Power Book III: Raising Kanan (2021–…): Season 2, Episode 1 - Episode #2.1 - full transcript
Previously
onRaising Kanan...
I never wanted to
bring you into this Kanan.
You was in this shit
before you was even in it.
I need two units, one
on top of the other.
So Famous
gets free studio time,
and your niece gets nothing.
You think I wouldn't get
you studio time if I could?
- Yo, do y'all hear this?
Yo, they playing my shit, yo!
What is with
you and that kid?
The children
are our future, Burke.
That's who you
got? Toni your big CI?
You're a
fucking pig, Marvin!
Fucking pig!
Our shit was
never real, Symphony.
This thing between you and me...
We were on some
make-believe shit.
White girl
got what she deserves.
World better for her
not being in it no more.
All this money and work
I got on these streets,
and niggas think I'm
gonna shoot a cop?
Fucking Raq.
She's gonna
die or go to prison,
and you're gonna be
right there with her.
You got the label,
so just bounce on
this drug shit.
Shut the fuck up
and drive, Jess.
I'm done
waiting, Raquel.
So I'm getting a
warrant for Kanan.
I need to talk to my son,
and you gonna make that happen.
I need you to squeeze
that fucking trigger
tonight and save me, baby.
He's coding!
I know you don't
want to hear from me,
but I wouldn't reach out if
I had anywhere else to turn.
Ha ha. That's right.
Nobody from the
hood never took no vacation.
No nigga I ever knew had
a damn summer home...
'cause there ain't no
time off from this shit.
Ain't no breaks,
ain't no sick days.
Not for me or nobody who
come from where I come from.
Don't matter whether
you on a corner
or on a fucking beach.
No matter where
the fuck you go...
there the fuck you are.
Deborah told
me you were out here.
I'm just taking a
last look is all.
I remember spending the
summer on this same beach
with your grandmother and
uncles back in the day.
Even had my own little
summertime boyfriend...
Rodney Dunn.
Ooh, that boy was
fine.
Turned out Rodney had,
like, seven other girls
he was talking to.
Of course, all of us
thought we was the only one.
Can't trust none of you boys.
It's time to go, baby.
I'm so damn happy to see you.
Detective Howard.
Please, Detective Howard, I
really need you to sit here
so I can prepare you
to be discharged.
I came to this hospital
three months ago
with a ring on my finger, and
I ain't leaving without it.
I'm sure someone
from your family
collected it for you.
I ain't got no family.
I ain't leaving
until I find my ring.
All
I can tell you
is that Detective Howard's
memory loss is surprising
but not altogether unexpected.
The human brain
is a fascinating,
mysterious machine.
It will repress trauma,
bury unpleasant memories
to protect itself.
So you believe him when he says
he doesn't remember anything
from the night he was shot?
Why wouldn't I?
Look, I-I think you're
missing the real story here.
The memory loss is a triviality.
Your partner is
a medical marvel.
Yeah, I know. I know.
If he hadn't been shot, we
wouldn't have found that cop
from the Four-Four who
donated that bone marrow.
Detective
Howard came in here
with a hole in his chest
and cancer in his blood.
He leaves here in remission
with both of his lungs intact.
That's about as
close to a miracle
as we touch in this building.
All right.
Player one wins.
Oh, yeah, check that.
Let's go. Come
on, you see that.
You think you'll come
back next summer, Kanan?
Now, why would he
want to come back here?
This slow-ass town... He
live in New York City.
Actually, it's
not that bad here.
New York ain't all that.
Man, fuck that.
As soon as I raise up
out of here, I'm gone.
- Where you gonna go, Eric?
- Wherever I want.
Mama ain't gonna
just let you do that.
Ain't gonna
be Mama decision.
Everything her decision.
Exactly.
If it was my decision...
I'd probably stay
here with y'all
and win at that shit.
See? Kanan
has said it's better here,
and he live in New York.
When I was out on
the beach with Kanan,
I was reminiscing
on Rodney Dunn.
Remember him?
Ain't a girl our age from
here to North Carolina
- don't remember Rodney.
- Mm.
Last I heard, he was a manager
at some health club in Missouri
or Mississippi or something.
Yeah, well, he always did
love lifting them weights.
Mm, boy's six-pack
had a six-pack.
Look, like I said on the phone,
I could enroll Kanan in
high school here, Raquel.
He could live with us.
You know, the boys
love having him around.
And like I told you before,
Kanan stays with me, okay?
He go where I go.
I'm just saying that when
you sent him down here,
you said there was some wildness
you wanted to get him away from.
- Is it safe for him back there?
- Look, things quiet now.
Just some summertime bullshit...
Too many knuckleheads
out in the street.
You know how it is.
You know, your mom talked
about moving you all down here
before Marvin went
to high school.
But then that thing happened
with your mom and dad and...
There he is.
I want you to know that
you can come back down here
anytime you want, okay, baby?
Same goes for Jukebox.
And tell her I said so.
- And tell her we miss her.
- I will.
We loved having you here, Kanan.
I loved being here.
It's like
I keep sayin'...
Famous needs beats
to fuck with, Lou.
He can't just come up
with rhymes out the air.
Well, Phife does,
same with Q, and Guru
do the same shit.
Emcees write whether they
got to beat or not, Jess.
It's called being an
artist, being a creative.
I'm so tired
of fighting with you
- about this shit.
- Then stop fighting.
It's my job to push for
my brother's career.
Then take a day off.
I mean, you're Famous'
manager all the time.
When are you just
gonna be my girl?
I can be both.
It's a singles-driven
business, right?
You don't get two
bites at the apple,
Fame's track was all
right. It didn't move.
No, you didn't market it right.
The market spoke. It
said, "Fuck Fame."
Now all the little
nigga do is get high,
when he should be trying
to put in that work.
It's because he thinks
that you don't care
about him or his career anymore.
I don't! I don't give a fuck.
You don't care?
If you don't care about his
career, why the fuck should I?
It's what you said, right?
It's your job to give a fuck
about his career, not mine.
So maybe you should
take care of his ass.
Sure as hell ain't
taking care of me.
- Where you going, Lou?
- You know what?
You wonder why we always fight.
No, I don't.
Motherfucker.
Hey, yo!
Hey!
Yo, what the fuck?
Stay away from me.
Hey, relax.
Hey, hey, hey, relax.
I got mace.
Look, it ain't even
like that, sweetheart.
Who's on the song?
That's why you almost
fucking killed me?
Me. I'm singing
For real?
I mean, that's my shit.
You singing on my beats.
So sue me.
I'd rather sign you.
Look, My name is Lou Thomas.
Relax.
You ever heard of
Bulletproof Records before?
Don't fucking do that shit!
You got a really dope voice.
Can I go?
I look forward to
hearing from you.
Have a good day.
You
ever shoot somebody?
You ever shoot
somebody and miss?
'Cause I did.
And I can't lie.
Looking that nigga in the eye
and squeezing that trigger
had me shook.
And when it comes
to that shit...
you stay shook until
you do it enough times
that you ain't shook no more.
And once that happens,
you done turned into
something else altogether.
He gettin' out the hospital.
The cop.
He don't remember nothing
from that night, Kanan.
Amnesia or some shit,
brain all twisted up.
I got people in the hospital
who say he barely remember
his own name, so you good.
I wouldn't be bringing
you home otherwise.
Look, if he did
remember anything,
the police would be looking
for you, but they not.
He ain't got to remember.
What if he see me around the way
and it knocks something
loose in his head
and then he remember, Ma?
The ship's already
sailed. It's too late.
Ain't nobody gonna believe
anything that come
out his mouth now?
It's been way too long.
I'll never let
anything happen to you.
I got you.
You know I got you.
Hey, brother.
That, uh, girlfriend of
yours skipped town and...
Yo, Toni wasn't my
girlfriend, man.
Call her whatever
you want.
Snitch-ass white bitch,
that's what I'll call her.
Point is that without
her testimony,
they have no case.
You got no idea
where she posted up?
They're offering 100
hours of community service
or court-mandated class on
substance abuse diversion
or anger management.
You just said they
ain't got no case.
How it go from no case
to pick up fucking
trash in Times Square?
They still have you on the
simple possessions charge.
Reefer, they got me on
motherfucking reefer.
Shouldn't even be
a fucking crime.
And yet it is.
Look, if you take
one of the classes,
I could probably work it
so that all you have to do
is sign in each session
and then you could leave.
Put me down for the anger
management bullshit, then,
'cause them niggas gonna
see what angry look like.
We'll see if they
can manage that shit.
Can't wait to go
through three months of bills
and bullshit.
You got to get
some light in here.
I was gonna go get
something to eat.
You want to join me?
Uh, I appreciate the offer.
I got to clean up
all this shit...
start trying to figure
out my new life.
"New life"? That
sounds ambitious.
I thought I was dead, Burke.
No joke.
For a minute there
in that hospital,
I-I felt myself leave my body.
Turns out I wasn't
dead at all, though.
I was being reborn,
given a second shot
at all this shit.
And I'ma do it right this time.
I'ma be the best version
of me that I can be.
Unique's whereabouts
are accounted for
the night of the shooting.
He wasn't there in
the park with you.
I never said he was.
All the evidence pointed at him.
I don't even remember
what happened that night,
so you're talking
to the wrong guy.
Howard, whoever shot
you is still out there,
and Homicide doesn't have any
suspects at all right now.
I'm concerned about
that. You should be, too.
I'm only concerned with
the shit I can control.
Look, when you stare death
in the face like I did,
you start getting real
philosophical about shit.
Like the song says,
"I think very deeply."
I'm gonna go.
Hey...
appreciate you picking me up.
I'll call you
later, see how you're doing.
All right, I'll be here.
Yo, kick the beat.
Turn around.
What the fuck?
Worrell still don't get it.
Them corners is dead.
We the only game
in town now, Kanan.
It's just us, and
we got shit on lock.
The beautiful thing
is, five-O can't see us
when we up in the
buildings like this,
but we can see them
from miles away.
When we going home?
Your uncle's gonna be crazy
happy to see you, baby.
I'm hungry.
I'ma get you something
right after this.
- Hey.
- What's up?
Why did nobody else get on?
Got to ask them.
You know, my
moms had the spot humming
like a motherfucker.
She'd taken over the
whole damn floor,
took care of the niggas
who lived in the building
to keep they mouth shut...
paid off the housing
cops and the supers
to stay out our way,
and was connecting the
whole building with drops
that went all the way
down to the basement.
And the whole thing was off
the street and out of sight.
So, as far as five-O
was concerned,
this shit didn't even exist.
Moms done changed
the fucking game.
Kanan.
Something I use.
Yo, look who back
from the beach.
What, you a-a surfing-ass
nigga now or what?
What?
Ain't no Black folk
surfing on the beach.
Well, let
me be the first nigga
to ride them waves, then.
You know what I mean?
Damn Jackie Robinson
of the Pacific
catching all 'em hos in bikinis.
It's the Atlantic, Uncle Marvin.
Yo, can you
picture me out there, sis?
Out there on... on my surfboard
showing 'em how us
Queens niggas do.
You don't even know how to swim.
Yo, why I got to learn how to
swim when I got a surfboard?
Shut up, Marvin.
Open up five.
Couldn't believe my fucking ears
when I heard you might
be getting released soon.
'Cause I ain't
done nothing, man.
Maybe you didn't shoot that cop,
but you and I both know you
guilty of all sorts of shit.
I mean, everybody guilty
of something, C.O.
Yo, things
are going smoothly.
On track today to
do that god power.
Business is up, barely
keeping up with demand.
I told you
about this shit before.
They talking in code.
That's supreme mathematics.
God power is 7-5.
My uncle's saying they doing
75,000 in sales for
the day up in here.
That's some real
shit right there.
Some of the neighbors
downstairs is starting to beef,
saying too many
people in the halls,
that the stairs stink of
piss, and we too loud up here.
It's the fucking projects, man.
Stairs been stinking of piss
since they put these shits up.
Right, from here on out,
we gonna mop these
stairs twice a day
and get some air
freshener up in there
and spread around some
more money to the tenants.
Make sure they got their
groceries taken care of.
If any of these old heads
need their medications
or their prescriptions
filled, you know,
get one of our guys to make
that shit happen for them.
Marvin gonna be calling
the shots over here.
Since Kanan home, I'm gonna...
Sorry I'm late.
Late once, you're sorry.
Late twice, you're sloppy.
You late all the time like you,
you just don't give a fuck.
What I was
saying is that now
that we got this spot on
autopilot a little bit,
I'm looking to build, expand.
And that means that we got to
keep our shit clean and quiet.
Got to pay attention
to the little shit.
Ain't no problem that's
too small not to notice.
Like, on the way over here,
I saw Worrell up
the block slinging,
catching that heat
I'm talking about.
And that shit ain't
good for business,
especially when it's
that close to us here.
Look, we need a clean
perimeter around our shit.
We can't have five-O
sniffing around the vicinity.
I'll take Worrell out.
I owe that motherfucker.
- Easy work.
- The best kind of work.
Mm, dropping bodies
is exactly what I
don't want to do.
And I got other
thoughts for Worrell.
Bring his ass in
for a conversation.
And, Scrap...
I need you to ease up
on throwing them dice.
I don't want you fucking with
your mom's card game no more.
Leave all that shit alone.
Look, we all on the
low-profile tip.
See, Scrap
had that gambling bug.
Got passed down
from his parents.
His dad was a bookie, and
his moms had a card game
in her basement every
Wednesday night.
Wasn't shit Scrap
wouldn't bet on.
46, 47, 47 1/2...
Come on, ain't no such thing
as half a fry, motherfucker.
One time,
he took $500 off Marvin
over how many fries
are in a large order.
48.
The
over/under was 50.
50...
51.
Scrap
took the over.
Pay up, nigga.
Oh, he got you there.
He got you. That's...
Look, the most
successful motherfuckers
are the motherfuckers you
ain't even hear about.
That's what we're doing.
Heads down, guns on safety.
- Are we good?
- Long as you show up
where and when you supposed
to and handle your business,
yeah, we good.
I'ma go say what's up
to my nephew over there.
Your younger brother's
steady slipping.
I heard you was looking
for a backup singer.
I don't know, man.
I don't think I'd let
you sing me to sleep
with that wack-ass
voice of yours.
Wow, I just got back,
and you already being mean, man.
I should've stayed my
ass in Virginia for this.
- That's really crazy.
- Yo, come here, man.
What's up?
So...
how was it?
It was cool. You
know, good to be gone.
Clear my head, see
what else is out there.
Realize sometimes
it feel like...
shit, that this is all there is.
I'm not sure it's enough.
I don't know. I'm...
I'm not sure if this
shit is for me, man.
You know what I mean?
Word.
- Yo, Aunt Deb...
- Oh.
Man, Pat, Eric, everybody,
they all was asking about you,
wondering why you
didn't come down.
I told them it's 'cause
you had some shit up here
you was trying to
figure out, so you good.
It just didn't feel going down
to the beach after all that.
Truth is...
it's not like staying here
made nothing better neither.
I missed the hell out you, kid.
Of course you did.
You didn't have nobody
to listen to your
whiny-ass bullshit.
Nigga, I just got
ba... I don't miss you.
I didn't miss you, then.
Whatever, fine, cool.
- I'm just here. Look.
- No, man...
Yo, these niggas is
carrying buckets of water,
arms all out and shit and
not spilling a damn drop.
Yo, that shit'll turn you
into a straight warrior.
You could use some time in
that Shaolin Temple, Lou.
Toughen your bitch ass up.
Why I need to do all that
when I already got you
to carry my water
for me, Marvin?
- Yo, fuck you, Lou.
- Oh, that shit funny, huh?
- He got you there. I was...
You know
what else is funny?
- You getting stung by some jellyfish down in Virginia.
- Oh, man.
Yeah, crying like a little
bitch for a day and a half.
Your aunt Deborah
called up here,
told your moms all about it.
Fuckin' fish had
your eyes leaking.
That's a bad look
for the family.
When you out there,
you reppin' all of us.
You remember that.
Wasn't nobody crying, man.
It hurt, all right?
It did, but the doctor said
getting stung by a jellyfish
is like getting stung
by, like, 50 hornets.
50 hornets ain't shit,
nigga. Toughen the fuck up.
You been
stung by a hornet?
All right, then.
How you doin' Juke?
I'm all right.
Smells good.
Haven't seen you in
damn near three months.
Mm, saw you at Grandma's for
that cookout three weeks back.
Right.
Oh, you... you sure
right about that.
I was thinking maybe, um,
we could talk sometime.
You know, just sit down
and catch up and shit.
I ain't got nothing
to say to you.
- But I feel like...
- Dinner's ready, y'all.
My baby's home where he
belong, with his mama.
I need you to know
that we wasn't having
none of these dinners
while you was gone, Kanan,
because if your seat's empty,
we not sittin' around
the table like this,
'cause this right here
is what it's all about...
family...
us.
I know we got our differences.
And we disagree sometimes.
But at the end of
the day, we blood.
And that's way more
important than any static
that's between us.
Family... that's
all that matters.
Word.
Family.
I don't get it.
I mean, you supposed to
be my manager, right?
Supposed to be makin' moves
for me, makin' my shit blow up.
I'm doing
all I can, Fame.
I got your mixtape out.
I got you played on
Stretch and Bobbito.
I can't make people
buy your shit.
What about gettin' me
back in the studio?
What about you
laying off the weed
and writing something?
Ever since you started
smoking that shit,
you've been sitting on your
ass instead of writing rhymes.
You told me that you
were gonna talk to Lou
about getting me
beats to write to.
He says he wants
you to write first,
and then he'll get
you the beats, okay?
He says he wants
you to be an artist,
a creator, like Phife.
Yo, fuck this.
I already knew I should've
got a real manager.
I just figured I'd go with you
'cause, you know, Lou was
giving you that dick, so...
How the fuck you gonna talk
to your sister that way?
Figured if Lou was hittin' it,
it might help my career
in a way, but, you know,
I guess what you givin'
up ain't gettin' it done.
- Fuck you, Famous.
- Fuck you, too.
You ain't gonna get a
real manager anyway.
So, um, what classes
you taking in school
this year, Juke?
School hasn't started yet.
I mean
when it does start.
Thanks for dinner,
Aunt Raq. It was great.
Of course, baby. I'm
glad you liked it.
Seem like you and Juke
really connecting.
Kiss my ass, Kanan.
Look, uh...
I know I been fucking
up, all right?
I'ma do better.
Heard that shit before.
This label is more
work than I thought.
I mean, anybody can do it,
but to do that shit right
is some other shit.
You know what I'm sayin', right?
How much you made so
far on that label, Lou?
It's a new business.
Well, if it ain't making
money, it ain't a business.
It's a hobby, nigga.
You sleepin' on our
business for your hobby.
Recognize.
What the fuck are you doing
smoking cigarettes, Juke?
The world didn't stop
spinning when you left, kid.
You ever gonna forgive Marvin?
Wasn't
planning on it.
Nobody at
dinner said nothin'
about what went
down before I left.
What is there to say?
It is what it is, nigga.
Man, I don't know.
I was down there with Aunt
Deb, and I started thinking.
Oh. Uh-oh.
Kanan thinkin' ain't
never a good idea.
Maybe I ain't cut out for this
family-business shit, Juke.
I mean, I only wanted
to do it to protect her,
make sure she a'ight.
Doing what I did that night...
- and fucking it up.
- Mm-mm.
They should've never asked
you to do that shit, Kanan.
That shit was wrong.
You talked to your
moms about it?
Feel like I'ma let her down
if I brought that to her,
especially after
talking all that shit
about how ready I was.
You need to tell her.
Look at this country-ass
motherfucker.
Yo.
Oh, shit.
He went to Virginia
Beach, Famous... beach.
What the fuck part of "beach"
sound like cowboy boots to you?
Virginia sound
country as hell to me.
- Yo, I missed you kid.
It ain't been the same
without you around.
This nigga didn't have
nobody to borrow money from.
Yo, I been taking money
from my mom, like, every...
Yeah, that sound
like a real solid plan.
Wasn't
no plan, really.
I was just doin' the shit,
few times here and there.
Like, every day on this...
Baisley killin' it.
All we got to do...
Drop off the dope,
pick up the money.
So now what we gonna
do is we got to take
what we doin' over at Baisley,
and do that shit somewhere else.
- We about to franchise.
- Like McDonald's.
Always comes back to
food with this nigga.
Marvin right.
We need to be
inside and up high.
Buildings, high-rises.
I'm thinkin' the 40s.
Yeah, that shit might
fit the bill just right.
We can get lookouts
on one of those tall
buildings over by 109,
and from there, we can
see the whole projects.
- Mm.
- And even if they did find out
we was posted up in there, I
mean, there's only a few ways
for five-O to come
in and bum-rush us.
Now, we get the right units
and the right building,
we're protected, even
better than Baisley.
And I didn't want to say
nothing around Scrap,
'cause I didn't want
him to feel like,
you know, he's getting
passed over or anything,
but thinkin' about
puttin' on Worrell
and the rest of Unique's crew.
Yo, you really thinkin'
of puttin' 'Nique's
people on right now?
I thought the whole point
was to run them niggas off.
Yeah, well, I'm thinkin'
we might need to do that
keep-your-enemies-close thing.
And, also, it's gonna
keep 'em, you know,
from bringing the cops to
the corners around Baisley.
Look, we gonna let Worrell
get down with the spot
we about to open
over at the 40s.
Yo, we tried to kill that nigga.
He tried to kill me.
War is hell, niggas, but
we ain't at war no more.
I know who Worrell is.
I know what he did.
And I know what we did.
And I know Unique, too.
And I'm trying to make sure
that when 'Nique come home,
and I hear it's gonna be soon,
he ain't got shit
to come home to...
No people, no product,
no possibilities.
And having 'Nique's
right hand down with us,
I mean, that shit
could be useful.
Marvin got Baisley.
You got the 40s.
And assuming Worrell gets down,
he gonna have to answer
to you over there.
Marvin's doin' good
work at Baisley.
Give him the 40s, too.
- So you turnin' down work now?
Why everything with you
got to be a struggle, Lou?
Why do I always
have to be angry?
I'm giving you a
spot to fuck with,
real money in your pocket,
and you still complainin'.
I ain't complainin'.
Is he complainin', Marvin?
Bitchin' more like it.
You're runnin'
the 40s, Lou,
and that's how it's gonna go.
Hey,
hey, hey.
Y'all better not be
taking Scrappy's money,
'cause my boy promised
me a Fendi bag
for my birthday next week.
Ma, way these
cards are playing...
Uh?
...I'll be getting
you the whole luggage set.
Come on, man.
You kidding me, man?
- Mm.
- Come on.
Give me my money.
Police! Let me see your
hands! Get them up!
Hands up!
Everyone put their
hands where we can see them.
As much as
Scrap was about his business,
he just couldn't stay
away from them cards.
And that's weakness.
When something got a
hold on you like that,
don't matter what it is...
Cards or bitches or dope...
You gonna slip.
Detective
Peng know you here?
Where the fuck Peng at?
You know the drill.
Get your
hands off my boy.
Get your hands off my boy.
Get them fucking
hands off of me!
Get them fucking
hands off of me!
Look who's
back from the dead.
The prodigal son returns.
Please tell me
you got better shit to do
than visit us in the middle
of the fucking night.
Hey, I was just
sittin' home, not doing shit,
thinkin', "Where can I find
some like-minded, useless,
godless motherfuckers?"
- Look no further than the NYPD.
Crime's down
since you been out, Howard.
I-in fact, we're
starting to wonder
if you were the
problem all along.
- Uh...
I got a C.I. bellyachin'
in Interrogation Two
that I got to go
deal with.
It's good to see you back
up on your feet, Howard.
It's good to be back
on my feet, Peng.
Let me go, uh, holler
at Burke right quick.
All right.
Good,
great to see you.
What? You're not happy
to see me or somethin'?
Oh, I was gonna say hi after
you and the boys finished
measuring each other's dicks.
Shit, I know what I got.
No need to measure my shit.
Yeah, you'd need one of those
centimeter rulers, anyway.
I see somebody's been
workin' on their material.
What you got going?
That my shooting?
Homicide's overloaded.
I'm just pitching
in a little bit.
Do they know that?
Not yet, but they will.
Look, I'm your partner.
If I'm not looking
out for you, who is?
I appreciate that.
I really do.
Look, Burke, I can't have
you fucking up anything.
All due respect, shit like this
has to be done methodically,
damn near scientifically.
So far, all that methodical
and scientific shit
has gotten Homicide nowhere.
Their one suspect had
a rock-solid alibi,
and they're not looking at
anybody else at all right now.
Hmm.
Well, just make sure you're
on the same page as One PP.
Understood, Detective.
I'm tired. I'm gonna go home.
Yeah, you look like shit.
You should get some rest.
You're getting good.
Get your
fucking hands off me!
You know who my
father is? Look at me.
You know who I am? Huh?
You're
the pretty-ass bitch
that's gonna suck all our dicks.
Watch where you going, G.
Keep walkin', coon.
Watch your fuckin' mouth, man.
What the fuck are you
gonna do about it, ape?
Don't let
him get away with that.
- Handle that boy, 'Nique.
- Yeah, 'Nique.
- What's up?
You should
mind your own business.
This ain't business,
bitch. This is pleasure.
Break it
up, break it up.
- Yo, chill.
- They jumped him!
I saw the whole fuckin' thing.
These cocksuckers jumped him.
Yeah, that's what the
fuck I'm saying, man.
They started it, C.O.
- I just finished it.
Kanan and I just
want to thank you again
for driving him down
to Virginia like that.
Haven't seen you since, and...
we really just wanted to let
you know how grateful we are.
How grateful I am.
I'd do anything for
you and Kanan, Raq.
You know that.
Somebody gonna have to pay
me back for all the Cheetos
this boy ate on the
way down to Virginia.
You ate way more than I did.
I couldn't even get
my hand in the bag
'cause yours was
always in there.
Nah, nah, nah, by the
time we got down to VA,
your hand was so damn
orange from eating Cheetos
that Aunt Deborah
thought he was in there
with some safety gloves on,
so people outside
could see him at night.
- You ain't right, Kanan.
- Come on.
I'm all the way right,
Symph. We know this.
All right,
switch to channel six.
Listen, we already had
this conversation, Jess.
Famous needs to write.
Famous been writing, okay?
But he just needs to know
that you're gonna get
behind him and his career.
Get him in the studio,
put some shit on wax.
I ain't throwin'
good money behind bad.
We already put loot
behind the single.
It didn't move.
Knowing when to cut your losses
is a big part of
running a business.
Whoa, whoa, losses?
Who's losin'?
It ain't me. It
damn sure ain't me.
The mixtape's
collecting dust, right?
We gonna have to
start all over again.
We need to see that
he's doin' the work.
Okay.
Y'all didn't put any real
marketing behind Famous, okay?
No street teams,
no push on radio.
I was the one that
got him on KCR.
I was on that booked
all those gigs downtown.
Okay, I will say
that more could have
been done marketing-wise.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
To Lou's point, we just got
to be smart about our money.
We ain't got a whole lot left.
We got all
the money we need.
Just need to make the right bet.
Speaking of the right bet...
this my new girl right here.
I'd like to introduce
y'all to Zisa.
Found her at a red light.
Now we about to go on green.
She can sing.
Let's do this.
Who the fuck is Zisa?
You don't need to wait.
There's a long line
outside the bathroom.
He gonna be a minute.
Look, I don't know how
Kanan and you were involved
in what happened that
night around your way...
the night I took
him down south...
and I don't want to know.
But Kanan is a great kid, Raq,
and he's gonna do great things.
You just got to protect him...
make sure he gets the
opportunities he deserves.
You still think you know my son
better than me, huh, Symphony?
Ah, you never learn.
I know who my son is, and I
know what he's capable of.
I don't need nobody
to tell me that.
He's protected.
You can be damn sure of that.
Well, he said some shit to me
on the way down to Virginia,
Like I said, he didn't
tell me anything specific,
but he was scared, Raq...
very scared.
He'd hate me for
telling you that.
I thought you should know.
I care about him...
about you.
Man, the white
dude in front of me
blew that spot up before
I even got in there.
My eyes still stinging, God.
What's up, we movin'?
It was good to see you guys.
I guess I'll see
you around, brother.
Maybe so.
Maybe so.
Take care of yourself, Raq.
You too, Symphony.
You still owe me for
those Cheetos, Kanan.
And I'm comin' from my money
if I see you around the way.
Yeah, you can see me,
but can you catch me?
Ahh...
Come on, Ma.
So, before we begin,
I like to focus
on getting present
and focusing on the
breath by breathing in...
holding
it, and releasing.
Do I sign
in or some shit?
Right there.
Um, excuse me.
- And you are?
- Marvin Thomas.
Oh. Hi, Marvin.
I'm Renée, the therapist
who runs this class.
Oh, well, nice to
meet you, Miss Renée.
Where you going, Marvin?
Yo, I signed in. I'm
s... I'm straight.
You signed in,
and now you go sit
with the rest of the
group for our first class.
Probably just
a little misunderstanding.
Uh, my lawyer told me
as long as I sign in,
then I'm... I'm good.
Good, as in you can leave?
- Yes, ma'am.
Well, your lawyer told
you wrong, friend.
Either you sit down in
one of these chairs,
or I can let the court know
that you violated the
terms of your probation,
and they'll find another
place for you to sit.
And I can promise you
that the spot the judge is
gonna find for you to sit
won't be as comfortable as
one of these chairs here.
Yo, you for real?
Realer than real, brother.
I got to call my lawyer, then.
You do that, but, first,
sit your ass down.
So, like I said,
everyone breathing in together
collectively as a group,
holding it,
and exhaling any
negativity.
Really coming together and
being focused in this moment.
Yo.
She ain't no joke, right, Juke?
Shit.
What you think Lou would
do if he knew about us?
- Kill you.
He can't run the
studio without me.
He knows it.
He's finding artists,
workin' behind the board.
Lou's a quick learner.
It ain't about what
you know, girl.
It's about who you know,
and he ain't got my Rolodex.
What'd your friend
from L.A. say?
He got a job for you.
Junior-level manager...
Be managing the younger talent.
- Mm.
- That shit's waiting on you,
but not for too much longer.
So, if you want it...
better get your fine
ass out to Cali.
I should just do it.
It's not like I got
shit keeping me here.
You got this.
Oh, it's the bedtime
glass of milk.
I've been doing it since
you got out your crib.
Thank you.
How you doin'?
I feel like I lost track of you.
Like, I used to always
know what you was thinking,
but now that you older,
not so much anymore.
Why you got to grow up, hmm?
Why can't you just stay my baby?
You know, sometimes
I don't even know what
I'm thinking myself.
Talk to me, Kanan.
You can say anything
to me, always.
I don't want to disappoint you.
Well, I mean, if you honest,
you'll never disappoint me.
Tell me what you thinkin'.
Let me in.
I thought I was
cut out for it...
for what you and Uncle
Marvin and Uncle Lou do.
I mean, I'm your son.
I'm Def Con's son.
Y'all both did it, so
I thought I would, too.
But maybe not.
Maybe I was supposed
to do something else...
to be someone else.
Doing what I did that night...
looking that cop in the face...
messed with my head,
like, nightmares and shit.
And, yeah, I know I was all
over you about putting me on
and getting me started
in the business, but...
shit, I'm starting
to think I was wrong.
I don't think I'm
up for any of this.
I can't protect you the way
that I thought I could, Ma.
You're not supposed to
protect your mother, Kanan.
I'm supposed to protect you.
And I didn't.
I put you in harm's way.
And that's on me.
That's always gonna be on me.
I'm sorry.
Everything I'm doing...
I mean, I'm doing
for you, Kanan...
for us.
And if you're not happy,
if you don't feel safe,
then I'm... I'm doing
all this for nothing.
I love you.
I love you, too.
Mom, you should probably
go get that phone.
Niggas say you
only do two days in the pen...
The day you go in and
the day you come out.
Ask me, that's just some shit
somebody who never
been to the joint said.
As far as I'm concerned,
you do every fucking
day in there.
You do the days,
but you can't let
the days do you.
When you come out, you got
to be the same nigga you was
when you went in...
only harder...
colder...
'cause while your life
got stopped for your bid,
everybody outside kept moving...
and they ain't checking for you.
They ain't give
a fuck about you.
So you got to show
'em you still here,
you still matter.
You need to remind them.
Make 'em remember you so
they never forget again.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
onRaising Kanan...
I never wanted to
bring you into this Kanan.
You was in this shit
before you was even in it.
I need two units, one
on top of the other.
So Famous
gets free studio time,
and your niece gets nothing.
You think I wouldn't get
you studio time if I could?
- Yo, do y'all hear this?
Yo, they playing my shit, yo!
What is with
you and that kid?
The children
are our future, Burke.
That's who you
got? Toni your big CI?
You're a
fucking pig, Marvin!
Fucking pig!
Our shit was
never real, Symphony.
This thing between you and me...
We were on some
make-believe shit.
White girl
got what she deserves.
World better for her
not being in it no more.
All this money and work
I got on these streets,
and niggas think I'm
gonna shoot a cop?
Fucking Raq.
She's gonna
die or go to prison,
and you're gonna be
right there with her.
You got the label,
so just bounce on
this drug shit.
Shut the fuck up
and drive, Jess.
I'm done
waiting, Raquel.
So I'm getting a
warrant for Kanan.
I need to talk to my son,
and you gonna make that happen.
I need you to squeeze
that fucking trigger
tonight and save me, baby.
He's coding!
I know you don't
want to hear from me,
but I wouldn't reach out if
I had anywhere else to turn.
Ha ha. That's right.
Nobody from the
hood never took no vacation.
No nigga I ever knew had
a damn summer home...
'cause there ain't no
time off from this shit.
Ain't no breaks,
ain't no sick days.
Not for me or nobody who
come from where I come from.
Don't matter whether
you on a corner
or on a fucking beach.
No matter where
the fuck you go...
there the fuck you are.
Deborah told
me you were out here.
I'm just taking a
last look is all.
I remember spending the
summer on this same beach
with your grandmother and
uncles back in the day.
Even had my own little
summertime boyfriend...
Rodney Dunn.
Ooh, that boy was
fine.
Turned out Rodney had,
like, seven other girls
he was talking to.
Of course, all of us
thought we was the only one.
Can't trust none of you boys.
It's time to go, baby.
I'm so damn happy to see you.
Detective Howard.
Please, Detective Howard, I
really need you to sit here
so I can prepare you
to be discharged.
I came to this hospital
three months ago
with a ring on my finger, and
I ain't leaving without it.
I'm sure someone
from your family
collected it for you.
I ain't got no family.
I ain't leaving
until I find my ring.
All
I can tell you
is that Detective Howard's
memory loss is surprising
but not altogether unexpected.
The human brain
is a fascinating,
mysterious machine.
It will repress trauma,
bury unpleasant memories
to protect itself.
So you believe him when he says
he doesn't remember anything
from the night he was shot?
Why wouldn't I?
Look, I-I think you're
missing the real story here.
The memory loss is a triviality.
Your partner is
a medical marvel.
Yeah, I know. I know.
If he hadn't been shot, we
wouldn't have found that cop
from the Four-Four who
donated that bone marrow.
Detective
Howard came in here
with a hole in his chest
and cancer in his blood.
He leaves here in remission
with both of his lungs intact.
That's about as
close to a miracle
as we touch in this building.
All right.
Player one wins.
Oh, yeah, check that.
Let's go. Come
on, you see that.
You think you'll come
back next summer, Kanan?
Now, why would he
want to come back here?
This slow-ass town... He
live in New York City.
Actually, it's
not that bad here.
New York ain't all that.
Man, fuck that.
As soon as I raise up
out of here, I'm gone.
- Where you gonna go, Eric?
- Wherever I want.
Mama ain't gonna
just let you do that.
Ain't gonna
be Mama decision.
Everything her decision.
Exactly.
If it was my decision...
I'd probably stay
here with y'all
and win at that shit.
See? Kanan
has said it's better here,
and he live in New York.
When I was out on
the beach with Kanan,
I was reminiscing
on Rodney Dunn.
Remember him?
Ain't a girl our age from
here to North Carolina
- don't remember Rodney.
- Mm.
Last I heard, he was a manager
at some health club in Missouri
or Mississippi or something.
Yeah, well, he always did
love lifting them weights.
Mm, boy's six-pack
had a six-pack.
Look, like I said on the phone,
I could enroll Kanan in
high school here, Raquel.
He could live with us.
You know, the boys
love having him around.
And like I told you before,
Kanan stays with me, okay?
He go where I go.
I'm just saying that when
you sent him down here,
you said there was some wildness
you wanted to get him away from.
- Is it safe for him back there?
- Look, things quiet now.
Just some summertime bullshit...
Too many knuckleheads
out in the street.
You know how it is.
You know, your mom talked
about moving you all down here
before Marvin went
to high school.
But then that thing happened
with your mom and dad and...
There he is.
I want you to know that
you can come back down here
anytime you want, okay, baby?
Same goes for Jukebox.
And tell her I said so.
- And tell her we miss her.
- I will.
We loved having you here, Kanan.
I loved being here.
It's like
I keep sayin'...
Famous needs beats
to fuck with, Lou.
He can't just come up
with rhymes out the air.
Well, Phife does,
same with Q, and Guru
do the same shit.
Emcees write whether they
got to beat or not, Jess.
It's called being an
artist, being a creative.
I'm so tired
of fighting with you
- about this shit.
- Then stop fighting.
It's my job to push for
my brother's career.
Then take a day off.
I mean, you're Famous'
manager all the time.
When are you just
gonna be my girl?
I can be both.
It's a singles-driven
business, right?
You don't get two
bites at the apple,
Fame's track was all
right. It didn't move.
No, you didn't market it right.
The market spoke. It
said, "Fuck Fame."
Now all the little
nigga do is get high,
when he should be trying
to put in that work.
It's because he thinks
that you don't care
about him or his career anymore.
I don't! I don't give a fuck.
You don't care?
If you don't care about his
career, why the fuck should I?
It's what you said, right?
It's your job to give a fuck
about his career, not mine.
So maybe you should
take care of his ass.
Sure as hell ain't
taking care of me.
- Where you going, Lou?
- You know what?
You wonder why we always fight.
No, I don't.
Motherfucker.
Hey, yo!
Hey!
Yo, what the fuck?
Stay away from me.
Hey, relax.
Hey, hey, hey, relax.
I got mace.
Look, it ain't even
like that, sweetheart.
Who's on the song?
That's why you almost
fucking killed me?
Me. I'm singing
For real?
I mean, that's my shit.
You singing on my beats.
So sue me.
I'd rather sign you.
Look, My name is Lou Thomas.
Relax.
You ever heard of
Bulletproof Records before?
Don't fucking do that shit!
You got a really dope voice.
Can I go?
I look forward to
hearing from you.
Have a good day.
You
ever shoot somebody?
You ever shoot
somebody and miss?
'Cause I did.
And I can't lie.
Looking that nigga in the eye
and squeezing that trigger
had me shook.
And when it comes
to that shit...
you stay shook until
you do it enough times
that you ain't shook no more.
And once that happens,
you done turned into
something else altogether.
He gettin' out the hospital.
The cop.
He don't remember nothing
from that night, Kanan.
Amnesia or some shit,
brain all twisted up.
I got people in the hospital
who say he barely remember
his own name, so you good.
I wouldn't be bringing
you home otherwise.
Look, if he did
remember anything,
the police would be looking
for you, but they not.
He ain't got to remember.
What if he see me around the way
and it knocks something
loose in his head
and then he remember, Ma?
The ship's already
sailed. It's too late.
Ain't nobody gonna believe
anything that come
out his mouth now?
It's been way too long.
I'll never let
anything happen to you.
I got you.
You know I got you.
Hey, brother.
That, uh, girlfriend of
yours skipped town and...
Yo, Toni wasn't my
girlfriend, man.
Call her whatever
you want.
Snitch-ass white bitch,
that's what I'll call her.
Point is that without
her testimony,
they have no case.
You got no idea
where she posted up?
They're offering 100
hours of community service
or court-mandated class on
substance abuse diversion
or anger management.
You just said they
ain't got no case.
How it go from no case
to pick up fucking
trash in Times Square?
They still have you on the
simple possessions charge.
Reefer, they got me on
motherfucking reefer.
Shouldn't even be
a fucking crime.
And yet it is.
Look, if you take
one of the classes,
I could probably work it
so that all you have to do
is sign in each session
and then you could leave.
Put me down for the anger
management bullshit, then,
'cause them niggas gonna
see what angry look like.
We'll see if they
can manage that shit.
Can't wait to go
through three months of bills
and bullshit.
You got to get
some light in here.
I was gonna go get
something to eat.
You want to join me?
Uh, I appreciate the offer.
I got to clean up
all this shit...
start trying to figure
out my new life.
"New life"? That
sounds ambitious.
I thought I was dead, Burke.
No joke.
For a minute there
in that hospital,
I-I felt myself leave my body.
Turns out I wasn't
dead at all, though.
I was being reborn,
given a second shot
at all this shit.
And I'ma do it right this time.
I'ma be the best version
of me that I can be.
Unique's whereabouts
are accounted for
the night of the shooting.
He wasn't there in
the park with you.
I never said he was.
All the evidence pointed at him.
I don't even remember
what happened that night,
so you're talking
to the wrong guy.
Howard, whoever shot
you is still out there,
and Homicide doesn't have any
suspects at all right now.
I'm concerned about
that. You should be, too.
I'm only concerned with
the shit I can control.
Look, when you stare death
in the face like I did,
you start getting real
philosophical about shit.
Like the song says,
"I think very deeply."
I'm gonna go.
Hey...
appreciate you picking me up.
I'll call you
later, see how you're doing.
All right, I'll be here.
Yo, kick the beat.
Turn around.
What the fuck?
Worrell still don't get it.
Them corners is dead.
We the only game
in town now, Kanan.
It's just us, and
we got shit on lock.
The beautiful thing
is, five-O can't see us
when we up in the
buildings like this,
but we can see them
from miles away.
When we going home?
Your uncle's gonna be crazy
happy to see you, baby.
I'm hungry.
I'ma get you something
right after this.
- Hey.
- What's up?
Why did nobody else get on?
Got to ask them.
You know, my
moms had the spot humming
like a motherfucker.
She'd taken over the
whole damn floor,
took care of the niggas
who lived in the building
to keep they mouth shut...
paid off the housing
cops and the supers
to stay out our way,
and was connecting the
whole building with drops
that went all the way
down to the basement.
And the whole thing was off
the street and out of sight.
So, as far as five-O
was concerned,
this shit didn't even exist.
Moms done changed
the fucking game.
Kanan.
Something I use.
Yo, look who back
from the beach.
What, you a-a surfing-ass
nigga now or what?
What?
Ain't no Black folk
surfing on the beach.
Well, let
me be the first nigga
to ride them waves, then.
You know what I mean?
Damn Jackie Robinson
of the Pacific
catching all 'em hos in bikinis.
It's the Atlantic, Uncle Marvin.
Yo, can you
picture me out there, sis?
Out there on... on my surfboard
showing 'em how us
Queens niggas do.
You don't even know how to swim.
Yo, why I got to learn how to
swim when I got a surfboard?
Shut up, Marvin.
Open up five.
Couldn't believe my fucking ears
when I heard you might
be getting released soon.
'Cause I ain't
done nothing, man.
Maybe you didn't shoot that cop,
but you and I both know you
guilty of all sorts of shit.
I mean, everybody guilty
of something, C.O.
Yo, things
are going smoothly.
On track today to
do that god power.
Business is up, barely
keeping up with demand.
I told you
about this shit before.
They talking in code.
That's supreme mathematics.
God power is 7-5.
My uncle's saying they doing
75,000 in sales for
the day up in here.
That's some real
shit right there.
Some of the neighbors
downstairs is starting to beef,
saying too many
people in the halls,
that the stairs stink of
piss, and we too loud up here.
It's the fucking projects, man.
Stairs been stinking of piss
since they put these shits up.
Right, from here on out,
we gonna mop these
stairs twice a day
and get some air
freshener up in there
and spread around some
more money to the tenants.
Make sure they got their
groceries taken care of.
If any of these old heads
need their medications
or their prescriptions
filled, you know,
get one of our guys to make
that shit happen for them.
Marvin gonna be calling
the shots over here.
Since Kanan home, I'm gonna...
Sorry I'm late.
Late once, you're sorry.
Late twice, you're sloppy.
You late all the time like you,
you just don't give a fuck.
What I was
saying is that now
that we got this spot on
autopilot a little bit,
I'm looking to build, expand.
And that means that we got to
keep our shit clean and quiet.
Got to pay attention
to the little shit.
Ain't no problem that's
too small not to notice.
Like, on the way over here,
I saw Worrell up
the block slinging,
catching that heat
I'm talking about.
And that shit ain't
good for business,
especially when it's
that close to us here.
Look, we need a clean
perimeter around our shit.
We can't have five-O
sniffing around the vicinity.
I'll take Worrell out.
I owe that motherfucker.
- Easy work.
- The best kind of work.
Mm, dropping bodies
is exactly what I
don't want to do.
And I got other
thoughts for Worrell.
Bring his ass in
for a conversation.
And, Scrap...
I need you to ease up
on throwing them dice.
I don't want you fucking with
your mom's card game no more.
Leave all that shit alone.
Look, we all on the
low-profile tip.
See, Scrap
had that gambling bug.
Got passed down
from his parents.
His dad was a bookie, and
his moms had a card game
in her basement every
Wednesday night.
Wasn't shit Scrap
wouldn't bet on.
46, 47, 47 1/2...
Come on, ain't no such thing
as half a fry, motherfucker.
One time,
he took $500 off Marvin
over how many fries
are in a large order.
48.
The
over/under was 50.
50...
51.
Scrap
took the over.
Pay up, nigga.
Oh, he got you there.
He got you. That's...
Look, the most
successful motherfuckers
are the motherfuckers you
ain't even hear about.
That's what we're doing.
Heads down, guns on safety.
- Are we good?
- Long as you show up
where and when you supposed
to and handle your business,
yeah, we good.
I'ma go say what's up
to my nephew over there.
Your younger brother's
steady slipping.
I heard you was looking
for a backup singer.
I don't know, man.
I don't think I'd let
you sing me to sleep
with that wack-ass
voice of yours.
Wow, I just got back,
and you already being mean, man.
I should've stayed my
ass in Virginia for this.
- That's really crazy.
- Yo, come here, man.
What's up?
So...
how was it?
It was cool. You
know, good to be gone.
Clear my head, see
what else is out there.
Realize sometimes
it feel like...
shit, that this is all there is.
I'm not sure it's enough.
I don't know. I'm...
I'm not sure if this
shit is for me, man.
You know what I mean?
Word.
- Yo, Aunt Deb...
- Oh.
Man, Pat, Eric, everybody,
they all was asking about you,
wondering why you
didn't come down.
I told them it's 'cause
you had some shit up here
you was trying to
figure out, so you good.
It just didn't feel going down
to the beach after all that.
Truth is...
it's not like staying here
made nothing better neither.
I missed the hell out you, kid.
Of course you did.
You didn't have nobody
to listen to your
whiny-ass bullshit.
Nigga, I just got
ba... I don't miss you.
I didn't miss you, then.
Whatever, fine, cool.
- I'm just here. Look.
- No, man...
Yo, these niggas is
carrying buckets of water,
arms all out and shit and
not spilling a damn drop.
Yo, that shit'll turn you
into a straight warrior.
You could use some time in
that Shaolin Temple, Lou.
Toughen your bitch ass up.
Why I need to do all that
when I already got you
to carry my water
for me, Marvin?
- Yo, fuck you, Lou.
- Oh, that shit funny, huh?
- He got you there. I was...
You know
what else is funny?
- You getting stung by some jellyfish down in Virginia.
- Oh, man.
Yeah, crying like a little
bitch for a day and a half.
Your aunt Deborah
called up here,
told your moms all about it.
Fuckin' fish had
your eyes leaking.
That's a bad look
for the family.
When you out there,
you reppin' all of us.
You remember that.
Wasn't nobody crying, man.
It hurt, all right?
It did, but the doctor said
getting stung by a jellyfish
is like getting stung
by, like, 50 hornets.
50 hornets ain't shit,
nigga. Toughen the fuck up.
You been
stung by a hornet?
All right, then.
How you doin' Juke?
I'm all right.
Smells good.
Haven't seen you in
damn near three months.
Mm, saw you at Grandma's for
that cookout three weeks back.
Right.
Oh, you... you sure
right about that.
I was thinking maybe, um,
we could talk sometime.
You know, just sit down
and catch up and shit.
I ain't got nothing
to say to you.
- But I feel like...
- Dinner's ready, y'all.
My baby's home where he
belong, with his mama.
I need you to know
that we wasn't having
none of these dinners
while you was gone, Kanan,
because if your seat's empty,
we not sittin' around
the table like this,
'cause this right here
is what it's all about...
family...
us.
I know we got our differences.
And we disagree sometimes.
But at the end of
the day, we blood.
And that's way more
important than any static
that's between us.
Family... that's
all that matters.
Word.
Family.
I don't get it.
I mean, you supposed to
be my manager, right?
Supposed to be makin' moves
for me, makin' my shit blow up.
I'm doing
all I can, Fame.
I got your mixtape out.
I got you played on
Stretch and Bobbito.
I can't make people
buy your shit.
What about gettin' me
back in the studio?
What about you
laying off the weed
and writing something?
Ever since you started
smoking that shit,
you've been sitting on your
ass instead of writing rhymes.
You told me that you
were gonna talk to Lou
about getting me
beats to write to.
He says he wants
you to write first,
and then he'll get
you the beats, okay?
He says he wants
you to be an artist,
a creator, like Phife.
Yo, fuck this.
I already knew I should've
got a real manager.
I just figured I'd go with you
'cause, you know, Lou was
giving you that dick, so...
How the fuck you gonna talk
to your sister that way?
Figured if Lou was hittin' it,
it might help my career
in a way, but, you know,
I guess what you givin'
up ain't gettin' it done.
- Fuck you, Famous.
- Fuck you, too.
You ain't gonna get a
real manager anyway.
So, um, what classes
you taking in school
this year, Juke?
School hasn't started yet.
I mean
when it does start.
Thanks for dinner,
Aunt Raq. It was great.
Of course, baby. I'm
glad you liked it.
Seem like you and Juke
really connecting.
Kiss my ass, Kanan.
Look, uh...
I know I been fucking
up, all right?
I'ma do better.
Heard that shit before.
This label is more
work than I thought.
I mean, anybody can do it,
but to do that shit right
is some other shit.
You know what I'm sayin', right?
How much you made so
far on that label, Lou?
It's a new business.
Well, if it ain't making
money, it ain't a business.
It's a hobby, nigga.
You sleepin' on our
business for your hobby.
Recognize.
What the fuck are you doing
smoking cigarettes, Juke?
The world didn't stop
spinning when you left, kid.
You ever gonna forgive Marvin?
Wasn't
planning on it.
Nobody at
dinner said nothin'
about what went
down before I left.
What is there to say?
It is what it is, nigga.
Man, I don't know.
I was down there with Aunt
Deb, and I started thinking.
Oh. Uh-oh.
Kanan thinkin' ain't
never a good idea.
Maybe I ain't cut out for this
family-business shit, Juke.
I mean, I only wanted
to do it to protect her,
make sure she a'ight.
Doing what I did that night...
- and fucking it up.
- Mm-mm.
They should've never asked
you to do that shit, Kanan.
That shit was wrong.
You talked to your
moms about it?
Feel like I'ma let her down
if I brought that to her,
especially after
talking all that shit
about how ready I was.
You need to tell her.
Look at this country-ass
motherfucker.
Yo.
Oh, shit.
He went to Virginia
Beach, Famous... beach.
What the fuck part of "beach"
sound like cowboy boots to you?
Virginia sound
country as hell to me.
- Yo, I missed you kid.
It ain't been the same
without you around.
This nigga didn't have
nobody to borrow money from.
Yo, I been taking money
from my mom, like, every...
Yeah, that sound
like a real solid plan.
Wasn't
no plan, really.
I was just doin' the shit,
few times here and there.
Like, every day on this...
Baisley killin' it.
All we got to do...
Drop off the dope,
pick up the money.
So now what we gonna
do is we got to take
what we doin' over at Baisley,
and do that shit somewhere else.
- We about to franchise.
- Like McDonald's.
Always comes back to
food with this nigga.
Marvin right.
We need to be
inside and up high.
Buildings, high-rises.
I'm thinkin' the 40s.
Yeah, that shit might
fit the bill just right.
We can get lookouts
on one of those tall
buildings over by 109,
and from there, we can
see the whole projects.
- Mm.
- And even if they did find out
we was posted up in there, I
mean, there's only a few ways
for five-O to come
in and bum-rush us.
Now, we get the right units
and the right building,
we're protected, even
better than Baisley.
And I didn't want to say
nothing around Scrap,
'cause I didn't want
him to feel like,
you know, he's getting
passed over or anything,
but thinkin' about
puttin' on Worrell
and the rest of Unique's crew.
Yo, you really thinkin'
of puttin' 'Nique's
people on right now?
I thought the whole point
was to run them niggas off.
Yeah, well, I'm thinkin'
we might need to do that
keep-your-enemies-close thing.
And, also, it's gonna
keep 'em, you know,
from bringing the cops to
the corners around Baisley.
Look, we gonna let Worrell
get down with the spot
we about to open
over at the 40s.
Yo, we tried to kill that nigga.
He tried to kill me.
War is hell, niggas, but
we ain't at war no more.
I know who Worrell is.
I know what he did.
And I know what we did.
And I know Unique, too.
And I'm trying to make sure
that when 'Nique come home,
and I hear it's gonna be soon,
he ain't got shit
to come home to...
No people, no product,
no possibilities.
And having 'Nique's
right hand down with us,
I mean, that shit
could be useful.
Marvin got Baisley.
You got the 40s.
And assuming Worrell gets down,
he gonna have to answer
to you over there.
Marvin's doin' good
work at Baisley.
Give him the 40s, too.
- So you turnin' down work now?
Why everything with you
got to be a struggle, Lou?
Why do I always
have to be angry?
I'm giving you a
spot to fuck with,
real money in your pocket,
and you still complainin'.
I ain't complainin'.
Is he complainin', Marvin?
Bitchin' more like it.
You're runnin'
the 40s, Lou,
and that's how it's gonna go.
Hey,
hey, hey.
Y'all better not be
taking Scrappy's money,
'cause my boy promised
me a Fendi bag
for my birthday next week.
Ma, way these
cards are playing...
Uh?
...I'll be getting
you the whole luggage set.
Come on, man.
You kidding me, man?
- Mm.
- Come on.
Give me my money.
Police! Let me see your
hands! Get them up!
Hands up!
Everyone put their
hands where we can see them.
As much as
Scrap was about his business,
he just couldn't stay
away from them cards.
And that's weakness.
When something got a
hold on you like that,
don't matter what it is...
Cards or bitches or dope...
You gonna slip.
Detective
Peng know you here?
Where the fuck Peng at?
You know the drill.
Get your
hands off my boy.
Get your hands off my boy.
Get them fucking
hands off of me!
Get them fucking
hands off of me!
Look who's
back from the dead.
The prodigal son returns.
Please tell me
you got better shit to do
than visit us in the middle
of the fucking night.
Hey, I was just
sittin' home, not doing shit,
thinkin', "Where can I find
some like-minded, useless,
godless motherfuckers?"
- Look no further than the NYPD.
Crime's down
since you been out, Howard.
I-in fact, we're
starting to wonder
if you were the
problem all along.
- Uh...
I got a C.I. bellyachin'
in Interrogation Two
that I got to go
deal with.
It's good to see you back
up on your feet, Howard.
It's good to be back
on my feet, Peng.
Let me go, uh, holler
at Burke right quick.
All right.
Good,
great to see you.
What? You're not happy
to see me or somethin'?
Oh, I was gonna say hi after
you and the boys finished
measuring each other's dicks.
Shit, I know what I got.
No need to measure my shit.
Yeah, you'd need one of those
centimeter rulers, anyway.
I see somebody's been
workin' on their material.
What you got going?
That my shooting?
Homicide's overloaded.
I'm just pitching
in a little bit.
Do they know that?
Not yet, but they will.
Look, I'm your partner.
If I'm not looking
out for you, who is?
I appreciate that.
I really do.
Look, Burke, I can't have
you fucking up anything.
All due respect, shit like this
has to be done methodically,
damn near scientifically.
So far, all that methodical
and scientific shit
has gotten Homicide nowhere.
Their one suspect had
a rock-solid alibi,
and they're not looking at
anybody else at all right now.
Hmm.
Well, just make sure you're
on the same page as One PP.
Understood, Detective.
I'm tired. I'm gonna go home.
Yeah, you look like shit.
You should get some rest.
You're getting good.
Get your
fucking hands off me!
You know who my
father is? Look at me.
You know who I am? Huh?
You're
the pretty-ass bitch
that's gonna suck all our dicks.
Watch where you going, G.
Keep walkin', coon.
Watch your fuckin' mouth, man.
What the fuck are you
gonna do about it, ape?
Don't let
him get away with that.
- Handle that boy, 'Nique.
- Yeah, 'Nique.
- What's up?
You should
mind your own business.
This ain't business,
bitch. This is pleasure.
Break it
up, break it up.
- Yo, chill.
- They jumped him!
I saw the whole fuckin' thing.
These cocksuckers jumped him.
Yeah, that's what the
fuck I'm saying, man.
They started it, C.O.
- I just finished it.
Kanan and I just
want to thank you again
for driving him down
to Virginia like that.
Haven't seen you since, and...
we really just wanted to let
you know how grateful we are.
How grateful I am.
I'd do anything for
you and Kanan, Raq.
You know that.
Somebody gonna have to pay
me back for all the Cheetos
this boy ate on the
way down to Virginia.
You ate way more than I did.
I couldn't even get
my hand in the bag
'cause yours was
always in there.
Nah, nah, nah, by the
time we got down to VA,
your hand was so damn
orange from eating Cheetos
that Aunt Deborah
thought he was in there
with some safety gloves on,
so people outside
could see him at night.
- You ain't right, Kanan.
- Come on.
I'm all the way right,
Symph. We know this.
All right,
switch to channel six.
Listen, we already had
this conversation, Jess.
Famous needs to write.
Famous been writing, okay?
But he just needs to know
that you're gonna get
behind him and his career.
Get him in the studio,
put some shit on wax.
I ain't throwin'
good money behind bad.
We already put loot
behind the single.
It didn't move.
Knowing when to cut your losses
is a big part of
running a business.
Whoa, whoa, losses?
Who's losin'?
It ain't me. It
damn sure ain't me.
The mixtape's
collecting dust, right?
We gonna have to
start all over again.
We need to see that
he's doin' the work.
Okay.
Y'all didn't put any real
marketing behind Famous, okay?
No street teams,
no push on radio.
I was the one that
got him on KCR.
I was on that booked
all those gigs downtown.
Okay, I will say
that more could have
been done marketing-wise.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
To Lou's point, we just got
to be smart about our money.
We ain't got a whole lot left.
We got all
the money we need.
Just need to make the right bet.
Speaking of the right bet...
this my new girl right here.
I'd like to introduce
y'all to Zisa.
Found her at a red light.
Now we about to go on green.
She can sing.
Let's do this.
Who the fuck is Zisa?
You don't need to wait.
There's a long line
outside the bathroom.
He gonna be a minute.
Look, I don't know how
Kanan and you were involved
in what happened that
night around your way...
the night I took
him down south...
and I don't want to know.
But Kanan is a great kid, Raq,
and he's gonna do great things.
You just got to protect him...
make sure he gets the
opportunities he deserves.
You still think you know my son
better than me, huh, Symphony?
Ah, you never learn.
I know who my son is, and I
know what he's capable of.
I don't need nobody
to tell me that.
He's protected.
You can be damn sure of that.
Well, he said some shit to me
on the way down to Virginia,
Like I said, he didn't
tell me anything specific,
but he was scared, Raq...
very scared.
He'd hate me for
telling you that.
I thought you should know.
I care about him...
about you.
Man, the white
dude in front of me
blew that spot up before
I even got in there.
My eyes still stinging, God.
What's up, we movin'?
It was good to see you guys.
I guess I'll see
you around, brother.
Maybe so.
Maybe so.
Take care of yourself, Raq.
You too, Symphony.
You still owe me for
those Cheetos, Kanan.
And I'm comin' from my money
if I see you around the way.
Yeah, you can see me,
but can you catch me?
Ahh...
Come on, Ma.
So, before we begin,
I like to focus
on getting present
and focusing on the
breath by breathing in...
holding
it, and releasing.
Do I sign
in or some shit?
Right there.
Um, excuse me.
- And you are?
- Marvin Thomas.
Oh. Hi, Marvin.
I'm Renée, the therapist
who runs this class.
Oh, well, nice to
meet you, Miss Renée.
Where you going, Marvin?
Yo, I signed in. I'm
s... I'm straight.
You signed in,
and now you go sit
with the rest of the
group for our first class.
Probably just
a little misunderstanding.
Uh, my lawyer told me
as long as I sign in,
then I'm... I'm good.
Good, as in you can leave?
- Yes, ma'am.
Well, your lawyer told
you wrong, friend.
Either you sit down in
one of these chairs,
or I can let the court know
that you violated the
terms of your probation,
and they'll find another
place for you to sit.
And I can promise you
that the spot the judge is
gonna find for you to sit
won't be as comfortable as
one of these chairs here.
Yo, you for real?
Realer than real, brother.
I got to call my lawyer, then.
You do that, but, first,
sit your ass down.
So, like I said,
everyone breathing in together
collectively as a group,
holding it,
and exhaling any
negativity.
Really coming together and
being focused in this moment.
Yo.
She ain't no joke, right, Juke?
Shit.
What you think Lou would
do if he knew about us?
- Kill you.
He can't run the
studio without me.
He knows it.
He's finding artists,
workin' behind the board.
Lou's a quick learner.
It ain't about what
you know, girl.
It's about who you know,
and he ain't got my Rolodex.
What'd your friend
from L.A. say?
He got a job for you.
Junior-level manager...
Be managing the younger talent.
- Mm.
- That shit's waiting on you,
but not for too much longer.
So, if you want it...
better get your fine
ass out to Cali.
I should just do it.
It's not like I got
shit keeping me here.
You got this.
Oh, it's the bedtime
glass of milk.
I've been doing it since
you got out your crib.
Thank you.
How you doin'?
I feel like I lost track of you.
Like, I used to always
know what you was thinking,
but now that you older,
not so much anymore.
Why you got to grow up, hmm?
Why can't you just stay my baby?
You know, sometimes
I don't even know what
I'm thinking myself.
Talk to me, Kanan.
You can say anything
to me, always.
I don't want to disappoint you.
Well, I mean, if you honest,
you'll never disappoint me.
Tell me what you thinkin'.
Let me in.
I thought I was
cut out for it...
for what you and Uncle
Marvin and Uncle Lou do.
I mean, I'm your son.
I'm Def Con's son.
Y'all both did it, so
I thought I would, too.
But maybe not.
Maybe I was supposed
to do something else...
to be someone else.
Doing what I did that night...
looking that cop in the face...
messed with my head,
like, nightmares and shit.
And, yeah, I know I was all
over you about putting me on
and getting me started
in the business, but...
shit, I'm starting
to think I was wrong.
I don't think I'm
up for any of this.
I can't protect you the way
that I thought I could, Ma.
You're not supposed to
protect your mother, Kanan.
I'm supposed to protect you.
And I didn't.
I put you in harm's way.
And that's on me.
That's always gonna be on me.
I'm sorry.
Everything I'm doing...
I mean, I'm doing
for you, Kanan...
for us.
And if you're not happy,
if you don't feel safe,
then I'm... I'm doing
all this for nothing.
I love you.
I love you, too.
Mom, you should probably
go get that phone.
Niggas say you
only do two days in the pen...
The day you go in and
the day you come out.
Ask me, that's just some shit
somebody who never
been to the joint said.
As far as I'm concerned,
you do every fucking
day in there.
You do the days,
but you can't let
the days do you.
When you come out, you got
to be the same nigga you was
when you went in...
only harder...
colder...
'cause while your life
got stopped for your bid,
everybody outside kept moving...
and they ain't checking for you.
They ain't give
a fuck about you.
So you got to show
'em you still here,
you still matter.
You need to remind them.
Make 'em remember you so
they never forget again.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.