Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
For Juneteenth, I'm sharing a conversation with Issa Rae about ownership, power, and what it really takes to keep telling our stories when the industry is trying to walk away from them.
Issa got real with me about something a lot of us have felt: being expected to be grateful for access when you're the one actually bringing the value. Her response? She stopped taking it personally and started treating herself like a product. Take the feelings out. Know your worth. Find your buyer.
In this clip:
- Why Issa started treating herself like a product, and how that protected her
- The expectation of gratitude when you're constantly providing value
- "This is a business, we're not friends here," and the mindset shift that came with it
- What she learned testing a movie with a live audience and adjusting to what actually works
- The tension women face between being respected and being liked in business
- The kind of leader she is, and why she only wants problems that come with solutions
- How comfortable she finally is using the power she earned: "business gotta get done"
- The DEI rollback and why "not acknowledging we have a broken system is so stupid"
- What the 2020 reckoning promised, and the mass exodus that followed
- Why Sinners felt like something the culture was "starving and thirsty" for
- Her simple challenge to the industry: just be considerate, interview everybody, look around the room
- Why it only takes one person to speak up to change what gets made
Issa's north star is to make people's favorite work, and to own the lane that lets her make it. This is about control of your own destiny, refusing the status quo, and the responsibility that comes with power.
This is "ownership," "personal growth," and "self leadership" in the rooms where decisions get made.
Hey Darlings 💛, if you’re enjoying Aspire, be sure to SUBSCRIBE HERE: youtube.com/@EmmaGrede?sub_confirmation=1
#IssaRae #BlackWomenInHollywood #WomenEntrepreneurs #SelfWorth #InsecureHBO #DEIHollywood #MediaEmpire #Juneteenth #Career #AspireArchives #EmmaGrede #HollywoodInsider
For Juneteenth, I'm sharing a conversation with Issa Rae about ownership, power, and what it really takes to keep telling our stories when the industry is trying to walk away from them.
Issa got real with me about something a lot of us have felt: being expected to be grateful for access when you're the one actually bringing the value. Her response? She stopped taking it personally and started treating herself like a product. Take the feelings out. Know your worth. Find your buyer.
In this clip:
- Why Issa started treating herself like a product, and how that protected her
- The expectation of gratitude when you're constantly providing value
- "This is a business, we're not friends here," and the mindset shift that came with it
- What she learned testing a movie with a live audience and adjusting to what actually works
- The tension women face between being respected and being liked in business
- The kind of leader she is, and why she only wants problems that come with solutions
- How comfortable she finally is using the power she earned: "business gotta get done"
- The DEI rollback and why "not acknowledging we have a broken system is so stupid"
- What the 2020 reckoning promised, and the mass exodus that followed
- Why Sinners felt like something the culture was "starving and thirsty" for
- Her simple challenge to the industry: just be considerate, interview everybody, look around the room
- Why it only takes one person to speak up to change what gets made
Issa's north star is to make people's favorite work, and to own the lane that lets her make it. This is about control of your own destiny, refusing the status quo, and the responsibility that comes with power.
This is "ownership," "personal growth," and "self leadership" in the rooms where decisions get made.
Hey Darlings 💛, if you’re enjoying Aspire, be sure to SUBSCRIBE HERE: youtube.com/@EmmaGrede?sub_confirmation=1
#IssaRae #BlackWomenInHollywood #WomenEntrepreneurs #SelfWorth #InsecureHBO #DEIHollywood #MediaEmpire #Juneteenth #Career #AspireArchives #EmmaGrede #HollywoodInsider
