She’s Awkward. She black. And she totally “gets me!” I got to sit down with Issa Rae and Tracy Oliver of the hit series “The Misadventures of An Awkward Black Girl.” Surprisingly, it wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be, but was it awesome. Awkward Black Girl, which started off with no budget, has resonated in the hearts of young college students all over the U.S.; some of their YouTube webisodes have garnered almost half a million views per episode. That is why they decided to give back to their fans by going on a college tour and stopped right here at UT via the African American Culture Committee. As we chatted it up like gabbing teenagers, I couldn’t help but think that these twenty-somethings are on their way to even more success, and what an inspiration they are to young people with creative ideas not quite knowing where to start.
HC: What colleges did you attend and what were your majors?
Issa: I majored in African American Studies at Stanford.
Tracy: I majored in American Studies there, and got my master’s in Film Producing at USC.
HC: What prompted you to start this series?
Issa: I really related to the humor and wanted to expand my portfolio from things I had already done. I just really love awkward humor and thought it would be a good idea to have it centered in the black community.
HC: How did you get it off the ground and what obstacles did you experience?
Issa: Personally, I just did it. I stopped making excuses as to why I couldn’t get it done and started filming with what I had. Then Tracy came in and started producing the series and production quality came up. We also got more people on board who wanted to elevate the quality of the show and different writers as well, so that really helped.
HC: Why did you think it was important to tell the story of a young and very awkward black girl?
Issa: Umm, I just really liked that voice. That sense of humor is important to me because I was tired of what the black sense of humor was defined as on television. I wanted to sort of go outside of that. So it is generally from my perspective, an exaggerated version of my perspective. I just wanted to put it out there for my friends and family, but a lot of other people caught on to it.
HC: Did you know how big this would become and how big you want it to be?
Issa: I had no idea that it would expand outside of my social circle, I mean you hope for things like that but I really didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. So yes! It was a shocker and I am overwhelmingly happy with all the support we’ve been given. I would love for the series to be on television with Tracy and I having creative control. That would be awesome.
HC: What team are you on, Team Fred or Team White-Jay?
Tracy: I hope we don’t say the same thing! You go first…
Issa: Team White-Jay, because he came correct! He called Jay beautiful and I like his awkward humor. I like White-Jay, the character, he seems confident in an awkward way.
Tracy: White-Jay seems like the kind of dude I would goand get a drink with. He just seems more fun than Fred. I also like that he is charming and he’s cute.
Issa and Tracy: What about you?
HC: I am team White-Jay all the way!
HC: What advice would you give other students trying to do something as creative and innovative as this series?
Issa: I would say to just do it, if you have the resources or even if you don’t. Just tap into what you know and just go for it. That’s the best advice I can give because there are too many excuses that we give ourselves not to.
HC: Who are the coolest, most famous people you’ve met, and what did you learn from them?
Issa: Donald Glover was definitely my dream come true. He is definitely a role model because he does so much and does it well. Yeah, so I just really have a lot of respect for him…and have a crush on him!
Tracy: I would say Gabrielle Union.
HC: What else can we expect from Awkward Black Girl?
Tracy: The ideal situation would be a cable outlet that would give us more creative control. They tend to explore issues of race a little more. Comedy Central, HBO, FX Showtime, any place supportive of people of color and issues of race.
HC: What are some other things you like to do in your free time?
Issa: I’m working on this other series called “Fly Guys Presents the F Word,” my second web series and whatnot. We are going into our second season and outside of that I have two other web series in the works. Tracy and me also have two feature film projects we are working on and we are looking to get produced.
Tracy:I also have a feature film I’m working on called “Marriage is for White People,” and also working on a television pilot right now in addition to working on the web series with Tracy.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Texas chapter.