So when she returned to L.A., where she was surrounded by more black and brown kids, she felt the growing pains of catching up on all the things her peers loved. вЂњI went to her for help in class, especially with math and science.вЂќД«ack in Potomac, Rae had been one of the only black students in her class. They met in 1999, during their freshman year of high school. She got things very quickly,вЂќ says one of RaeвЂ™s best friends, Devin Walker. In school, Rae excelled, and enjoyed the positive attention that brought. When Rae was 11, they settled back in L.A. The Diops raised five children together - Rae landed right in the middle - moving the family around as the kids grew up, from Los Angeles to Senegal to Potomac, Maryland. Jo-Issa Rae Diop was born to a Senegalese father and Louisiana-native mother who met while they were students in France. Manicure by Eri Ishizu using Chanel Le Vernis. Makeup by Joanna Simkin at the Wall Group. Photograph by Dana Scruggs for Rolling Stone. Issa Rae, photographed in Los Angeles on March 14th, 2021.

вЂњSo this year has tested who I am as a friend and really made me realize, вЂOh, IвЂ™m not considerate in this way, and I can do more here.вЂ™вЂ‰вЂќ вЂњIвЂ™ve fallen short because IвЂ™m so used to accommodating this in-person dynamic,вЂќ she says. Deprived of seeing her friends in person, she slacked on communication, and felt those relationships suffered. She has an office she reports to when sheвЂ™s not filming and a cabal of lifelong friends - though the pandemic revealed room for improvement there. (вЂњIf you have any suggestions, let me know,вЂќ she says to the half-vaccinated journalist who flew across the country to meet her.) Outside the hit shows, movies, and glamorous photo shoots, Rae keeps her life aggressively normal. it was like, вЂI need to work to make sure I have the means of affording a place to live.вЂ™ вЂThis didnвЂ™t work, whatвЂ™s the next thing I can do?вЂ™ I think thatвЂ™s just how my mind works.

Rae is starting to believe she may just be built this way. She was striving for more balance a few years ago, but now the workload has reached its heaviest. вЂњIвЂ™m just always thinking about work,вЂќ Rae says, her tone sober. Sixteen alone are for HBO and HBO Max, whose parent company, WarnerMedia, recently locked a five-year deal with Rae for a whopping nine figures, according to a source familiar with the agreement. She estimates that she has around 22 movies and shows currently in development. And, of course, thereвЂ™s the crown jewel, Hoorae, her production company overseeing all of the film, television, music, and events that Rae has in the works. Campaigns with Madewell, LinkedIn, and American Express. She has a hair-care company, Sienna Naturals. ThereвЂ™s always something brewing in the 36-year-old multihyphenateвЂ™s pot, sometimes literally: In 2019, she became co-owner of a new Hilltop coffee shop in Inglewood (another followed in Eagle Rock). To call Rae one of the busiest people in entertainment is not a stretch. She also created a new show, Rap Sh*t, about two female rappers in Miami. Grounded at home, she began planning InsecureвЂ™s conclusion last May. At the moment Covid derailed everyoneвЂ™s lives, Rae was coming off promoting the romantic drama The Photograph and preparing to premiere her action-packed rom-com with Kumail Nanjiani, The Lovebirds, at SXSW. Her morning outings halted when she headed back to set to start filming the fifth and final season of her breakout HBO series, Insecure. Rae thrives off routine - but the only thing sheвЂ™s more devoted to is work. вЂњDuring filming, all routine goes out the window, which sucks.вЂќ SheвЂ™s set a giant, colorful arrangement of flowers on the table. Her unassuming house sits on a suburban street in L.A.вЂ™s View Park neighborhood, its well-manicured lawn fitting in neatly with the rest.

вЂњI hadnвЂ™t done my walking since January,вЂќ Rae says over a matte-black bottle of prosecco sheвЂ™s poured out for us by her pool. This is how Rae keeps her sanity, though when we meet on a Tuesday in early March, she confesses the regimen has been upended. With AirPods in and podcasts playing, Rae whips down quiet Los Angeles roads lit only by streetlamps, sometimes passing by a house she grew up in, before beginning her day. The weekday routine is as follows: At 4:20 a.m., she sets out on an hourlong walk, alternating between two routes. Hours before the dawn even considers cracking, Issa Rae is awake.

Insecure pilot script