How 50 Cent made TV ‘Power’ grab

This week’s “Renaissance Man” guest comes from the streets but is sitting in the boardroom. He’s a known fighter who has taken his licks (nine gunshots) and not only lived to tell about it, but had the ultimate revenge: resounding success in music, business and entertainment. Like late great Tupac, Ice Cube, Ice-T and Queen Latifah, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has made the jump from music to film and television. The South Jamaica native said there’s a synergy to music and TV that allowed him to transition. He knew how to make a hit and assemble a team that could bring continuity to his vision.

There is also his legendary work ethic. Currently, he is working on 22 projects, with the most notable ones on the Starz network. There’s the crime drama “Power,” in which he starred as drug dealer Kanan Stark. He’s also the executive producer and helped spawn a spinoff universe. He now has so much intellectual property on Starz, they should rename it the 50 Cent Network. And his case for the name change is only gathering steam. On Sunday, his latest project “BMF” premiered on both the Starz network and their app, with new episodes dropping every weekend.

“BMF,” or Black Mafia Family, is a project that I am passionate about because of my hometown roots. It’s a drama inspired by the true story of brothers, Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory, who rose from the streets of southwest Detroit in the late 1980s and created one of the most influential crime families in US history. They later expanded into the rap game. Think the love child of “The Godfather” and “Scarface” with a hiphop flavor.