Skip to main content

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has been a major part of the Power Universe from the beginning. Not only has he served as an executive producer and director, but the rapper also played a major character, Kanan Stark, during the original series run. Though Kanan didn’t survive the duration of the series, the notorious character has come alive again in the prequel series, Power Book III: Raising Kanan.

Though the Power Universe has expanded so massively, 50 Cent says he originally didn’t understand why the first show had to end.

Actor/producer Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson attends For Your Consideration event For Starz's 'Power' at The Jeremy Hotel
Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson | JC Olivera/Getty Images

Did 50 Cent create ‘Power’?

50 Cent has been an integral part of the Power Universe since the beginning. Power creator Courtney A. Kemp told Variety, “There’s no version of Power working without our partnership. He has always been a great producer.”  Kemp initially wanted to tell a story about a man who wanted to leave behind his life in the drug game for a legit public-facing life.

In the end, she pulled 50 Cent in to learn the ends and outs of what it means to sell drugs. Moreover, she also began to infuse some of the rapper’s mannerisms with James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick).

50 Cent says he didn’t originally understand why ‘Power’ had to end

Before Kemp spoke with him about the ideas for the Power spinoffs, 50 Cent could not comprehend why the top-rated show needed to end. After all, it dominated ratings on cable, only after Game Of Thrones.

“I was mirroring the success of The Sopranos,” 50 Cent told TV Fanatic. “That’s what I could use to gauge how long you should go when it’s going great. And then we actually went the seven-season timeframe, but we did six and a half, and then technically Ghost started seven days after Power with all the results of what happened in Power. So. we technically are filming season nine of Power. I didn’t understand why it had to stop because it seemed for the first time you look, and you say diversity is becoming cool. With the streaming platforms, you got to look and say they’re creating so much content that they’re willing to create the content that speaks to the different audiences.”

Thankfully the spinoffs mean Power never ends.

Related

‘Power Book II: Ghost’ Season 2: Release Window, Plot Details, and Everything Else We Know

Is 50 Cent’s new show ‘BMF’ connected to the ‘Power’ Universe?

Now that all of the Power Universe spinoffs, including Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Power Book IV: Force, and Power Book V: Influence are underway or in the works, 50 Cent has turned his sights on a new Starz drama series, BMF.

BMF is based on the real-life Flenory brothers. Set in the ’80s in Detriot, BMF follows Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory as they began building their empire BMF or Black Mafia Family. Though their empire began as a drug organization, eventually it transformed into something much more.

Amid the rise of hip-hop, the brothers launched  BMF Entertainment. They used the company as a money-laundering scheme where they worked as promoters for several major hip-hop artists. Though 50 Cent is executive producing this passion project, BMF is in no way connected to Power.

Best in Entertainment