Anyone with an HBO Max subscription (or who is bombarded with its ads) knows that the streaming service launched in 2020 and is home to some of the best comedies in the streaming game today. Titles like Hacks, Our Flag Means Death, and The Flight Attendant are just some of the great HBO Max originals that come to mind, and that list just got a little longer on July 21, 2022, with the arrival of Rap Sh!t, the new comedy created by Insecure’s Issa Rae that follows two estranged friends who rekindle their relationship and start a Miami-based rap group.
Even though Rae doesn’t have a starring role on the new series, the Rap Sh!t cast is full of tremendous talent, including some familiar faces and relative newcomers to the acting world. Below, we will break down each of the main members of the cast and where you’ve seen them before. Let’s get this show on the road…
Aida Osman (Shawna)
Aida Osman, who leads the Rap Sh!t cast as struggling rapper and hotel worker Shawna, has an on-screen presence that would make you think she’s no stranger in front of the camera, but the 2022 new show is one of her first acting credits.
Throughout her career, Osman has established herself as a talented and dependable writer, having worked on shows like Betty, Group Therapy, and Big Mouth, on which she served as a consulting producer during the Netflix animated comedy series’ fifth season.
Kamillion (Mia)
Taking on the role of Shawna’s estranged high school friend and struggling rapper Mia on Rap Sh!t is hip hop artist Kamillion, who has a few acting credits to her name as well.
Throughout her rap career, Kamillion has found success with tracks like “Womp Womp,” “Confessions,” and “Bend Yo Byke,” to name a few. Prior to landing one of the main roles on the HBO Max original series, Kamillion appeared on shows like Star and The Quad. She also appeared as herself on the VH1 reality series, Love and Hip Hop: Miami.
Jonica Booth (Chastity)
Jonica Booth joins the Rap Sh!t cast as Chastity, a “sex worker manager” who helps Shawna and Mia take their rap group to new heights in the greater Miami area.
Fans of the reality TV series, Bad Girls Club, will recognize Booth from her numerous appearances on the long-running and sometimes raucous program between 2014 and 2016, or some of her other performances on projects like Oddly Oden, XXI: O’Day, or Discovering Brooklyn.
RJ Cyler (Lamont)
Taking on the role of the up-and-coming producer, Lamont, who helps Shawna and Mia get off the ground on Rap Sh!t is RJ Cyler.
Ever since making his big break in the tremendous coming-of-age comedy-drama, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, in 2015, Cyler has found success in movies like War Machine, White Boy Rick, The Harder They Fall, and most recently, Emergency, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Cyler should also be recognizable from his various TV appearances, including Scream: Resurrection, Black Lightning, Vice Principals, and a few others.
Devon Terrell (Cliff)
Devon Terrell shows up in the Rap Sh!t cast as Shawna’s boyfriend, Cliff, who is at a New York law school when she decides to try her hand at a rap career.
Terrell is probably best remembered for his portrayal of former President of the United States, Barack Obama, in the 2016 Netflix movie, Barry, a role he followed up with appearances in Ophelia and The Professor. Prior to landing a role on Rap Sh!t, Terrell worked on the show Cursed during its one-season run on Netflix. Terrell also appeared in the pilot for Steve McQueen’s Codes of Conduct, but HBO cancelled the limited series before it aired a single episode in 2016, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Daniel Augustin (Maurice)
Taking on the role of Maurice, Shawna’s hotel co-worker, in the Rap Sh!t cast is Daniel Augustin, who previously had experience on a rap-based show with his portrayal of Rakim on Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga in 2019.
Outside of that, Augustin has popped up briefly on shows like Grey’s Anatomy, The Resident, I am Frankie, Tough Love, and How I Met Your Father, to name a few. He has also had major roles on shows like Cake: The Series, David Makes Man, and Á La Carte.
Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut (Fatima)
Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut shows up in the Rap Sh!t cast as Fatima, one of Cliff’s classmates and friends from law school.
Prior to joining the cast of the new HBO Max series, Sharpe made brief appearances on shows ranging from Gotham to Prodigal Son and Cruel Summer to The Good Fight. She also had a more steady role on Homeland during the Showtime original series’ sixth season.
Amandla Jahava (Jill)
Taking on the role of Jill, one of Shawna’s college friends who could help her get a break in the music streaming industry, in the Rap Sh!t cast is Amandla Jahava.
Jahava’s recurring role on the new series marks the second time the actress has landed a gig on an HBO Max original show, as she appeared in the 2022 limited series, DMZ, starring Rosario Dawson. Her other work includes the How to Make Love to a Black Woman pilot and a 2020 quarantine short film called Day 74.
Jaboukie Young-White (Boom)
And then there is Jaboukie Young-White, who shows up in the Rap Sh!t cast as Boom, one of Shawna’s old classmates who has since become a music producer.
Throughout his career (as an actor, writer, and standup comedian), Young-White has made appearances on BoJack Horseman, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, Only Murders in the Building, Big Mouth, and Baymax! to name a few. He has also been featured in movies like Rough Night, Dating and New York, Strange World, and Ralph Breaks the Internet.
These are just a few of the familiar (and not-so-familiar) faces you can see on Rap Sh!t. The first two episodes of one of Issa Rae's numerous upcoming projects are streaming on HBO Max right now, with the remaining episodes set to premiere every Thursday through September 1, 2022.
