Power Book III: We need to talk about Kanan

Raising Kanan is the third series in the Power universe, but it tells the earliest part of the story, making it a great place to jump into this gritty drama series about loyalty and betrayal on New York City’s mean streets.  

The series builds up the foundations of how the teenaged Kanan Stark (Mekai Curtis) becomes the older Kanan (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson), the cunning and treacherous gang mastermind who casually killed his own son and his cousin in Power, and threatened to throw a baby out the window. It shows how deep his loyalties in the Jamaica, Queens neighbourhood go, and ultimately, it reveals why Ghost’s (Omari Hardwick) choices set Kanan on a twisted, five-season quest for revenge.  

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson links the two series by popping up now and then as Raising Kanan’s narrator, commenting on events with sharp and often humorous observations. But aside from Kanan’s cousin Jukebox (Hailey Kilgore), none of the major Power characters have come into Raising Kanan yet. Kanan’s proteges turned enemies, Ghost and Tommy (Joseph Sikora), would only be around 12 to 13 years old at the time Season 1 is set, and Kanan became their mentor when he was around 19 years old. The exciting news for fans is that series creator and showrunner Sascha Penn has hinted that fans can expect Kanan’s enigmatic mentor and partner Breeze to blow into town in Raising Kanan Season 3. 

Watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan S1-2 now » 

What we know about Kanan from Raising Kanan S1 

Fifteen-year-old Kanan is the son of charismatic drug queenpin Raquel “Raq” Thomas (Patina Miller) – the kind of tough love mom who’ll show you how to beat your bullies using a sock filled with batteries. She rules the street with her brothers Marvin (London Brown) and Lou-Lou (Malcolm Mays), holding their territory against their major rival, Unique (Joey Bada$$). One of Kanan’s closest friends is Marvin’s daughter LaVerne, aka Jukebox, who has her own issues since her family are violently opposed to her being a lesbian. 

In Season 1 we find out that Kanan has brainpower and potential to attend one of New York’s best schools, but he deliberately fails the entrance exam because he’s far keener on the power he can see on the street, and the intense way that it binds his family together. Alas, his overeager and underprepared jump into Raq’s world sets about destroying everything that he loves. 

When Kanan and his friend whack one of Unique’s men in the series premiere, he unwittingly breaks the truce that Raq has just secured with Unique, bringing cop Malcolm Howard (Omar Epps) – who’s secretly Kanan’s biological father – down on them, and forcing Raq to secretly frame Kanan’s friend for the murder, and kill him.

Kanan makes Raq’s life even harder when his and Marvin’s side hustle accidentally creates a deadly drug that kills users (including Jukebox’s girlfriend), and can easily be traced back to them. As Kanan’s actions cause an all-out gang war that tears apart his neighbourhood, Raq sends Kanan to murder Malcolm while wearing Unique’s jacket, siccing the cops on Unique. Using one enemy to take out another? Kanan got that from his mama. But there’s just one snag: Malcolm survives.  

In Season 2, the fact that Kanan and Malcolm have the same rare blood type might be the only thing that’ll save them both. But the blood also links Kanan to the scene of the crime, and to Unique’s incriminating jacket. And it could also lead to Kanan finding out that Raq set him up to shoot his own father, paving the way for Kanan being ripe for the plucking by the time Breeze blows into town. 

 Watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan S1-2 now » 

Who Kanan becomes in Power 

Power Season 1: Kanan comes into James “Ghost” St Patrick’s world bent on revenge after finding out (eight years into his 10-year prison sentence) that Ghost and his wife Tasha (Naturi Naughton) got him sent to prison before the start of the show, by making sure that the cops pulled him over while he had drugs in his car. Kanan also believes that Tasha and Ghost have turned Kanan’s son Shawn (Sinqua Walls), who is now Ghost’s chauffeur and adopted son, against him. From prison, Kanan starts pulling strings and picking off Ghost’s crew and allies while destabilising his empire, mostly through sending “Pink Sneakers” (Leslie Lopez) the assassin to cause chaos and drop bodies. This is Kanan in his prime as Power’s grandmaster strategist, not just three moves ahead, but three games ahead, while he plays chess behind bars.  

Raising Kanan connection: It seems likely that Kanan named Shawn after his buddy, Shawn “Famous” Figueroa (Antonio Ortiz).  

Power Season 2: Kanan is released from prison and visits Shawn’s mother, Jarita (Tasha Smith). He still has the clout to call a meeting with every major gang in town, to negotiate a new balance of power. Kanan assigns Shawn to kill Ghost for betraying him, and when Shawn fails because Ghost sweet-talks him, Kanan contemptuously tells Shawn that he’s just been using him, before shooting him, telling him that he’s stupid, weak and doesn’t deserve to be Kanan’s son, and putting a bullet in his head. Kanan also tries to shake Tommy’s loyalty to Ghost by hinting that if Tasha and Ghost could betray him, they could stab Tommy in the back, too. Ghost explains to Tommy that Kanan didn’t simply have them assassinated because he wants to check how they’re running the business first, so he can take it over.  

Raising Kanan connection: Jarita hasn’t come up in Raising Kanan yet. 

Power Season 3: Kanan hides out with Jukebox (Anika Noni Rose) after escaping a showdown with Ghost with terrible burn injuries (perhaps echoing his uncle Lou-Lou’s brush with death by fire when Unique firebombs his house in Raising Kanan S1). Kanan returns to New York City, where all his enemies believe him to be dead, and blackmails his old ally Dre (Rotimi Akinosho), who’s now working with Ghost, into helping him take down Ghost. Kanan murders the old lady who now lives in his former mentor Breeze’s apartment by strangling her to death, then lures Ghost’s schoolboy son Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr) there under a fake name, planning to kill him. But when Kanan finds out how much Tariq resents Ghost, he decides to groom Tariq into carrying out his ultimate vengeance against Ghost instead. He plants a seed by telling Tariq that he and Ghost broke into Breeze’s flat together, bent on killing Breeze, but it was Ghost who pulled the trigger. Kanan, as “Slim”, slowly manipulates Tariq into becoming loyal to him, and sends Tasha a ransom demand, pretending to have kidnapped Tariq.  

Raising Kanan connection: Kanan starts working with his cousin Jukebox, who’s now a corrupt cop in Washington DC. And Kanan tells Tariq that he, Tommy and Ghost used to sell drugs to Kanan’s uncles, which is odd, but at this point he’s playing games with Tariq.  

Power Season 4: With Ghost arrested and a lot of money in his pocket, Kanan further darkens Tariq’s image of Ghost before sending him trotting home to Tasha. Kanan rocks up at prison when Ghost is released and demands money from him by threatening Tariq, who Jukebox has kidnapped for him. After Ghost explains to Kanan why he sent him to prison, Kanan flips on Jukebox, and she retaliates by forcing him to tell Tariq and Ghost how he has been manipulating Tariq. Kanan tells Tariq that he killed Shawn because his son was a disappointment to him, unlike Tariq. Then Kanan murders Jukebox to protect Tariq and runs off with Ghost’s money. Dre sends assassins to kill Kanan, Tariq kills Ray-Ray, the crooked cop who murdered Tariq’s twin sister Raina (Donshea Hopkins). And Kanan, Tommy and Ghost seem to make peace as they set their sights on getting rid of Dre.  

Raising Kanan connection: Raising Kanan shows us that Kanan and Jukebox grew up like brother and sister, so the fact that he flips on her to save Tariq in episode six is jaw dropping and Kanan is clearly conflicted about it. 

Power Season 5: Kanan saves Ghost and Tommy from Dre after Dre lures them into a trap, Ghost and Kanan are forced to work together to pay back Serbian gangster Jason Micic (Mike Dopud), but Kanan cuts off another gangster’s head to bring it to Jason, and tells Jason that he’s plotting to have Ghost and Tommy kill one another. Just as Kanan is gloating, Tasha and Tariq manage to frame him for Ray-Ray’s murder, and Tariq sees Kanan kill all the cops who’re trying to arrest him, before he dies from a gunshot wound while fleeing the scene. 

Raising Kanan connection: According to the police report on his death, Kanan has no surviving family at this point. RIP Raq, Marvin, Lou-Lou et al. 

Power Season 6: Kanan is dead, and the season starts with Tommy smoking some of his ashes to pay his respects. Kanan has gotten his hooks deep inside Tariq, though. Both Ghost and Tommy catch Tariq using and double crossing them, and a vision of Kanan urges Tariq to murder Ghost. As Ghost is dying Tariq tells him that he got rid of him, just like Ghost got rid of Breeze. Ghost dies in Tommy’s arms, and Tasha is arrested for the murder, but keeps quiet to save Tariq. 

It’s betrayal and revenge on an operatic scale, with Kanan pulling the strings and conducting the orchestra. And we can’t wait to see Kanan learn more of his tricks in Raising Kanan Season 2. 

Watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan S1-2 now »

Watch the Power series and spin-offs on Showmax 

Power S1-6

The original series. James “Ghost” St Patrick is determined to rise above New York City’s underworld of drugs and gang power plays to become a legitimate businessman and nightclub owner. 

Power Book III: Raising Kanan S1-2 

This prequel series, set in the early 1990s, centres on Ghost’s former mentor turned major antagonist in Power, Kanan Stark, who’s making his first moves on the street as a 15-year-old under the reluctant guidance of his mother, Raquel Thomas.  

Power Book IV: Force S1 

Ghost’s right hand man Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) leaves New York behind and sets his sights on becoming the biggest dealer in Chicago, where he discovers that he has a half-brother, JP Gibbs (Anthony Fleming III), who’s a struggling club owner. 

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