Issa Rae Calls Music Business an ‘Abusive Industry’ With ‘Crooks and Criminals’

Issa Rae had some choice words about the inner workings of the music industry and its more corrupt attributes.

The Insecure star and creator sat down with the Los Angeles Times to discuss how she curated music for the hit’s show final season, and during their conversation Rae unloaded on how she believes the Hollywood-adjacent industry is full of “archaic mentalities” and why it needs to be reformed.

“It’s probably the worst industry that I have ever come across,” Rae said after being asked if she thinks the music business is a place where good ideas flourish. “I thought Hollywood was crazy. The music industry, it needs to start over. Conflicts of interest abound. Archaic mentalities. Crooks and criminals! It’s an abusive industry, and I really feel for artists that have to come up in it.”

Rae continued by explaining that she takes serious issues with how the major label system isn’t artist-friendly.

“Being a creator myself and knowing what I want in terms of a relationship with a production company or a producer, I’d like to think that we’re more artist-friendly than a lot of other labels and companies out there,” the writer and director said. “I want to revamp things.”

Well, Rae is already working towards reforming the parts of the music industry she detests. The creator’s “audio everywhere” company Raedio launched its Sync Up campaign prior to the beginning of Insecure’s final season to give emerging artists a chance to have their music featured on the show.

Rae’s intersection into music also goes beyond how she incorporates it into Insecure. She was recently featured on the cover of Roc Nation and Modern Luxury Media’s inaugural Edition, a new publication that focuses on art and culture.

Check out the digital version of The Art Issue here.