PineappleCITI, Ncognita, and Dreezy.

In addition to adding some of Rae's favorite rappers on the bill, she has also tapped in Florida natives and rap stars Yung Miami and JT from City Girls as executive producers for the show.

The upcoming comedy follows Aida Osman and KaMillion as two aspiring female rappers. The first two episodes of Rap S--- will be arriving on HBO on July 21. Check out Rae's appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers below:

With half of 2022 already gone, we've gotten some great hits from key players in hip-hop including Kendrick Lamar, Future, Doja Cat, and many more. Take a look at 10 of the best songs in hip-hop from May and June of 2022:

Please note this list starts with the week of April 24. 25 of the best hip-hop songs before April 24 can be found here.

Drake surprised the world when he dropped his seventh studio album Honestly, Nevermind on June 17. Although the surprise LP is a dance album, Drizzy recruited 21 Savage for his only rap song on the project, "Jimmy Cooks." It's rumored that on 21's verse he's [inlink id="drake-kendrick-lamar-are-they-beefing" text="taking a shot at Kendrick Lamar"] but neither rapper at the time of this posting has confirmed if there is actually an ongoing feud.

A$AP Rocky made his directorial debut in his newest music video and song "D.M.B" (Dats My Bitch) starring girlfriend Rihanna. The video was released on May 5 and showed A$AP taking his relationship with RiRi to the next level when he asked her to marry him via his grills. The two welcomed their first child together on May 13.

"N95" was one of the standout songs on Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers which was released on May 13.  "N95" debuted at No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100, the highest ranking of all the songs on the album. Additionally, three other songs on Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers debuted in the top 10 including “Die Hard” with Blxst and Amanda Reifer (#5), “Silent Hill” with Kodak Black (#7), and “United in Grief” (#8). All 19 songs on the LP made the Billboard Hot 100.

Saucy Santana dropped his upbeat single "Booty" on June 10. The track makes use of the horns from the Chi-Lites’ “Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So),” which were also used in Beyoncé’s 2003 “Crazy in Love.” The song features Latto, marking their second time collaborating. They previously worked together on DJ Nature Boy's "Up & Down" which was released in 2021.

Pharrell Williams, 21 Savage, and Tyler, The Creator dropped "Cash In Cash Out" on June 10. "Cash In, Cash Out" marks the first time all three artists have collabed on a song together. Tyler and Pharrell previously worked together on NIGO's compilation project I Know NIGO! that was released back in March.

Post Malone dropped his fourth studio album Twelve Carat Toothache on June 3, 2022. "Cooped Up" was the first single from Twelve Carat Toothache which featured a guest appearance from the Compton rapper Roddy Ricch. Posty and Roddy performed the single on their Saturday Night Live debut on May 14.

Jack Harlow dropped his second studio album Come Home the Kids Miss You on May 6, 2022. Once the album was released, "Churchill Downs," featuring Drake, instantly became a standout record. The album debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart dated May 12.

Doja Cat released "Vegas" on May 6, 2022 which is a part of the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann's Elvis biopic. "Vegas" interpolates Big Mama Thornton’s 1952 song “Hound Dog.”

In anticipation of Kendrick Lamar's fifth studio album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, the Compton-bred rapper dropped "The Heart Part 5." In the video, the rapper's face morphs into several deepfakes, including OJ Simpson, Will Smith, Jussie Smollett, Kobe Bryant, Kanye West, and Nipsey Hussle. In each verse, he raps touches on a personal topic related to the Black celebrity. “The Heart Part 5,” is the latest installation of his “The Heart” singles series. The tracks have always arrived prior to the release of a larger project.

"Wait For U" is from Future's album I NEVER LIKED YOU which was released on April 29. The song quickly became a fan favorite and soared to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 while the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. This became Future's second No. 1, Drake's tenth, and Tems' first. Tems made history as the first Nigerian artist to top the Billboard Hot 100. "Wait For U" samples Tems'“Higher” which was featured on her EP for Broken Ears.