IS GOD IS—Racine & Anaia’s Road Trip Playlist
My Mixtape’s A Masterpiece is a weekly feature in which a guest compiles a playlist around some theme. This week, Olivia McGreevy assembles 12 songs to accommodate the road trip from 2026 film IS GOD IS. Read Olivia’s thoughts on each song and listen along to the Spotify playlist on top and/or the YouTube playlist at the bottom of the post.
One of the best scenes in Aleshea Harris’ IS GOD IS (2026) is the road trip Racine and Anaia take on their way to kill their father (y’know, typical summer vacay). I wanted to create a playlist that I think the girls would have listened to, with the added objective of curating songs that represent aspects of their individual personalities, as well as their dynamic as a duo.
1. “HNIC” by Leikeli47
I wanted to come out the gate swinging with a song that would set the tone for this playlist, and I knew “HNIC” was the one after realizing Leikeli47 was already a featured artist in the IS GOD IS soundtrack. This playlist is going to include a lot of songs that center around folks popping their shit, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
2. “I Got It!” by Simpson
This may sound strange, because the entire movie is about these twin girls facing a past that will quite literally stay with them forever, but I am obsessed with how separated Anaia and Racine feel from every other character in the movie. Other folks, from the supervillain-esque Man to the deeply unserious lawyer, Chuck Hall, have such heightened and stylized personalities, it makes the twins feel real. Think of this track as a tribute to everything the girls are outside of their crazy ass family.
3. “poser” by PARTYOF2
PARTYOF2 is a phenomenal duo who are constantly boasting about the fact that they’re stronger together than apart, and I just knew their addition to this playlist would be a bittersweet testament to the twins and their journey. Trust, we’ll be getting into the nitty gritty aspects of IS GOD IS later on in this playlist, but these next several songs are all about how Anaia and Racine were absolutely bodying everyone who got in the way of them and The Man.
4. “Bed Time” by Flo Milli (feat. Monaleo & Gloss Up)
Now, this song was made for Racine. There are plenty of records that encapsulate anger and bravado, but “Bed Time” in particular leans into an almost comedic absurdity. When I tell y’all I just about hollered when I first heard Flo Milli deliver the line, “I hate that bitch/ Every time I see her, Imma shank that bitch” with every ounce of venom and audacity that she could muster. “Bed Time” is fun, funny, and furious, just like Racine.
5. “WRK” by JID
You know I had to give Anaia her flowers, too. I thought her persistence set her apart from the rest of the characters. The girl does not quit, and I admired just how well she was able to simultaneously hold the sentiment that The Man had irrevocably fucked up her life, and that it was up to her to reconcile what she could in order to live a life that wasn’t completely miserable. The role Anaia plays at the end of the movie falls perfectly in line with the beginning of JID’s first verse:
I done seen so much with two eyes, I don't even feel a way, just neutralize 'em
Been criticized and been scrutinized, it ain't shit to me, I'm just shooin' flies
It ain't shit to me, it's just you and I
I go back and forth between whether I ascribe the “you” in “you and I” to Racine or The Man, with both interpretations being vastly different yet equally as emotionally devastating.
On one hand, you got Racine and Anaia, the two peas in a pod who are ultimately separated after Racine is pulled into the flames by The Man. On the other, there’s Anaia having to face The Man and the aspects of herself that keep her tied to him. This exercise is further complicated because the line immediately following “It ain’t shit to me, it’s just you and I” is, “And then me and God”. You see why I had to include this song?
6. “Swamp Bitches” by Doechii and Rico Nasty
This is what it sounds like when the unstoppable force and the immovable object team up to whoop their opposition. For the folks at home wondering, I’d consider Racine the immovable object, and Anaia the unstoppable force. In terms of the song, I’ve mostly been listening to Doechii’s part with Racine in mind. The verse itself is split between Doechii talking her shit before really leaning into an unapologetic bitchiness that is one-to-one with Racine’s personality. In an interview conducted by Gabby Sgherri for BeatRoute in 2022, Doechii talks about the track and the intention behind the antagonistic attitude:
“I made the song [Swamp Bitches] and the whole concept is the black bitch who is the villain [...] There’s not a lot of black villains that are successful in this industry but there are a lot of people who have villain archetypes, other races, and tend to get praised, are famous for being a villain, or get more jobs because of that”
This is damn near exactly how I felt about Racine’s character in IS GOD IS. Obviously, Racine isn’t the villain of the story, but she does embody the phrase, “When they go low, I go lower.” This is not my first time cosigning how Racine decided to handle The Man and his family, nor will it be the last! I stand firm on my belief that she was not only justified, but that her death was not in vain because she accomplished exactly what she set out to do.
7. “Thought I Was Dead” by Tyler, The Creator feat. ScHoolboy Q and Santigold
This song was chosen not only for its abrasive delivery, but for the fact that there are multiple lines in which Tyler, The Creator acknowledges the ways in which he himself is problematic only to double down on his actions. This sentiment in particular was something I actively sought out when looking for songs to incorporate into this playlist. Similar to the theme of “Swamp Bitches,” I didn’t want to shy away from the harm Racine and Anaia cause on their road to vengeance. I think one of the most important aspects of IS GOD IS is how the audience is left to grapple with the moral ambiguity of the twins.
8. “girl, get up.” by Doechii and SZA
We’ve been going on about revenge and justified wrath and shanking bitches for a while, now’s a perfect time to slow things down in a way that doesn’t pivot, but progresses.
9. “On & On” by Erykah Badu
This is another song for Anaia, seeing as she is the only one who gets to move on from the events of the movie. A major theme in this track is the concept of balance and harmony, something that Anaia consistently represents throughout her personal growth in the film. She’s the last one standing, not because she was the nicest, but because she was able to see the forest through the trees and recognized that she’d rather live than merely exist as a product of The Man. She’s able to separate herself in a way that doesn’t ignore how the people in her life informed the type of person she is while still giving her more than enough space to become everything she sees for herself.
One line that sent me into orbit when I was listening to “On & On” with this playlist in mind was, “Most intellectuals do not believe in God but they fear us just the same”. There’s something so satisfying about The Man believing he’d truly gotten away with everything only to be struck down by his own daughters who’d been sent by God herself.
10. “Forgiveless” SZA (feat. Ol’ Dirty Bastard)
The opening line of SZA’s verse is clear as crystal, “I don't care 'bout consequences, I want my lick back.” Now, who does that sound like? I knew “Forgiveless” had to be included for Racine’s sake because of how unapologetically obstinate the lyrics are.
There’s something beautiful and tragic about Racine’s stubbornness. That hard head of hers is what helped protect the twins over the years, that unwavering attitude that refused to tolerate disrespect. In the end, her fixation on delivering what she earnestly believes to be justice is exactly what undoes her, and I’m of the opinion that she wouldn’t have had it any other way (see my Discourse + Delusions post if you’re wondering why I came to this conclusion, otherwise I digress).
11. “I Killed You” by Tyler, The Creator
I wanted a song on this list that centered around the process of acceptance. The emotional development between the twins in IS GOD IS parallels the progression of the speaker in “I Killed You.” Both twins illustrate the liberation that comes with acceptance. Racine is able to recognize how her desire to protect herself and her sister was actually suffocating them both, and manages to get right with Anaia before dying, and Anaia finally stops the cycle of violence by acknowledging the past while looking forward to the future.
12. “30 For 30” by SZA (with Kendrick Lamar)
Full transparency, I was between this song and “Good Days” (also by SZA) to end this playlist. I went with “30 For 30” because it captures both Anaia and Racine’s outlook on this whole situation, with SZA and Kendrick creating a perfectly balanced atmosphere of realistic hopefulness. The chorus does this succinctly with the lines,
I get this type of feeling you ain't accustomed to
I swear I'd be at peace if it weren't for you
Only want your love if it's solid
But if it's fuck me, then fuck you
And that's the way I like it.
The hurt of other people’s actions, the urge to retaliate, and the active practice of taking it all in stride in order to move on from the bullshit is laid bare in these couple of lines. “30 For 30” is easily the most appropriate song choice to wrap up this playlist inspired by a phenomenal movie that I have had a blast picking apart since first watching it.
