Insecure Puts Real L.A. Artists and Businesses on Display
Keeping it real paid off for the HBO comedy, which received eight nominations for the upcoming Emmys
September 2, 2020
Fans who have been watching Insecure since the show premiered in 2016 know that the best part of the comedy, created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore, is its authenticity. In addition to being, well, insecure, the main character, Issa Dee (played by Rae), is imperfect and above all, oh-so-relatable, from her career blunders to her relationship woes to her desire to do something meaningful for her community. After four seasons on the air, the show has finally received ample recognition from the Emmys, racking up eight nominations in total this year. The awards show will be held virtually and will air on September 20. (In the past, Insecure received two nods for cinematography and one for Rae’s acting but didn't win.)
Two of the most successful sets of the season, which aired earlier this summer, also benefited from using real elements. For the block party that Issa painstakingly puts together to highlight Black businesses in rapidly gentrifying Inglewood (where Rae grew up and her character resides on the show), production designer Kay Lee, set decorator Amber Haley, art director Andrew Sloane, and the rest of the crew planned the event right along with her, inviting real businesses to participate as a way to truly capture the neighborhood.
“Issa and [executive producer] Prentice Penny gave us a straight-up list of businesses and makers and organizations that they were hoping we could reach out to,” says Sloane. The result was “sort of a meta environment” where local businesses such as Lenita by Grita flower truck, Lot XI Urban Apothecary, vegan restaurant Stuff I Eat, and others set up booths on Market Street for a five-day shoot. Some business owners or employees appear as extras, and all were able to style their booths if they wanted, though Sloane says the crew assisted with “beefing up their typefaces” and heightening colors for television.
“Some stores were very helpful and sent out employees who spent hours upon hours zhuzhing to refine their spaces,” says Haley. “It became this little unmentioned competition between the businesses, which was charming.”
For another episode, the team created an Art Walk in Downtown L.A., where Issa and her ex Lawrence (played by Jay Ellis) reunite to stroll through a whimsical installation of clouds and point out paintings that remind them of their friends. Haley tapped into her network to source pieces by local Black artists, as she has done with art featured throughout the show’s run. “We worked closely with Happi Hamilton, Spike Lee’s gallerist, and found much of the art from her for the first few seasons,” she says. “I’m always looking for pieces that I like.” Artists featured include Haley’s longtime collaborator Amina Cruz, YoYo Lander, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Binho Ribeiro, Swoon, Laci Jordan (her portrait of late rapper Nipsey Hussle felt especially authentic to the setting, given the number of tributes which have popped up since his tragic death in 2019), and more.
In the show, Issa refers to the Block Party as a display of “Black excellence,” and she has a clear mission for throwing her event. With gentrification encroaching, she wants to show that there are plenty of businesses already in Inglewood, owned by people who represent the neighborhood and its history, that are worthy of celebrating. By including the community in the production, Rae essentially did the same. She has given her take on gentrification before in interviews: “It’s a nightmare. There’s a Whole Foods coming. It’s over! I do love Whole Foods … I just want the benefits of gentrification without the gents,” she told Vulture in 2016. In other words, trendy coffee shops aren’t the enemy (in fact, Rae is a partner in the Inglewood location of one called Hilltop, which is featured on the show), but improvements to a neighborhood should benefit its residents, not price them out.