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Mhm. Mhm. This interview's over.
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Hey, what's going on everybody from First We Feast?
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I'm Sean Evans and you're watching Hot Ones.
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It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings.
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And today we're joined by Issa Rae.
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She's the Emmy nominated creator and star of HBO's hit series Insecure and now in it's third season.
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Catch it on Sundays 10:30 p. m. Eastern.
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Glo'ing up and easy Issa Rae, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me.
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You said in a recent AMA that you can never have enough hot sauce.
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So, I take it you're comfortable around spicy wings.
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I love spicy food, but I also have the comfort of, you know, water and next to me.
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So, I'm going to just, you know, eat.
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You ready to get it going?
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I'm ready to get it going. All right.
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So, this first one is the Holler Monkey and you'll start at the handle. Start at the handle. All right.
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I'm so hungry, so thank you. Okay.
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It start off with a little spice, which I love.
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So, we couldn't get you in here without talking about Insecure season 3. The streets are buzzing.
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I see billboards all over the place.
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But before we get into it, I think we need to address the elephant in the room and that's Lawrence Hive.
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The Cut described Lawrence Hive as the male answer to the beehive.
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For the uninitiated, what is Lawrence Hive and what effect has it had on your life? Mhm.
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Lawrence Hive has had no effect on my life.
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I mean, it's been it's been great because so many guys are invested in the show and the fact that they rallied around Jay Ellis as um he's playing this Earnest character is incredible. But they're out of hand. They're out of pocket.
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They're really, really intense, which is what you dream of when you create a show.
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Of all the LA restaurants that you guys have featured on the show, which is your favorite to visit in real life? Oh.
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It was more of this season.
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Like we go to a place called Pann's this season, which I like eat breakfast at all the time whenever I can.
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The line, I love Roy Choi's restaurants. And so we got Pot there.
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Pot is bomb and Commissary. We we filmed at the top. Oh, Mercado, of course. First episode pilot. Ethiopian food.
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That restaurant is was like my first introduction, one of my first introductions in LA to Ethiopian food. This one's really good. It tastes like barbecue. Okay. But you can still taste.
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No, I don't I think it's just scorched earth. Like it's just Okay. That's not good for me. it all, yeah.
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I have a competitive edge. Okay.
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So while at Stanford, you created a web series Dorm Diaries, which you said was birthed from procrastination and being on YouTube constantly.
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Do you remember the web shows or internet videos that you were watching back then?
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People lip syncing, people at the zoo. Oh.
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There are a lot of There was a Plies video that I used to love.
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He did like this reality show called Busted Baby, and it is the most iconic video to this day that I've ever seen.
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I don't even know if it's still on the internet.
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But a lot of just college people creating stuff.
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And then you're big about writing what you know, and it's clear from watching Awkward Black Girl and from watching Insecure that you've had some boring as hell nine-to-fives in your life.
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When you think back about the strange jobs you had before show business, are there any that stand out?
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Um yeah, working in a slave ship at a museum. Yeah, that was hard.
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You know, not as hard as slavery, but um it was depressing to be there every single day. And that was Yeah. I'm glad I'm out. I'm glad I made it out.
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So, this next one is the Pirate's Lantern. Who names these?
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But Pirate's Lantern like cuz it's fire? Mhm. Okay, I get it. Okay. I don't like it. It's bitter.
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It has some mustard action to it.
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I'm sorry, Pirate's Lantern.
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You don't need to apologize. Okay.
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So, if anyone ever gave Hot Ones a $1 million budget, I have no idea what we'd do with the money, how we'd spend it.
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So, I'm curious, when HBO gave you your first big bag to make Insecure season 1, what was the most awesome thing about having money?
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And then what was like the biggest waste?
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I used to do this for $5 in my dorm room thing. Oh, man.
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Oh, definitely going to the Staples Center and shooting a fake hockey game. Expensive. Super expensive.
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And what was dope about HBO is we were going to try to fake it cuz we were like, we can't.
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We can't afford to go to the Staples Center.
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There are real games happening.
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And we were going to like pass it up on the budget and then shout out to Amy Gravitt, one of the executives, was like, "Look, if Silicon Valley can shoot in in the Staples Center, so can Insecure.
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So, let's make it happen. Don't fake this. Let's do it for real." I was like, "What?
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WE GOT TO LIKE THAT SEASON 2?"
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And the most waste of money thing that still infuriates me is when we have to shoot like car scenes, which we did a lot of this season.
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It takes like hours to set up cuz you have to have like a process trailer.
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And we used to just like I used to be like, "Homie, get in the car. I'm going to drive.
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You get You drive in the next car.
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You just hold the camera like this."
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And we got the shot, you know?
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Or put a camera on the dashboard.
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And it's so expensive and time-consuming that they won't just let you put a camera on the car.
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Let's say there's someone watching this in Omaha, Nebraska.
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They're 1,500 miles away from Hollywood and they have in their hands what they think is the best screenplay since The Godfather.
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How would you suggest they get someone important to read it?
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Someone just yesterday stopped me.
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I was walking in Times Square with the walking through Times Square cuz I wanted to see our billboard.
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I've never seen a billboard that large. It's big out there. It's awesome. And this guy stopped me.
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He was like, "Whoa, I may never have a chance to see you again."
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And I was like, "Are you talking about me? I'm walking here."
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And he was like, "I wrote this screenplay and I just want to know like what do I need to do?"
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And I was like, "Make a trailer.
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Make that [ __ ] show people why they want to see it and then people will come to you."
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And I think that's my biggest thing.
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If your thing is the next Godfather, if you have a teaser trailer for it or you shoot a scene that's phenomenal that peaks people's interest, we're just in a age where everybody's just like ready to support what's dope.
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This one's interesting, too.
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So, you're a child of the internet, a master at the craft of relationship writing, and a self-proclaimed professional stalker.
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So, what I want to do is take an opportunity to talk to you about the bizarre world of dating in the age of technology.
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Do you think that apps like Tinder and The League are a net positive or a net negative for the dating scene?
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If you're trying to hook up, with convenience, they're like perfect.
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If you're trying to get to know someone, then like so many people these days because we have so many options, it's so easy to get turned off by one thing.
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Like you could write the wrong thing on your profile and be ridiculed for it.
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It's just another way to meet people and make the world a flatter place.
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We have a friend that responds to every Tinder match by saying, "We did it." with two trophy emojis.
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Is that genius or the work of a psychopath? Every match? Every match.
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He hits them with "We did it." and two trophy emojis.
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And it's that's insincere. I don't like it. I don't like it at all.
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And then the writing and insecure is really on the zeitgeist, but there are a few places where millennial slang travels faster than in the world of dating.
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So, what I want to do is hit you with some new school dating terms.
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And if you know them, maybe you can define them for the audience out there.
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And if you don't know them, maybe you can guess what they mean, okay? They're all real? They're all real. Breadcrumbing. What? Breadcrumbing. Breadcrumbing? Mhm.
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Is that like when you Are these Is that when you like Are you eating cereal and there's like extra [ __ ] crumbs?
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So, what it is leading someone on with a trail of flirtatious messages, but then shutting them out. close. You're very close. Very close. Benching. Benching? Oh.
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When you're like taking a break from your hoes, right?
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You have a rotation, you have a roster, and you got to put one to the side.
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You got to put a couple on the bench. Yes.
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Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. Cuffing season.
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Cuffing season is that time, usually during winter months.
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Maybe starting in fall, late fall, where you got to find a boo to stay warm. There it is. And then, the slow fade. Oh.
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Is that when you're basically ghosting?
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You kind of like give a message here and there.
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You're slowly working your way out. Mhm. And then, one more. Kittenfishing.
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That sounds I don't want to be set up.
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But, I think about kitten, I think about [ __ ] Mhm. Mhm.
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It is lesser form of catfishing, like using old pictures or having a witty friend text for you. I love that.
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You like Cyrano de Bergerac through the messages and through the uh texts.
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That is a very good name. Okay.
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Let's go ahead and do this.
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First of all, these wings are bomb.
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Where are they actually from? Oh, thank you.
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I was about to take credit for them like I made them, but we get them from a place called My Belly's Playlist.
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My Belly's Playlist is on point. Mhm.
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All righty, so we have a recurring segment on our show called Explain That Gram where we do a deep dive into I guess Instagram interesting pictures that need more context.
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So, I'll bust out the laptop, I'll show you the picture, and then you tell me the bigger story. Does that sound good? Instagram? Of your Instagram.
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Though we actually pulled some Getty's. Okay. Laptop, please. Ready. All right, Issa. First things first.
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All-Star game with Diddy. That was a blast.
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I was I didn't go with him, I wish I did, but it was my first time meeting him.
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And I was just sitting courtside, I got tickets, and he was diagonal, and he came over and asked for a picture with me.
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I was like, what the [ __ ] And then he invited me to lunch.
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He was like, let's go to lunch, and I was like, okay, this is Hollywood.
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He was like, no, I want to have you over to my house for lunch.
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And then he really text me and followed through, and I was in the writer's room, and I was like, guys, I got to go.
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To Diddy's house for lunch. Didn't tell them that.
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And I thought it was going to be a quick thing, but he tried to have like a full course Like catering by your thing?
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It was incredible, but I was like, I got to get back to work.
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And he was like, okay, that's okay, we'll brush it.
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Bring all the courses out at once, and I felt bad. I haven't been back. All right.
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Do you have a Tiffany story?
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Do I have a Tiffany story?
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I have a lot of Tiffany stories, but I'm not going to say them.
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Cuz that's what we do, right, too? Stories stay between us. I do. Never mind.
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I'm not going to tell that story. What?
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You can't leave us there.
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I will say one of my first times getting to hang out with Tiffany.
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She met It was one of my favorite stories.
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She met one of our cast members who shall remain nameless.
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I had a little party in my hotel room at Essence Fest.
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Her movie Girls Trip had just come out.
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We had just all come from seeing the premiere there.
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And she was like, "Where the party at?"
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And I was like, "Girl, it's in my um hotel.
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Come through and then we can go other places."
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And she meets one of our cast members, comes into the door, does a bee line, and is like, "Hey, I'm Tiffany."
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Has a champagne glass in her hand, and is like, "Hey, I'm Tiffany."
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And demonstrates her champagne glass her skills.
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And so he's like, "Okay, that's that's what's up."
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And so then throughout the night, she was drinking more, and she sat next to him and got in his face and was just like, "You look like a [ __ ] that likes to get slapped. I'mma slap you."
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He was like, "Why I don't I don't I don't like to get slapped."
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And she was like, "Yes, you do.
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I'mma slap you right now. You a cup."
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And just continued to berate him.
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But then when he told this story later, he was like, "Oh yeah, Tiffany was trying to holler." and omitted that part. Right.
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Which tells me that I think he actually likes to get slapped.
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I'll let you guess who the cast member was.
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So this is where you said it starts to get It gets a little weird. crazy.
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Mhm, I can see where this is going.
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My nose just did a little pop. Okay, black garlic. Okay, Carolina Reaper.
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Is that that hot super hot pepper?
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Yeah, I've eaten two of those actually.
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You've eaten the actual peppers?
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Yeah, like the full pod, popped it two times. Why did you do this? For the views. Respect.
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So Insecure has joined the likes of shows like Entourage and The O. C.
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with this incredible track record for breaking music.
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And I'm curious, what goes into soundtracking a season of Insecure?
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Do you guys fight over tracks? Who's the tastemaker? What's the BTS on that? Um, lots of love.
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You know, it started with Solange being our music consultant.
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That was great, but I've always known like from jump I was like our show show could be trash, but the music's going to be fire cuz music informs so much of like how much I how I see things and even how I write.
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We had so many songs that we loved in common.
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Like even for choosing Broken [ __ ] we had to Initially it was set to Missy's Sock It 2 Me.
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I love that song and I insisted that track was fire, but we couldn't get the rights to it in time.
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And so Solange sent a whole bunch of alternative options and Bossy was on there and it was like the perfect fit.
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And then since then we'll find independent artists, female artists. Um, am I sweating? No, you look great. You look great.
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Glowing up ain't easy as they say. No, it's not.
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So this next one is the Bunsters Black Label out of Australia. Australia doesn't play.
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I already know I'm worried. Mm, it's like lemony. Okay. It was lemony and spicy. Mhm.
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So I want to focus on the Issa Rae do-it-yourself blueprint cuz we've touched on a little bit today.
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You went from making web shows in your dorm room to then making this hit Emmy nominated show for HBO.
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What was your first mama I made it moment?
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My mama made it moment dad I made it cuz dad was the one that was hard to impress. It was being on NPR.
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Cuz I was like, oh, you I know you [ __ ] with NPR, dad.
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So stop telling me to go to grad school cuz you heard me on this, you know?
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Um, but even when I sent like after NPR I got an opportunity to work with Shonda.
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And sent it to the group chat, like the family group chat, and he was still like, "Oh, okay, great.
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When you going to grad school, though?"
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What's the most ridiculous gossip headline you've ever read about yourself?
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Um that I turned Drake down at a party. This is hot. That um it was dope.
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I was like, "Great, give me some clout."
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But it was ridiculous cuz I'm a huge fan. All right, Issa. You ready to move on? I don't know. I really don't.
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I'm going back and eating these because of my mom and my family would kill me. Okay, it tastes hot. No.
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Is it one of those things that's going to kick in? Mhm, it is.
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I answered my question, don't even trip. Okay. Still going in. Okay.
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All right, Issa, I've heard that you were always a TV obsessive, more so than film.
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And with as much ground as Insecure has broken, it embraces humor and awkwardness, which is part of a larger comedy genre.
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So, what I want to do is show you some icons of that genre, and then just get your snap reaction to them. All right.
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So, I'll just show you But you're still going in.
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Because it's literally delicious. All right, Issa. First things first.
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I really didn't hear your question cuz my mouth is burning. Curb Your Enthusiasm. Favoritest ever. Love Larry. Arrested Development.
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I've watched the seasons four times now, and I laugh and find something new every single time.
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I wish I could tell a story that brilliantly. The Office.
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The greatest sitcom ever, and one of the best love stories on television. And one more for you. Parks and Recreation.
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Oh, Amy Poehler career goals.
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I also love Donna in Parks and Rec.
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Um she gave us treat yourself, which is my mantra. Treat yourself. Yes.
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Should we treat ourselves to another wing?
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Oh, that was a good transition. I have fire.
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This I can see cuz there's specs of hot.
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Looks like someone spit on this wing. Mhm. Mhm. This interview is over. Mhm. Tough one. But still. This is too much.
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This is The picture they have like a psychotic clown on the front.
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That's just smiling and it's fiery fool.
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I feel foolish for eating it.
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So now that you really began honing your craft while at Stanford, so I'm curious, what's one Stanford stereotype that's totally off and then one that holds true?
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Like is there anything to that Stanford duck syndrome thing?
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Oh, that is there's yes, there's a lot to that.
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I love that actually about the discussion of Stanford students just in terms of for people who are unfamiliar, people like act like, "Oh yeah, I'm taking 22 units.
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I'm you know, it's no big deal."
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And they look like they're floating, but beneath they're just paddling to stay afloat.
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And that's definitely a a true thing.
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People would always try to front like, "This [ __ ] is hard."
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Just say it's hard, you're struggling cuz we all are.
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But it's a great community and I always thought I thought people were going to be stuck up. I didn't I to go there.
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I didn't apply, but going there for like the admit weekend was like, "Oh, I [ __ ] with this school."
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And then while you were there, you made a couple dorm room music videos.
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Do you have a favorite bar from Workin' the V or Nani Pop? Um, a favorite bar? Nani Pop.
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Yes, because I feel like we inspired Cardi B. I don't care. I don't care.
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It was Nani Pop with a friend. Nani Pop with a man.
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You can even do you the Nani Pop on a handstand.
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And that was all freestyle.
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I was so proud of myself. All right, Issa Rae. This is the last dab.
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We call it the last dab because it's tradition around here to put a little extra on the last wing.
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You don't have to if you don't want to.
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If you're doing it, I'm doing it. There we go. It's going down.
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is running and [ __ ] Oh god. Here we go. My throat burns. What a ride it's been.
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This is Yosi that you made? Mhm.
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Looks like you like to just top it off.
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It really stinks up my mouth.
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Well, that's how we close it out, Issa.
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And from the howler monkey to the last dab, the glow up is just a little bit too real.
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But there's just one more hurdle standing between you and the finish line.
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Your character in Insecure is famous for revealing her truest, rawest emotions when she's doing these mirror freestyles.
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So, now that you can see your own reflection in the sauces that you've conquered today, can you hit the people with a few bars about your fight, your battle with the wings of death?
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You know I don't do this, right?
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I'm a terrible freestyle.
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Sitting here with my [ __ ] wings.
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I'm doing this [ __ ] like hot things. I'm so fly.
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Get a chicken wing in my mouth, I'mma die.
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But I got the heat just like these wings.
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If you mad at me, I'mma bring you with the things. That means my guns. I am the one hot sun. Get the gun. Look at you, Issa. That was amazing. It was brilliant. I'm inspired. And look at you.
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All the way through the wings of death.
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10 wings up, 10 wings down.
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And now there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you, Issa Rae. Woo! That was bomb.
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This camera or this camera let the people know what you have going on in your life.
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Um I am suffering right now.
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Uh but I'm just so excited cuz season 3 of Insecure premiere Sunday, 10:30, every Sunday.
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Watch it with your friends.
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Put someone someone new onto it.
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Thank you for feeding me. I was very hungry.
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I think that's the only reason I survived. Job. You so good, job.
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I want to see if this works, please.
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You went no water, no milk? I did. Wow.
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You know, that's actually kind of a legendary thing. Is it?
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And people when they go no water, no milk, they make such a big deal out of it.
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They're like, "I'm going no water, no milk."
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But like you just casually did it.
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I didn't even notice that I was allowed to, to be honest.
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I didn't know I was allowed to have water on the set.
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They're just looking at this camera. Thank you. He asks great questions. 1 million 2. 1 million 3.
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That's pretty good form, Phil. Thanks.
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Where'd you get that cool shirt? You didn't hear?
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How much merch is available now?
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I thought you only wore Where's Waldo shirts.
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I used to wear Where's Waldo shirts. 1.