In the world of Power, the popular crime drama created by Courtney A. Kemp that has now spawned two spinoffs, one figure has long been the most intriguing, and the most dangerous. That man is Kanan Stark, a New York gangster as merciless as he is charismatic. He was played by one of the show’s producers and the man whose name helped build interest in the series to begin with, 50 Cent.
With Power Book III: Raising Kanan, the show’s fandom finally gets a peek into the early 90s New York that shaped Kanan into the man he would become, and finds a passionate young man who lacks the darkness that his later self will be filled with. It’s the story of a man intrigued by the world of organized crime but not yet lost to it, chronicling both his rise and his descent.
Omar Epps plays Howard, a detective and antagonist for Kanan who is by no means a beacon of virtue. Epps, an award winning actor, rapper and producer began his career at the same time that Power Book III is set, earning his first starring role opposite the legendary rapper Tupac Shakur in Juice (1992) before going on to star in such films and series as Love and Basketball (2000) and House (2004-2012).
Esquire Middle East caught up with Epps ahead of the show’s premiere on Starzplay Arabia in the Middle East.
Watch the full interview here, or read the full conversation below:
You graduated high school in 1990 from LaGuardia in New York, and then went on quickly to films like Juice. This show is very much harkening back to that era, and that world. What was it like going back to that for you?
It was interesting because I’m a forward-thinking person, and I have a hard time reflecting. But it was great to be back home filming in my hometown. And to your point, that time, that era, I enjoyed just trying to capture the essence of it, the nuance of it.
What was interesting for me was that the character that I play is not from that time, he’s from the time before that. His whole way of thinking and way of doing things is completely different than it was in the time that I came up from, that I could relate to, because was close to the age of Kanan at that time. So that part of it was really fun to explore.
Did you feel like the younger cast was leaning on your lived experience?
Yeah, it was certainly a collaboration in that way. I think the authenticity of the show is super important. Whether it was verbiage, or the cclothing, the set designers were brilliant. The stuff that they were capturing, even to see a phone booth, on the street, I was like oh man, I remember when they used to be phone booths! Those are all the little aspects that a viewer may watch and not notice immediately but it hits their subconscious. It’s adding to the layers and the textures of the show.
We were all on top of each other about all of that stuff to make sure, because if anyone said that’s not that’s not how it looked’, or ‘that’s not what you would say’, we all had the freedom to jump in and try to fix it.
What was it about the show that you really connected with?
Well, for me, it was a few things. was a fan of Power before this. But selfishly, it was to create this family drama, because that’s really what it’s about. Raising Kanan is about a single mom who’s trying to raise a kid. That’s my life! I’m from a single parent household from an amazing woman. I was trying to figure it out the same way, so it was like we were both at the same the starting line.
Obviously, we know where Kanan ended up. But it’s really about unpacking the humanity of how your environment can influence you. How people become who they are is really interesting to me, you know what I mean? We’re so quick to judge, and throw a dart at the board and say this or that, but people go through different things that affect them. Everyone’s different, and everyone takes that on differently.
Again, we know how Kanan ended up, which is a monster. But who was the little boy in the monster? The monster was a human first. To me that was a really unique sort of look into the Power universe.
Did you know 50? I know he has a very strong hand in who he works with. What were your discussions like with him?
We’ve met before. We’ve kicked it a couple of times. can’t say that we’re necessarily friends in that way. And yet, maybe? Who knows? He’s a cool cat, man, I think the guy’s a genius. I honestly feel like that.
To see the trajectory of his life has been amazing. As a fan, to a becoming colleague, he’s someone who you can draw inspiration from and he keeps pushing. He’s very calculated in all of his moves, right? For me to get the call from him for this was flattering, and humbling.
Absolutely. I feel like there’s a lot of layers to 50 Cent that people don’t see. And he’s the kind of person to whom layers are not normally bestowed upon or understood by other people. Everyone wants to put him in a box. You can say same thing for the character of Kanan, in a way.
This is all about deconstructing that, and showing that there’s more to that. Is that something you felt as well?
I totally agree with what you just said. Deconstructing, that’s what it is. That’s literally what it is. You deconstructing, I say unpacking, Or maybe it’s both.
Before color, before class, there’s just a human being. They have likes, and dislikes this, this, that and the other, but they grow up in a certain environment, and people are conditioned and programmed in a certain way and to survive, depending on the environment. Everything is relative, right?
Then there’s that common thread of humanity, of will, of morality. That’s the next layer. It’s like, OK, how does that play into this little kid who doesn’t know anything? Because he’s literally a kid.
To go back to what you said about 50, I think that’s one of the things that, for me, is so inspiring about witnessing his journey. It’s exactly that. This is someone who was probably written off and almost lost their life and, then made this massive amount of success with music, and so forth, and then transitioned into television. That is really big. He didn’t just dip his toe in the water. He just dove in, has been successful at it. Obviously, there’s something there that can be learned. Obviously, there’s way of living life that can be learned that’s effective.
I think that all translates back into Raising Kanan. It’s showing the makings of brilliance before he became a monster, but that’s all by choices.
This show continues to surprise you continues to get better, and continues to go deeper and deeper and deeper.
It’s entertainment, but I think what Courtney Kemp has done from a construction standpoint is really about the duality of human life. We all have two sides of us. It’s exploring that. Even if you go back to the first season of Power, when he was a hustler, and now he’s got a club, and he’s trying to go legit, it just seems like that on the surface. That’s the soapy part. But who that person is, and why, is the deeper emotional part that links you in. All of the ancillary things that come from that are reflective of what you and I go through as human beings. We all have a a duality we’re all straddling, a fence in some shape, fashion or form, in certain parts of our life, at certain times of our life. And sometimes we choose one or the other. And with Kanan, he chose the dark side.
And we’re also fighting our worst impulses. I think back to a film like Brian De Palma’s Carlito’s Way, because that’s about a guy who’s really wants to be better, there’s a goodness in him, but the world around him won’t let him be good.
Because you don’t know how, and you have to learn that. In different parts of our life, whether you’re a parent or you’re not, sometimes we don’t have the tools, and that’s what’s interesting to me about the young Kanan character. This is a kid who’s growing up with his mom, who doesn’t know who his father is. That’s relatable hood stuff. But his toolboxes here, all of these experiences have thrown themselves in there. He rationalizes trauma, and learns how to deal with things a certain way, based on what he’s around.
I think that’s very relatable. We’ve become such a PC culture, if you will, where in the time period of the 90s, where the show takes place, things were blunt, but they were authentic. You knew where people stood, there were no smoke and mirrors. It just was what it was. Now, I’m already trying to unpack this. no I’ve got to unpack that, you know what I mean? And, that nostalgic part of it, I think audiences will flock to.
Did you dive into the generation before this for your character? Did you feel like, ‘instead of preparing for the world of the early 90s in New York City, I want to go back and figure out what made this character who he was growing up in the 70s’?
Oh, yeah, for sure. That was interesting, because was a learning experience, to be honest with you. The best way to say is it’s like the difference between Dr. J and Michael Jordan. I knew who Dr. J was, and I got it. And I know who Jordan was, but trying to understand the difference between those generations was, was part of my work.
What intrigued you about this character?
He’s a master manipulator. His whole thing is being Gepetto. He’s the puppeteer. He was doing that for a reason. He doesn’t just want, to clean up the streets, he wants to clean the way he wants them cleaned.
I feel like with characters today, everyone has to be so morally upright. Everyone needs to have the perfect opinions, they need to reflect exactly how we as a society feel about things morally speaking. But the best characters rarely have the best opinions about anything. That’s what makes it interesting.
Exactly. It’s all about that gray area, because that’s where life is. A lot of life is relative to what you’re going through in that moment, and that’s what was fun about playing Howard throughout the season, you get to see that because that power is stripped from him. Then he has to scramble, and figure it out. Then it’s like,, OK, how far is he willing to go? What is he willing to do to try to do, to grasp a sense of the power that he wants? Or will he try to grab for more? You guys have got to watch. As soon as you go on a journey with us, we’ll have some fun.
Going back to something you said, right at the start of our conversation, you’re not someone who looks back? Why is that? Is that something you developed over time? Or is that the way you’ve always been?
To be honest with you, I just kind of always been like that. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot, as of late, because I got three kids. thinking a lot about this as they’re all getting older. To me, when I look at their young adult faces, I still see their baby pictures. It’s made me think about all the time in between.
I’m always driving forward. But at the same time, I’m trying to learn, and I have learned how to do it better, how to smell the roses, how to take in the moment. We never get back that moment of time. You know, if you and I go out for coffee, kick it and talk. And we’re never going to get that moment in time back
Part of that is reflection. The world doesn’t really allow for that. It’s almost like that old Janet Jackson song, what have you done for me lately? That’s kind of how the world treats you, right? Like, you’re as good as your last hit. You’re just constantly pushing forward, pushing forward, pushing forward.
Do you think back to your experiences with Tupac on Juice?
When I think about stuff, I think about it deeply. they’re selfish moments. For me, it’s less about thinking back to those memories, and it’s more about thinking, imagining, if Tupac were still with us, what would he be doing? Would he have a podcast, Instagram or Twitter page? Those things that they make me feel good when I think about him, because I knew his personality. I’m like, oh, man, if they think this person is crazy, he would have been times a thousand.
But bigger than that, on his progression as a person, I think he probably would have been at least in community service. I don’t know if it would have been with political or grassroots organizations and stuff like that. That’s the stuff I think about, and then when I think back to those memories, it’s a golden time. We were puppies getting a chance to live out our dreams and supportive of one another, and it truly is a blessing to still be here, doing what I love to do.
Are there any particular memories that are most vivid in your mind?
I remember the first time we ever met. We went to the park and the conversation that we had was just so deep and we felt we were like a allies. My mom was educator and an activist, and his mom, as you know, was activist. Our conversation was just, we were in lockstep in terms of what we were trying to do and why we were trying to do it in this vein of art. I was at a very young age moments like that I’ll never forget, and moments like that help fuel me forward. When I feel like I stumble, or I get tired or frustrated, I say to myself,, No, we are here for a purpose and a reason and it all comes back full circle.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan is now streaming on Starzplay Arabia in the Middle East
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