50 Cent Has a Theory About Why the ‘Power’ Universe and ‘BMF’ Have Done so Well
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has created a TV empire. On Starz alone, he has the Power Universe, and his new crime drama, BMF which is set in the ’80s and follows the rise and fall of Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory (Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr.) and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory (Da’Vinchi).
The Power series and BMF have expanded well beyond anyone’s expectations. Now 50 Cent says he understands why they’ve done so well.
50 Cent says the ‘Power’ Universe made Starz official
In the early 2010s, showrunner, writer, creator, and producer Courtney Kemp approached 50 Cent with the idea for Power. She was working on an idea about a man who wanted to leave the drug game behind to become a successful businessman. Though Kemp knew enough about the business side of things, she worked with 50 Cent to put together the drug underworld.
Kemp told Variety, “There’s no version of Power working without our partnership. He has always been a great producer.” It’s been nearly a decade since then and 50 Cent took to social media to reflect on how Power changed the game. “I had this idea to make a TV show like 9 years ago,” he wrote on Twitter. “7 years ago it aired and it did pretty good. Shout out to Chris Albrecht (Starz’s CEO). STARZ is official now I’m off and running.”
50 Cent says ‘Power’ and ‘BMF’ have done well because of diversity
When Power debuted in 2014 it exploded giving Starz major visibility as a network and eventually earning spinoffs including, Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Power Book IV: Force, and Power Book V: Influence. Also, 50 Cent’s latest series BMF has already garnered a season 2 renewal.
50 Cent says the shows win because they don’t fit the Hollywood mold.
“When they start to say diversity, when you see these projects hit the bullseye and its targeted audience is watching… like when Power went number one with African Americans and Latinos and the universe continues that success, it says you don’t have to have that cookie-cutter mentality that Hollywood has had,” he told CNN. “It’s exciting because things are shifting and changing,” he added. “By the time they see what I did here with BMF, [Hollywood] will be impressed. I’ve got the cheat code.”
It was challenging to get ‘BMF’ made
Though all of BMF creator Randy Huggins and 50 Cent’s hard work has paid off, it was a challenge to get the series made. The Black Mafia Family and the Flenory brothers are legends in the hip-hop industry. Moreover, since this was a passion project for 50 Cent’s for many years he worked diligently to get it done the right way. He even enrolled Lil Meech in acting classes for two years so he would have the opportunity to portray his father.
Huggins also faced several obstacles. He began by speaking with Big Meech at length. However, since the former kingpin is incarcerated they were only able to speak for 10 minutes at a time. Eventually, Huggins visited Big Meech in prison. “When you go to prison you can’t take a pen or a pad,” he explained on theGrio’s “Acting Up” podcast. “So he’s talking to me for six hours, I gotta run to my car and scribble down everything that I can remember.”
Thankfully it all worked out.
