Spike Lee had the actors stay in separate hotels during filming. The actors playing the "wannabes" had better accommodation than those playing the "jigaboos", which contributed to the on-camera animosity between the two camps. The step show scene was the result of that animosity. According to Lee, the fight between the jigaboos and wannabes was real.
Spike Lee was kicked off the campuses of Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark Atlanta University during filming because the colleges' Boards of Directors were concerned about how black colleges were being portrayed. Lee finished filming at the neighboring Morris Brown College.
The last words spoken in the film, "Wake up!", are also the very first words spoken in Spike Lee's next film, Do the Right Thing (1989).
Kyme and Tisha Campbell's matching kneepads in the Straight and Nappy scene were not part of the wardrobe. Campbell-Martin had a knee injury, and the stylist gave Kyme kneepads to match.