Issa Rae recently revealed her thoughts about being in the music industry — and they’re not good.
During a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, the “Insecure” actress opened up about her experience in the music biz. When asked if it was “a place where good ideas flourish,” she answered, “Absolutely not. It’s probably the worst industry I’ve ever come across.”
“I thought Hollywood was crazy,” Rae continued. “The music industry, it has to start all over again. There are lots of conflicts of interest. Archaic mentalities. Villains and criminals! It’s an addiction industry, and I really feel for artists who need to get into it.”
Rae recently entered the music industry by starting her own record label titled Raedio. Earlier this year, she also announced that she enlisted the help of the City Girls and Quality Control’s Kevin “Coach K” Lee and Pierre “P” Thomas to co-executive produce her new show “Rap Shit,” which is based on the lives of two high school friends in Miami who ventured into the rap game.
Although Rae didn’t dive too deep into an explanation as to why she feels the way she does about the business, she did state that she has an issue with how music is rewarded, in particular, from the Grammys.
“What really bums me out — and this aligns with Hollywood — is the way that music is rewarded,” she said. “When I think about the Grammys and these other systems that are designed to reward artistic creativity and uplift artists, I just feel like, ‘Y’all don’t get it. What are you rewarding?’ This is dumb, but I’ll say it anyway: A song like [Wizkid’s] ‘Essence‘ — just absolutely a powerhouse, and yet could not be properly acknowledged by the institution that is supposed to celebrate the best in music — that trips me out. To see Black people and our contributions to music not celebrated in the way they should be — I mean, these aren’t institutions for us.”