Like the rest of the cool kids, we were glued to our couches with our eyes peeled for Episode 4 of Season 2 of HBO’s critically acclaimed series, Insecure. Dubbed “Hella LA,” this ep found our protagonist, Issa, fully immersed in her new life of “Living Single” (yes, at one point, she sings the song to the popular 90’s sitcom to her recent fling, Daniel). Commiserating with Molly about how to fully explore her “hoe-ness,” Issa is clearly looking for a new love and is also clearly frustrated with the prospect. She is thoroughly blown off by a first in person encounter with a cat named Felix (incidentally, everyone has gone from #TeamTasha to #TeamFelix), who really takes bluntness to the next level. Meanwhile, Molly is trying to navigate a potential sticky situation with an old friend and Kelli is doing some deft navigation of her own while eating with friends after the classy Kiss N’ Grind party flow. The highlight of the show for us was Lawrence’s storyline which vacillates between the everyday heartaches of a Black man in America interacting with police and being objectified by a pair of wild valley girls. This ep has it all: comedy, drama and a bit of tragedy. Since we do not provide spoiler for folks who have not seen the show yet, check here for a full recap.
Music supervisor, Kier Lehman, and the entire team (Issa Rae, Raphael Saadiq, Solange Knowles) nails it again. With much of the episode focussed on the party at Kiss N’ Grind, we expected a lot of club tracks. This weeks soundtrack includes more than the usual number of familiar artists including tracks by Too $hort, Juvenile, Wale and Bryson Tiller. We thoroughly enjoyed the scene featuring The Weeknd as it almost felt like an inside joke with Lawrence being worked over by two seriously fast girls who love The Weeknd (cliche’, no?). Our favorite track on this week’s soundtrack was the unexpected Sean Leon with Matthew in The Middle.” Eerily reminiscent of Frank Ocean in some way, this song is, as the title of the ep suggests, “Hella LA.” Overall, very solid with a great mix of hood, club and bedroom vibes.
Enjoy this one. There is something in there for everyone.
Season 2: Week 3 Hella LA Tracklist (and scene recall)
- Jay IDK – Omw (Opening/Lawrence in the bathroom)
- Dom Kennedy – T P O (Random shots of Los Angeles blends into Issa and friends entering the Kiss N Grind party)
- Bryson Tiller – Run Me Dry (Inside Kiss N Grind)
- YrF – A.T.M. (I’m Livin’) (LA B-roll blends into Lawrence stuck in traffic in his car.)*
- Ty Dolla $ign – Campaign (feat. Future) (in Kiss N Grind, Issa and Molly discuss Daniel)*
- Wale – Fashion Week (feat. G-Eazy) (Issa goes up to Daniel at Kiss N Grind)
- P-Lo – Feel Good (feat. G-Eazy) (Issa meets up with her date at Kiss N Grind)
- Too $hort – Shake That Monkey (feat. Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz) (Molly/Dro dance battle at Kiss N Grind)
- Juvenile – Slow Motion (Molly/Dro slow dance at Kiss N Grind)
- The Weeknd – Die For You (Lawrence meets up with two girls after an encounter at the supermarket)
- Sunni Colon – Little Things (Issa and friends are at a late night diner; Molly hits up Dro via text)
- Sean Leon – Matthew in the Middle (feat. Daniel Caeser) (Issa and Daniel smooth things out; end credits.)
*Not currently available on Spotify or Tidal (see below for missing track).
Season 2: Episode 4 “LA” Playlist
YrF – A.T.M. (I’m Livin’)
Don’t have Spotify, listen to the entire soundtrack here: