Aida Osman

I'm at that age where I'm just now understanding routine and structure,” says Aida Osman, co-host of the podcast Keep It and writer on Issa Rae’s upcoming series Rap Sh*t. “Before the pandemic, my routine was set because we had to go to classes or shifts at certain hours of the day. But now I have to make my own schedule, and it's so f*cking hard.”

Now adjusting to adulthood in quarantine, here the 23-year-old comedian shares how they wind down after WFH, why you need to make your own body butter, and what they did to piss off Saweetie.

5 P.M. I’m leaving the writers’ room, and because we’re all on Zoom, I’m already home. I have to reshift my focus, [so] immediately I go outside. I walk around MacArthur Park—it’s my favorite place in LA right now—for a little bit, get some fresh air and bring my journal. I do some free writing, whether it’s a poem or a short story or just random scratches in the book. I catch the sun going down, and then I leave. Even in LA, I’m such a little b*tch. I can’t be in the cold at all.

6 P.M. At this point, I’m starving. [But] cooking is just exhausting. I hate it! But I know I have to start cooking for myself more, so I’m going out of my way to start making things. I just recently learned how to make flautas, and I enjoy doing that. I make a bomb Mediterranean salad with couscous. And just… “muah!” Oh my god, I want it right now. And English cucumbers! That’s the way to go—you have to get English cucumbers.

6:30 PM I’m trying to be more mindful about paying attention while I eat. Usually I’ve watched TV, and I’ll look down and all my food will be gone, and I’m like, “Yo, I don’t even remember eating this.” So now I’m trying to be super aware with my eating, just me and a bowl and some music. A lot of Denzel Curry, Vince Staples, and a lot of Solange. Literally, she’s my goddess. She’s the screensaver on my computer right now… Bro, I will ride for Solange.

7 P.M. I prepare myself for tomorrow to get a step ahead of the things that cause me stress and anxiety. I try to set future Aida up for success. I’m like, “I gotta help that b*tch out tomorrow.” So I’ll sit down with my to-do list, and go through everything we talked about at the writers’ room to prep [for what I want] to pitch tomorrow or questions for the rest of the team.

8 P.M.  I’m consuming pop culture, always—not just to study for screenwriting, but so I can be aware of what’s going on. I will go look up new album releases and just see what’s available. It’s kind of a practice in being literate in culture. Even if I don’t have any interest in the thing, I will go and try and parse it out, and figure out if it’s worth the hype in any way. Usually it is.

9 P.M. I am probably rewatching Fleabag, Chewing Gum, or I’m watching I May Destroy You. I watch a lot of dramatic comedy television shows that are really humanistic. I think that’s what most of culture is into these days, so it’s cool that we’re having this surreal comedy comeback. I’m [also] watching every A24 film right now, listening to Sophie—RIP—a lot. I am trying to find new rappers all the time, [so] I’m very obsessed with New York rap right now.

10 P.M. I take a shower. I make this oil for my body—I think everybody should be making oil for their own body—with shea butter, coconut oil, rosehip oil, vitamin E oil, almond oil, and my favorite essential oils. It moisturizes me in the exact way I need to be moisturized. Then after that, facial care. Oh my god, I don’t know why it took me so long to discover skincare! In high school, I would sleep with makeup on [because] nobody told me that that was like the dirtiest f*cking thing that you could do. So Tatcha cleanser goes on my face immediately, then a nice hyaluronic acid—probably one from The Ordinary because I’m still a cheap little girl—then I put on my Curology moisturizer. My skin is getting really, really f*cking good. Very excited about it.

10:30 P.M. I’m in an apartment by myself, so this is usually when I call and check up on my core friends, and make sure they’re good. And I’ll call my mother. Then I write again. Sometimes I’ll get on my computer, and get on Ableton and make a beat. Or I will just start singing, or grab an instrument and write a song. I like to sneak music into my daily routine, so if I didn’t do music at lunch, I’ll try to get it in at night. I’m learning guitar again, too.

11 P.M. I grab a book. Right now I’m reading a Hanif [Abdurraqib] book called Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest. This book is f*cking bangin’ bro; he’s so amazing. I’m also right now listening to Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s podcast Mic Check before I go to bed.

11:30 P.M. I’m working for this Rap Sh*t show, so I’m obsessed with female rappers right now and keep dreaming about them. I had a dream last night that Saweetie and I got into a fight. I walked in somewhere—her mansion, I think—and I had a Birkin that looked like hers. We were in the studio, and I kept trying to help her record lyrics, and she fought me. Oh, she beat the sh*t out of me! [Laughs.] Saweetie beat my a*s, bro, as she should.