Issa Rae becomes first person to receive key to Inglewood: 'I will always put on for my city'

Issa Rae was bestowed a key to the city of Inglewood on Saturday, becoming the first person in the South Los Angeles city's 114-year history to receive the honor.

The Emmy-nominated co-creator and star of HBO's seminal dramedy Insecure accepted the honor from Mayor James T. Butts at the Taste of Inglewood festival ahead of the 2022 Super Bowl, scheduled to be held just across the street at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

Rae — who regularly highlighted the sprawling neighborhoods and eateries of the city across all five seasons of Insecure — said it was a "huge honor" to receive the key in an emotional speech.

"I'm a little emotional. I'm trying to be a thug right now," Rae said. "The mayor really kind of flabbergasted me in that this is the first key in 114 years, so that's a huge honor. I just want to thank you all so much for your support. Thank you to the mayor, thank you to the city of Inglewood for making it so easy for us to film here, for helping us showcase this city that I love that so much."

"I have to give love to my grandparents who have lived here, have lived in Briarwood for a long time and who established my first point of view of Inglewood and love the city themselve," she continued. "My mom and my sister who live here actively and just for being here. I have to give a shout-out to my collaborators and my company members at Hoorae who have come out here to support me."

Rae added, "I'm truly honored to receive this. I will always put on for my city. Inglewood, South L.A., stand up." Butts, who coined Rae the "queen of Inglewood," heralded Rae's "outstanding contributions to our culture" during his own speech, calling Rae "a living legend."

The historical moment mirrors a fantasy sequence scene in the fifth and final season of Insecure, which bowed in December: Rae's Issa Dee receives a key to the city of Inglewood presented by Mayor Tyra Banks. For the Inglewood native, the goal of Insecure has always been to tell the narrative of what she knew: love for those in her life and love for her city.

"I just think about the old [advice], 'Write what you know,' and that is what I know," Rae told EW for the series' October 2021 digital cover. "I know myself, to an extent, and my relationships. And the shows that I've loved have a specificity. The shows that I don't like are targeted towards us, try to teach us a lesson, or group us in a certain category, or tell us what we're not supposed to be."

"It just came down to specificity and not trying to be like, 'This is the Type A person' or 'This is the goofy person who can't get it together,'" Rae continued. "It just really came down to basing it off real people and real experience. Issa is so close to me, and Molly is so close to my best friend."

Related content:

• Crew Love: Saying goodbye to Issa Rae's Insecure
• Revisit EW's Three Rounds with the cast of Insecure
• Issa Rae breaks down Issa's choice and Molly's ending in Insecure's finale