Power Book III: Raising Kanan (2021) s02e04 Episode Script

Previously on Raising Kanan
This is what this nigga do.
When he wants my attention,
he fucks with my world.
I don't even remember
what happened that night,
so you talking to the wrong guy.
But I don't know if I believe him.
Feels like there's more there,
but whenever I try digging,
he gets pissed at me
and tells me to leave it alone.
I want you out!
Where am I gonna go?
I don't have any money.
I been hooking up this brother
with free studio time for his girl.
I know they got some buildings
around the way.
- You remember my mom at all?
- Course.
She lives in Harlem.
Divorced twice, no kids.
Your whole life, you been
thinking Def Con your daddy,
but he ain't.
I am.
He don't know what's real
and what isn't.
We already up in Baisley's
and the Forties.
We really need to fuck
with Jersey right now?
We franchisin', fellas.
Everybody's schemin'.
Everybody got their own plan,
their agenda,
their motherfuckin' angle
'cause everybody chasin'
that same paper.
Get the fuck out!
Nothin' come into Newark
without Sal Boselli getting his piece.
That's the way
of the motherfuckin' world.
Survival of the fittest up in here.
Brushstrokes'll tell you
everything you need to know.
The precision. The dexterity.
They're a story unto themselves.
A true artist isn't concerned
with the marketplace, no.
They're consumed by their own
vision and inspiration.
Yeah, but if nobody buyin'
what you selling,
you just a sucker holdin' a brush.
And by the way
you ain't fooling nobody
with that fancy fuckin' talk of yours.
I know who you are,
and I know where you from.
Fort Greene up in this motherfucker.
Well, I speak differently
in different situations, Raq.
- Mm.
- In the gallery, I'm Cartier.
On the streets, I'm still Cartier.
I just roll a lot harder.
I'm surprised that you'd even
join me this evening.
I thought you were
completely disinterested in me
when I met you
at Lou's recording studio.
I had a lot goin' on that day.
- But I'm here now.
- Indeed.
I'm tryin' to figure out
how it is you do what you do,
how you done what you did.
Living downtown, coppin' paintings
and talkin' like you spend
summers at the Inkwell.
Hmm, the only limitations that we have
are the ones we place on ourselves.
You're different.
You into different shit.
Like this art noise.
Tsh, I don't get it.
This ain't me.
Raq, what do you have
too much of in your business?
Drama.
No.
I'm talking about that thing
that you can touch and hold
but you can't get rid of.
What it's all for.
What you worked so hard
Cash.
Got so much, I got rats gnawin' on it.
Motherfucker.
You washing your money up in here.
You pay cash for all this art shit,
you flip it, and then you make it clean.
You're a quick study, Raq.
I like that about you.
Amongst other things.
They told me I had family waiting on me.
Who the fuck are you?
Kanan.
Kanan Stark.
Def Con's son.
Raq's kid?
Damn. Kanan!
Yo, the last time I seen you,
you was just
a little nigga, man, a baby.
Now you all grown up.
All diesel and shit.
Why the fuck you here, man?
'Cause I can't do nothin'
for you, Kanan.
Don't even bother asking.
I just wanna talk about my father.
Talk, then, nigga.
Shit, well, I just wanna know
what kinda stuff
he used to say about me.
I mean, shit, did he even talk about me?
You was nothin' but a baby, man.
There wasn't much to say.
So
what Raq say Def said?
She used to tell me stories
about how smart he was.
Word.
How he had mad respect on the street.
Correct.
Yo, Def had the whole Southside
on lock, man.
And he's definitely my father, right?
The fuck you just ask me?
Is he definitely your daddy?
Who the fuck else
is gonna be your daddy, huh?
What, what, is-is Raq telling you
that she was with another nigga
at the time?
Whoa. Nah, nah, nah.
Nah, it's-it's nothin'
It's nothin' like that.
People just been sayin' shit.
People always say shit, Kanan,
especially when a nigga
ain't around no more
to defend hisself.
You remind me of Def.
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
you got the same eyes, man,
the same heart.
And he would've did what you doin'.
He would've came down here
to look me in my face
and ask me those questions.
You a man now, Kanan.
Shit, by the time Def was your age,
he was already runnin' corners,
livin' in his own crib,
runnin' up into any bitch he wanted.
Hey.
It's time to get it, Kanan.
Just like your daddy.
Time's up, Stark.
Hey, don't forget
about your Uncle Vernon
and his commissary, a'ight?
The price for smokes
done gone up in here.
I knew going out there
was more trouble than it's worth.
Do Marv and Raq know?
Then why you callin' me? Call them.
I told you I ain't fuckin' with Jersey.
Lou.
Is this a joke?
What joke?
Who got jokes?
Oh, shit.
I mean, I had to get rid of the board
just to take care of some
of these expenses, Lou.
But it's all good.
I already found another one.
I'm in negotiations with it right now.
How far along
are these negotiations, Crown?
Because I ain't an expert
at this shit like you,
but I'm pretty fuckin' sure
we need a mixin' board,
or we can't do shit.
I got it handled, Lou,
so you just relax.
I am relaxed.
You just don't wanna
see me agitated, all right?
I'm on the road.
Ain't shit I can do
about Jersey right now.
Raq had me take Kanan up north
to go see his daddy brother.
Call Lou!
I hope the shit was worth it,
'cause the whole
fuckin' world done blowed up
while you tradin' stories
with bitch-ass Vernon.
You know Vernon
used to stick up old ladies
for they welfare money, right?
Scandalous motherfucker.
Didn't care about nobody but hisself.
That's your other uncle.
So
he tell you anything
you didn't already know
about your daddy?
I don't even know what I know
and what I don't know.
Then let me tell you what you do know.
You got a mother that love you
more than anything
on this goddamn green Earth
and a family around you
that got your back at all times.
That's all any nigga can ask for.
Point is
only motherfuckers who count
are the ones who are here.
They the ones who got you.
They the ones lookin' out for you.
Yeah, and-and maybe they ain't perfect.
Maybe they ain't who you want 'em to be,
but they here for you.
And that's all that matters.
Hello.
Somebody there?
It's Laverne.
Laverne Thomas.
Laverne.
Obviously, this is a surprise.
A wonderful surprise.
Where are my manners? Uh, come in.
Come in. Take off your coat.
I, uh I volunteer
with the youth group
at my church.
They're wonderful kids.
I'd love for you to meet 'em sometime.
Only if you want to.
Thanks for the drink.
How's Marvin?
He's Marvin.
"He's Marvin."
I'm moved to have you in my home,
to put my eyes on you.
I don't even know what to say.
When I saw you at my church that day
Why did you leave me?
You just jump right in, don't you?
I wasn't even a year old,
and you just bounced.
I wanna know why.
Um
I was young, Laverne.
Not much older than you are right now.
All of a sudden,
I had a new baby
and a man I wasn't sure about.
I was scared.
So I did what scared children do.
I ran away.
I went to Los Angeles
thinking I'd become some
famous singer.
Once I was rich,
I was gonna come back and get you.
But it didn't work out how I planned.
Instead I got caught up
with the wrong things
and the wrong people,
and by the time I looked up,
ten years had passed by,
and I figured just popping
back up in your life
would be worse than leaving it
in the first place.
It wouldn't have been worse.
God is so great, Laverne
'cause He brought you back to me.
Right here, right now.
And I
I know I don't deserve you
but somewhere in His grace,
He decided that a child
should be with her mother.
That you should be with me.
I'm not asking for forgiveness.
I'm asking for a chance.
How'd everything go
with your Uncle Vernon?
It was a'ight.
He didn't really have much
to say about
Yo, my bad.
Got caught up at the studio.
Hey, hey, babe, uh, go watch some TV.
Give me a minute with your uncles.
What the hell is that smell?
Rat dead in the walls or some shit.
There's some air freshener in there.
Just spray it around.
It smells really bad in here.
It's air freshener, nigga.
It freshens the air.
So, what, we ain't workin' today?
Sent everybody home till we figure out
what the fuck happened out in Jersey.
Not tryin' to have those
Italians bum-rush this spot.
All right, so what do we know?
We know we in a world of shit.
An Islamic court has sentenced them
to lose their right arms,
have them severed,
and their left leg
What the
severe punishment, of course,
uh, for a first offense especially.
Tomorrow their mother
will be on the show
to speak out about their predicament.
Oh!
What the fuck?
Yo, this shit smell horrible, man.
Ugh!
I told you movin'
to Jersey gonna be a problem.
Bein' on the wrong side of them Italians
is not a place we wanna be, Raq.
Them Italians don't play.
We fucked up.
We should've got the lay of the land
before we set up shop.
Now we got a problem.
This job, what I do,
it's not about moving product.
It's about solving problems every day.
Whether it's the nigga
on our team skimmin' from us,
the supplier raisin' the price of a key,
or these fuckin' Italians
jackin' our shit,
every day is a new problem
that's gotta get solved.
That's the job. That's the work.
That's the hustle.
And ain't nobody who ever
made real money in this game
a drug dealer.
They problem solvers.
Some problems bigger than others.
Maybe we should press pause
on this shit in Jersey
until the dust settles.
You know, let shit cool off
for a minute.
You so ready to damn roll over
so you can get back
to your fuckin' studio.
- It ain't even about that.
- It is.
Course it is.
Look, ain't nobody gonna
tell me where I can
or I can't do business.
Not the Italians and not neither of you.
Set up a meeting
with these pizza motherfuckers.
Hola, mami.
You know, I believe we got off
on the wrong foot.
It's no hard feelings.
Just business.
Never personal.
Take good care of yourself, my love.
Know what? You keep the change.
We gonna call this one even, a'ight?
Hey, yo, Raq.
Hey, Kanan, let me holler at your moms
for a second alone.
I'm not eight no more, man.
Come on, y'all can talk.
I'm tired of y'all pushing me
to the curb when y'all do this.
Look, just give us a minute, baby.
Ma.
Come on. Just a minute.
Look, I know this is a fucked-up time
to be bringing this up, but, um
I'm short.
I was hoping you could
float me something
just for a minute.
Float you something?
How many times I gotta tell you
that your money's my money?
You borrowing my money
to pay me back with my money.
What about your recording studio?
Supposed to be making
all that clean loot
you been talkin' about, legit cash.
Just getting it started.
Puttin' it up on its feet is all.
Even a ho can make money
on her knees, Lou.
I'm not a ho, Raq.
Then stop acting like one.
Look, I got you,
but from here on out,
your first name is On Point,
and your last name is On Time
in this business, family business.
Get your shit right, Lou.
So your Uncle Vernon still all swole
off those three hots and a cot?
Man, ain't nobody messin'
with that brother on the yard.
But you got what you wanted.
You wanted to talk
to your father's brother.
You did.
Ma, why did you want me
to kill that cop?
You told me it was 'cause
he was crazy and all that,
but that ain't enough,
not to me.
It's a lot of crazy police out here.
What's this gotta do with Def Con?
You put that gun in my hand
and then told me it was for family,
to protect us.
But what was he doing
that we needed protection for?
Howard threatened to send you
up north for Buck Twenty.
That don't no.
He didn't even have proof of that.
- And D-Wiz?
- He a cop, Kanan.
They can make up
whatever the fuck they want.
You think them young boys
in Central Park
did all of that to that white lady?
If the police said they did it,
then they did it.
That's how it works.
That's the game that they playing.
Howard decided
that the best way to get to me
was to get to you, and he was right,
'cause you all I care about.
Look, the truth is,
if it had been me or one of your uncles
or one of our people,
that motherfucker would have put us down
before we got within 100 yards of him.
He was on one, Kanan,
and he was gonna
threaten you that night.
Either you snitch on me,
or he was gonna lock you up
for Buck Twenty.
That was the toughest decision
of my life.
And like I said before, I hate
that I hurt you.
I love you.
Come on.
Let's go home.
You back.
The room looks good right?
I mean, uh, the color
just f-felt like you.
I found some shit to hang
I thought you'd like.
So you're the little broad
creating all these big problems, huh?
You know, when I heard it, I said,
"She gotta be from out of town,"
because nobody from Jersey
would ever dream
of moving their shit in my backyard
without giving me my taste,
'cause that's grand fucking larceny
of the highest fuckin' order,
my dusky friend.
As far as I'm concerned,
I'd be within my rights
to drop the lot of you
right where you stand.
There's been a
misunderstanding, Mr. Boselli.
- We're sorry if we stepped on
- We ain't sorry for shit.
I ain't see you posted up
in them projects.
Didn't hear no claim on that block.
Just because I'm not there
doesn't mean I'm not there.
That's the beauty of me. I'm everywhere.
Nothing happens in Newark
without my stamp of approval.
So you just waitin'
for somebody to move in
so you can squeeze 'em?
That number right there
is the cost of doing business
in my neck of the woods.
You coming over that bridge
or through that tunnel,
you gotta pay the toll.
Consider that offer
to be best and final.
Considered.
And rejected.
Oh, sh
I don't know. I kinda like her.
Don't ever speak for me again.
And who told you
to talk about a business
that you barely even in?
When they come for us,
they gonna come for all us.
And if that's not bad enough,
you questioning me now.
You apologizing to that noodle nigga,
but you gonna question me.
I'm just trying to keep us all alive.
Taking out 'Nique, that's one thing.
These Mafia motherfuckers,
that's somethin' else.
Lou shook, Marvin. How about you?
I ain't scared of nobody.
Look, no more trucks.
From here on out,
we takin' the short bus.
This here is a team sport, Lou.
You wanna do that solo shit,
you need to take up some tennis, nigga.
Now, you know this shit
is fucked up, just like I do,
but you too much of a bitch
to say it to her.
Nigga, all that music you listen to
got you deaf and dumb.
Yeah!
You gettin' your ass whupped.
Yo. Yo!
Everybody, listen up. Listen up.
Shh!
Everybody, give it up to my man,
my brother, Kanan motherfucking Stark
in the fucking building,
for payin' for everything
and puttin' this shit together.
Give it up! Give it up to my man Kanan.
Yeah.
Welcome to Club Famous, niggas.
- Oh!
- Whoa!
I'm good!
Yeah!
Uh, you may wanna keep it down.
Ms. Davis in 406
will call the cops on you.
Uh, who are you?
Corinne.
You and, uh,
your sister wanna come inside, Corrine?
I'm Corinne's mother,
Palomar.
For real?
We're your neighbors in 402.
Hey, Mom, you care
if I kick it here for a minute with
Kanan.
Kanan?
For a little while.
Not too long.
I wouldn't want Kanan to get
the wrong idea about you.
Nice meeting you, Kanan.
You too.
Hey, it happens to everybody.
For real.
You been through a hell of a lot.
You know, I always say
that your dick knows more
about your head than your brain.
- That's what you always say?
- Mm-hmm.
We got a ho philosopher over here, huh?
Believe it or not, I actually
know some shit, Malcolm.
And I actually know some shit about men.
Andrea
I got a son, you know?
About the same age as your kid.
We been doing this thing for,
what, seven years,
and you have never mentioned a kid,
not even once.
And ain't no photos of any kid
anywhere in your house,
ever.
I just found out.
Oh.
I don't even know what to say to him.
I told him I'd die for him,
like you said before.
That shit ain't move the needle.
That's some heavy shit
to say to a kid
especially one
that you just discovered
is your child.
Hmm?
He don't even think I'm his father.
Because you're not.
Being someone's daddy
ain't just saying it, Malcolm.
You gotta show up for your kid,
be there for him,
let him know that he can count on you.
I mean, kids can feel
who's in their corner,
hmm?
Be in your son's corner, Malcolm,
and then he'll know you're his daddy.
Hey, baby. You seen your cousin?
Famous is havin' some people
over at the new place.
Oh, Famous got his own apartment now?
Some place down by Rochdale.
Where he get the money to pay for that?
Crown has a connect
who owns the building.
Crown in business with everybody.
I'ma go down there later tonight.
If I see Kanan, you want me
to tell him anything?
Oh, no, I was just wonderin'
where he was.
I saw my mom today.
You saw your mother?
Where?
She's been living uptown.
It was crazy.
I mean weird.
Sitting across from her
after all those years.
She reach out to you?
Nah. I tracked her down.
She's been living in New York
for a minute.
But she never thought to come find you.
Just 'cause you blood with somebody
don't mean they deserve
to be in your life.
Family's earned, Juke.
It ain't just a given.
All right. You hungry?
I'll fix you something to eat.
No, thank you.
All right.
Count's light.
- You short 600.
- I know.
Thing is, I stacked that shit
myself back at Baisley.
Put it in the box in the closet.
I don't know what the fuck
happened to it.
Fuck it doing in the closet?
Shit's supposed to move
as soon as we get it.
Been keeping some extra around,
just in case we need it during the day.
Who the fuck told you to do that?
That's how 'Nique
'Nique?
Yo, the nigga here?
He-he-he in the closet?
Or-or maybe he under
the-the mattress or some shit?
Because I don't see him
nowhere, Worrell.
But 'Nique sneaky, so ma-maybe he here.
In here?
You work for us, nigga.
You do it our way.
The money moves always.
You tell Lou?
Lou don't never come round here.
That's why I hit you up.
Someone's skimmin'
and when you catch the nigga,
we gonna have to do what we do.
I need you to do a run.
Know how to fuck with a stick shift?
It's my backup singer, y'all.
You call me that one more time,
I'ma fuck you up.
You know I love you, Juke.
Shit. All right.
Check it out!
- Right? Right?
- Nice!
- All right.
- Let me make you a drink.
You got a girlfriend?
Dolo.
Not anymore, you're not.
Check it out. This new shit.
I'm on my own now, Juke.
I got my own crib.
- Yeah?
- I'm writing rhymes again.
'Bout to be back on top, nigga. Moves.
Crown Camacho in this bitch!
Yo, what's good?
Yo.
Hey!
- Oh, you got guests.
- Yes, sir.
I like. I like.
Yeah.
Yo, let me take care of you
like you take care of me.
A'ight, make you a drink.
Yo, Kanan.
Juke.
I was hoping I'd see you here.
Why would you be hoping to talk to me?
'Cause I got this track
that you'll love, girl.
Believe that.
So it's to your new mixing board
and all them hits you gonna make on it.
Ain't shit Cartier Fareed
can't get his hands on, huh?
If you can fulfill a need,
you'll always be necessary.
And that's what you doing, my brother.
Heads need that sound
that speaks to them,
that feels like 'em,
that moves like 'em.
That's what I'm trying to do here.
I don't know, feel like everybody
keep gettin' in my way.
You ever heard of Lee Iacocca?
- The car nigga?
- Mm.
President, CEO,
and chairman of Chrysler.
Now, that man's a business savant.
He knows everything from marketing
to supply chain management.
But Lee has a saying.
The speed of the boss
is the speed of the team.
So if you gonna be the boss,
you gotta set the pace, my nigga.
Word up.
Get some more of this.
You like the good shit.
Yeah.
He came to my store.
Unique.
He comes and he goes as he pleases.
After everything that he did to me,
to you.
I thought you were strong.
This is weakness.
He laughs at us.
It's all strategy, Juliana.
Now, it might not feel right to you,
but it's just a move
in this game we playing.
I'm not playing your game.
- Yo.
- Yeah?
What you doing with all them
church clothes?
I'm goin' on Sunday.
What, Juke catching the
Holy Ghost all of a sudden?
I'm asking God to save me from Famous.
Tsh.
Fool was pushin' up on me at his party.
Come on, that dude
always pushin' up on you.
Nigga got a little closer than usual.
Yeah, Fame wasn't feelin'
no type of pain last night.
Neither was you.
Hey.
I actually
grabbed up all these clothes
'cause my moms asked me
to go to her church with her.
Oh, shit. Your mother.
Damn, I forgot, Juke,
but how did that go?
I don't know, man.
She's
a'ight.
Can't call it. Still too soon.
I mean, she left when I was a damn baby.
What kind of mother does that?
One who got Marvin as the father.
You wanna know what was really a trip?
Her eyes, man.
Lookin' in 'em.
There was something that I recognized.
Like I've always known her
and she's always known me.
It was like lookin' at myself
in some fucked-up way.
That's deep.
For real.
Well, I'll leave you two alone.
Give you some time.
So this is where
all the family dinners
are gonna go down.
Thinking about putting the
dining room table right here,
and then I'ma put a big
old chandelier above it.
Thinking about maybe ripping out
these hardwood floors too,
puttin' in some carpet.
What you think?
Why'd you reach out to me, Raq?
I mean, I know you do all that
urban planning and shit.
Figure you know about architecture
and buildings and all that.
And the hardwood floors.
Yeah. The hardwood floors.
You can go if you want to.
What do you want from me, Raq?
I want you to tell me if I should
rip up these hardwood floors
and put some carpet in.
Just lay the carpet over the hardwood.
Hardwood never goes out of style.
You might want it back sometime.
Yeah, the rug's not gonna be
too high, right?
'Cause you know I like my
carpets like I like my men
thick.
You a clown.
- You know that?
- Mm-hmm.
Come on. I'll show you the bedrooms.
Hey.
I need to know.
I thought I didn't, but I do.
What happened that night,
the night you had me
take Kanan out of state?
Cops was wilin'.
I needed my boy gone.
What happened that night is,
I was protecting my son.
Protecting Kanan?
Always.
Right.
Let me show you those bedrooms.
Yup. Gonna be on a bus.
One of them short joints
leaving from the Southside.
Check it out, man.
Don't fuck with my mans, a'ight?
He with me.
Gotta go.
You openin' up again in here?
Never closed, Detective.
Can I help you, uh, find something?
You know, we got a lot of new, uh,
fabrics being shipped in
from Paris next week.
Maybe something nice
to bring out the color
in those pretty little eyes of yours.
I'm good.
Know what they say.
Clothes make the man or the woman.
Is that what they say?
Seems like you hit a rough patch.
My partner gets shot, almost dies.
You get locked up for it,
even though you didn't do it.
You lose your business
and everything else.
Meanwhile, word is that you got set up.
That you got played, Unique.
Someone fucked me over like that
I'd be pissed.
Wanna know who it was
so I could get payback.
I guess that's the difference
between you and I, Detective.
You see, I'm all about
that live-and-let-live shit.
God, grant me the tranquility
to know what the fuck I can change,
what the fuck I can't change,
and the wisdom to know
the goddamn difference.
- "Serenity."
- Scuse me?
"God, grant me the serenity to know."
Same shit.
We done here, or can I offer you
a nice linen pantsuit or something?
You know, it's lovely on a hot day.
And we can even cut it to accentuate
whatever it is that you're offering,
'cause I know you're offering
something, Detective.
I got my eye on you.
And I've got mines on you.
Good day, Detective.
You just make the offer.
I'll handle everything else.
Done.
So I'm doing this.
I'm happy for you.
You don't seem happy for me.
I need you to stop calling me.
Stop pulling me back to you.
I need you to just leave me alone.
We're gonna do the same shit
all over again,
end up in the same place
or maybe someplace worse.
All I'm saying is
if you do care about me,
and I believe you do,
I really do
let me go.
Let me move on with my life.
You're a grown man.
Can't make you do nothin'
you don't wanna do.
You once told me
I was like a vacation for you.
Remember that?
But I never wanted
to be your vacation, Raq.
I wanted to be your home.
Call me soon as drop's done.
Where you going?
Hanging out with Famous.
Be safe.
Always.
Yeah, yeah.
All right, all right.
Here come the drums.
All right, all right.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah!
All right, all right.
Time to get the fuck out!
Yo. Slow down. Calm down.
Let me fucking hear you.
You gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me.
The fuckin' bus too?
Motherfucker.
Everybody got their own shit,
their own journey, their own path.
Some motherfuckers
living in the present,
tryin' to figure out who they are.
And then some motherfuckers
are lookin' toward the future,
tryin' to figure out who they wanna be.
And then there are other heads
stuck in the past,
doing everything
in their power to make sure
that none of us find out who they were.
And that's what all this shit is.
That's what life is.
A fucking throwdown
between what happened,
what's happening,
and what's gonna happen.
And I know what you're wonderin'.
Who's gonna win this fucking fight,
the past, the present, or the future?
Shit.
Why you asking me, nigga?