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As the Power Book drama universe expands, Raising Kanan takes it back to 1991 for the third spin-off series.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan
Season 1 Wednesdays (from 7 September) 1Magic (*103) 22:00
Executive producer, actor and rapper 50 Cent (Kanan in the original Power series) continues to create a Power universe of drug dealers with multiple storylines with prequel series Power Book III: Raising Kanan. “Ma, I want to help you, get me started in the business,” says a young boy. “The streets don’t play, Kanan, that’s what I am trying to tell you,” the mother responds. It’s 1991 in the suburb of South Jamaica, Queens in New York as Kanan Stark (Mekai Curtis, Irving in comedy series Arrested Development) is starting out in the drug game.
But Raising Kanan is a coming-ofage tale and walks us down the life of this teen who gets into the drug business through his mother Raquel “Raq” Thomas (Patina Miller, the Commander in The Hunger Games fantasy movie franchise). “Getting to explore Kanan after finding out I was playing Kanan was crazy,” says Mekai, who only found out he was auditioning for this Power trilogy at his final call back. “There was pressure to uphold what 50 Cent had done with this character in terms of the intensity and grit he brings.”
STRIPPED OF INNOCENCE
“The theme is the innocence being taken away from Kanan. You get to witness the traumas and the things that made him the person he is in the original Power series,” says 50 Cent, who co-created the series. The Kanan that fans know is a hardcore villain who became a bad guy from his surrounding and upbringing that are explored in this series.
From being part of a gangster family, to learning how to fight back at bullies in school, Kanan gets stripped of innocence from a very young age that forms part of his identity, like when his mother tells him to fill a sock with batteries to beat up the kids who were bullying him at school – and he does it!
This ruthless version of Kanan isn’t fictional though – it’s hugely inspired by 50 Cent, who was selling cocaine by the time he was 12 and was shot by a rival drug dealer nine times, including in his face – this nuance influenced the way Mekai spoke in portraying the character. “There was studying 50 Cent as a character and Kanan separately,” says Mekai. “I studied 50 Cent to get the mechanics of how he walks and talks,” the actor adds, referencing the slight limp that 50 Cent was left with after being shot in the hip.
FAMILY OVER EVERYTHING
Although one of the main themes explored in this story is violence and secrets in this underworld, family plays an important role as Kanan’s bond with his mother grows even within dark surroundings. “They unpack their relationship, their entire family dynamic and how it’s presented to this world,” explains Mekai. “Power fans will get to see how they all deal with situations as the main goal for this entire family is always looking out for each other.” Because Kanan can’t get into the world of drug dealing without his family’s help, support and protection.
Their family is a well-oiled machine that works only when all of the pieces work together. Raquel will do anything to protect her son and in doing so, she actually turns him into the thing she originally tried to protect him from. “It’s this tight spot that Kanan and his mom find themselves in – they both want the best for each other, but they’ve got to become the worst versions of themselves to do it. And that’s how Kanan goes from innocent teen to future ruthless druglord who doesn’t bat an eye at shooting rivals in the face to make his point,” says Mekai.
This is something 50 Cent admits he didn’t experience because his late granny threw him out repeatedly “for dealing drugs, for being a thug, for being a hoodlum. I wasn’t the best kid around but my gran loved me. She tried to save me and my stubbornness almost cost me my life,” says 50 Cent. “I wanted to show in this series that family sometimes builds you up, sometimes it tears you down. The thing is that you’ve got to stand on your feet!”