Rap Sh!t – Season 1 Episode 5 “Something for the Weekend” Recap & Review

‘Something for the Weekend’

It is pitching time at Spotify and we see Jill pitch an undiscovered track to the corporate team. Unsurprisingly, it completely tanks. The beats are all off; there is no discernible rhythm in the song, and there is just overwhelming auto-tune.

Another executive pitches a fresh hit from Miami: “Seduce & Scheme”. Jill excitedly announces it is from a friend she knows and wants to take credit for it. The corporate team, led by Crystal, enjoys the song and gives it the green light.

On an unrelated note, Shawna and Mia board the flight for New York. Shawna is excited to see Cliff and has changed her appearance – hair, makeup, and clothes.

While Shawna will be staying at Cliff’s, Mia has been in contact with her OF client in the city, Warren. He arranges a pickup vehicle for them. Mia is placed at a five-star hotel in a penthouse. She had earlier mentioned her intention to “seduce and scheme” the client and spend the weekend on his money.

Shawna video calls Cliff, who is chilling at home with his roommates. He is surprised to see Shawna at the door and they straight away go to the bedroom. Cliff seems uneasy with her new look and getup but doesn’t actually say anything to her.

Mia shows off her penthouse on Instagram. Warren picks her up and we see Mia go through luxury treatment. He is the one who is recording and we only see Mia. She does tease him with some action but sticks to her plan even when Warren asks to come up when they reach the hotel. He says tomorrow they will go shopping and she is happy with the proposition.

Shawna and Cliff have dinner together. It is again a bit awkward as there is something off in Cliff’s tone. He also mentions that they will look for an apartment together in NY as Shawna had mentioned to him about moving out there. But Shawna hasn’t told this to Mia yet.

Mia is kicked to the curb by Warren for rejecting his advances the other night. She calls Shawna for a place to stay and she reluctantly agrees. She asks Mia to meet her and Cliff and their friends for brunch. Shawna meets Fatima and there is an instant coldness between them.

Mia joins the table but surprises everyone with her carefree attitude. Shawana and Mia seem a bit out of place on the table. When the news breaks that they are invited to a Spotify event by Jill, they are elated. This was preceded by an awkward silence when Mia mentioned that Shawna never said to her about moving to NY. Cliff is less than happy about everything but goes along with it.

As they’re getting ready, Mia can hear Shawna and Cliff fighting. He has reluctantly agreed to accompany them to the party. Mia seems down and Shawna does not pay a lot of attention to her sulking mood. Shawna asks Cliff to video everything – the setting, her walk to the stage, and famous people at the party.

Jill gives bands to Mia and Shawna, but Cliff only gets a press pass and hence cannot join the exclusive party upstairs. He is visibly more annoyed as the night goes on and reaches a tipping point when Shawna harmlessly flirts with Brent Faiyaz, a famous rapper. He leaves the party.

Upstairs, Mia is getting annoyed with being left stranded by Shawna and punches another woman when she bumps into her. Shawna takes her away from the situation and Mia is upset with her for not having her back and not asking why her mood is off.

An extremely drunk Cliff live streams the argument he has with Shawna when he comes back to the apartment. He says a lot of mean things and accuses her of setting Cliff up with her visit and the party. Cliff says that she didn’t come to meet him and she doesn’t even want to move to New York. He calls her music garbage and the two break up. Shawna packs her bags and meets Mia at the airport. Both apologise to each other and console each other, wondering what lies ahead.

The Episode Review

Things escalated quickly in the episode. The discomfort and fractures had already started appearing in Shawna and Cliff’s relationship. Ever since she pivoted into making music that she stood against, Cliff had a beef with her.

This was just the climax: the alcohol was the tipping point, quite literally. It was an ugly breakup where the to-be law graduate did not hold back. It is not the most perfect of moments in Shawna’s personal life, which was actually the better half of the other side for so long. When work got good and she is finally at the cusp of doing something with her life, everything around her goes haywire.

Mia too came face to face with a shocking reality in the form of her public humiliation. Creator Issa Rae has constantly strived to show the sham behind the glam of the lifestyle so popular in modern culture.

This episode was another dark showing off the mirror to the hypocrite industry that claims itself to be the messiah of liberty. The narrative does not fit in hand and glove with Rae’s marked social commentary, but it certainly benefits from its maturity. Rap Shit is serious about itself and is not here to waste your time.