Insecure‘s mode of storytelling created a sounding board for viscerally blunt, honest and left-of-center Black artists. ‘What is the music of these ? What would they be listening to?'”īut the team not only identified that shift, they helped distinguish it. That was a movement that was happening and it was really at the same time that the show was coming … We took that into consideration. “The millennial point of view that the show has also was being reflected in the music that was coming out: SZA, Tyler, Odd Future, Frank. “There was a shift in music, a new wave in R&B,” Lehman tells All Songs Considered. Whether the show’s characters were flourishing, floundering or lighting a joint in order to forget, emerging artists were the ones they had on shuffle. This consistent musical track record has even extended into the show’s storylines (Daniel’s producer dreams getting dashed, the Season 3 pilgrimage to Beychella and Issa’s star-studded block party) and blossomed beyond the show itself with Rae starting her own record label imprint, Raedio. With each passing season, the show’s main characters – Issa and her best friend, Molly – have sloughed off stereotypes that have long flattened depictions of Black people. Related: How Black women reclaimed country and Americana music in 2021 No matter how much our opinions of characters and plot lines wavered, the music always held us down. Insecure will go down in pop culture history for many reasons, but one ripple effect of the show that Rae and her team have turned into a tidal wave of influence is the specific way it has shaped the sound and scope of Black music in its wake.īetween Raphael Saadiq composing, Kier Lehman serving as music supervisor and Rae having such a clear vision for the sound of the show, the musical soul of Insecure has remained consistently impeccable over five seasons. The creation of writer and actor Issa Rae, Insecure has become a cultural touchstone for a new kind of representation in media, one that has opened the door to complicated, authentic arcs for its characters and visibility for awkward, amazing, multifaceted Black fans who finally feel seen by the television they watch.
NPR Music story by Sidney Madden, Bobby Carter, and Aisha HarrisĪfter five seasons of love, loss, friendship and party Lyfts, HBO’s hit comedy drama Insecure is coming to an end. Issa Rae in ‘Insecure.’ Photograph by Glen Wilson/HBO
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