Rap Sh!t Costume Designer Tanja Caldwell Shares How Miami, Hip Hop and Fashion Culture Helped Her Create Looks Season 2

In Season 2 of HBO Max’s “Rap Sh!t,” we find up-and-coming fictional rap group Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion) cementing their management as they ambitiously attempt to “fast track” their success in the world of hip-hop. Since 2022, viewers have passionately followed the show (created by Issa Rae) and praised it for its realistic depiction of the time and effort it takes for women to come up in the rap industry. Also a favorite of Black Twitter, the costumes have generated lots of buzz, and the person we have to thank for those looks is Costume Designer Tanya Caldwell.

I caught up with Tanja over coffee to discuss her inspiration and the work that went into this season’s storytelling. My Q&A with her starts below.

You've had a remarkable career - from Insecure and Coming 2 America to Black Panther and Grown-ish. When did you know that costume design was the path for you?

I knew costume design was the career for me when I had the opportunity to work closely with Ruth Carter on Black Panther. Her attention to detail, the way she speaks about fabrics and silhouettes, her love for color, and the way she literally breathes life into a character through the clothing she designs is really inspiring. Seeing the passion and hard work that is required to make a beautiful costume first hand alongside the very best in our industry made my decision easy. I knew then that costume design was what I wanted to do with my life.

If you had to describe your personal design style in 3 words, what would they be?

Crazy, Sexy, Cool!

Rap Sh!t is a show you inherited in its second season and the show's audience and buzz are growing with your designs. Can you share what it was like to step into the design seat this season?

It was challenging because I put a lot of pressure on myself and my team for greatness. I really wanted to exemplify what female rappers really look like today. They are currently the biggest influencers in music, fashion, and popular culture so I wanted to make sure we showed that.

The show is set in Miami and there are so many looks that speak to the unapologetically colorful, sexy style of the city. In your words, what significance has Miami culture had on fashion and how has Rap Sh!t helped to bring that to a wider audience?

Miami is fun, warm, vibrant, exciting place full of rich culture so it only makes sense that the fashion is too. Miami is a fashion hub - housing some the most luxurious fashion brands and elite modeling agencies. The art scene in Miami also has a strong influence on the way people dress there. Miami rappers like Trina and the City Girls showed the world what Miami style was - sexy, unapologetic, fly, expensive, and unique! I hope our work on Rap Sh!t season 2 makes people from Miami feel seen and respected for their contribution to fashion and every week we get to remind and/or teach the world of that.

Speaking of the heart of Miami, I noticed some incredibly fly vintage t-shirts on Chastity. Where did you source those from?

Most of Chastity’s t-shirts were from Black designers/retailers that we sourced locally in Los Angeles, but that had ties to Miami and access to great vintage Miami tees. Some of our vintage tees were actually new, but made to look and replicate the style vintage tees from the past.

This season, Shawna and Mia are on tour and we're seeing the elevation of their status as artists. What are some of your favorite looks from season 2 that speak to Shawna and Mia's upgrade? 

Some of my favorite Shawna and Mia glow-up looks are:

• at the Regulars Only party with Francois and Reina.

• when they are at lunch with Francois in LA and he asks them to apologize to Reina.

• at the Billboard party.

• the deal meeting with Chastity and Alex.

• at the studio with Pardi and Francois.

You really did your thing with luxury pieces too - more diamond jewelry and more designer bags for sure. We also see the guys step up their designer game with Fracios Boom in Casablanca and Purple Label. I even noticed the denim and pink leather cropped sets on Cash. In your words, what's unique about the menswear style in Miami?

My personal experience in Miami had a big influence on how I saw the men dressing this season. Whenever I’ve visited Miami, I’ve taken note of the men in bright colors and patterns, as well as expensive silk sets, designer jeans and beautiful shoes. Miami rappers have a flamboyant, fresh style that I also see when I visit the Caribbean. Miami is a fashion hub so the men with money and access are going to have the latest designers and trends on so that’s what I tried to include on our male leads.

People may not realize it, but you had a number of stunts to design for including Mia's backstage champagne shower and Lord AK's untimely burn death (which we peeped was foreshadowed through the words "To Death" on his sleeve..NICE!!). What details can you share with us about your prep work for such intense stunts?

Shawna’s champagne shower wasn’t as difficult and scary as Lord AK being engulfed in flames - but the prep work for both stunts scenes is very similar. We put together outfits that we can also finding multiples of - which can be time consuming and frustrating when you can’t find enough of an item you really want to use. Shawna’s stunt was easier because she was just in a basic hoodie, tank top, and denim shorts - which is easier to multiply. If there are alterations to the garment(s) we also have to multiply those and if there is a stunt person doing the actual stunt, we must multiply those and get them in both the actor and stunt person’s sizing. Lord AK’s stunt required several multiples for him and his stunt person both in clean and various stages of burn damage. The day of the actual stunt, where the stunt person was to be lit on fire, we only had one take to get the action which is nerve wrecking when you’ve become accustomed to completing scene work with several takes.

Cultural appropriation comes up a lot in music and designer fashion conversations. And in this particular show, it's a part of Reina Reign's storyline - from her blaccent to hairstyles. What was your inspiration for telling that part of her story through her costumes? 

I was inspired by Black women, black female rappers to be specific. Black women are the originators, so when trying to tell a story about the cultural appropriation of Black culture, you have to start with the originals in order to understand where that specific inspiration comes directly from. It’s ok to be inspired by others - that’s the beauty of diversity - and 'imitation is the highest form of flattery, but you have to pay honor to those who you are imitating and make sure you are not appropriating a culture that is not in fact yours, as your own.

I have to ask...where did you source the floor-length fur coat and blue hat for her hotel/backyard performance scenes? SO GOOD!!

We made the pink faux fur coat ourselves with the brilliant ming and tailoring expertise of Gabriella Corya. We purchased the blue faux fur hat from a local LA designer, Tyler Lambert.

As a very successful and prominent figure in the fashion and design world, who are some of your favorite new and/or emerging Black fashion designers?

Brandon Blackwood (who we used throughout the show on Shawna, Mia, and Chastity’s girls), Telfar Clemens (also seen throughout the show on Shawna and Mia), Theophilio, Christopher John Rogers, Fe Noel, Sergio Hudson, Diotima, LaQuan Smith, Olivier Rousting, Maximilian Davis at Ferragamo, Pharrell at Louis Vuitton, and the list goes on!

Without giving too much away, what can we look forward to in the upcoming episodes?

Hard decisions, broken relationships, new alliances, exciting endings and beginnings, and a whole lot of fashion!