Original subtitles

[smooth hip-hop music plays]

♪ ♪

[Grown Kanan] Previously, on " Raising Kanan"...

[Raq] 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.

[dramatic music plays]

♪ ♪

[Jukebox] 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? - [hip-hop music playing]

Yo, they playing my shit, yo!

[Burke] What is with you and that kid?

[Howard] The children are our future, Burke.

[Marvin] That's who you got? Toni your big CI?

[Toni] You're a fucking pig, Marvin!

Fucking pig!

[Raq] Our shit was never real, Symphony.

This thing between you and me...

We were on some make-believe shit.

[Marvin] White girl got what she deserves.

World better for her not being in it no more.

♪ ♪

[screams]

[gasping]

All this money and work I got on these streets,

and niggas think I'm gonna shoot a cop?

Fucking Raq.

[Jessica] 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.

[Howard] 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.

[Raq] I need you to squeeze

that fucking trigger tonight and save me, baby.

[EMT] He's coding!

[Raq] I know you don't want to hear from me,

but I wouldn't reach out if I had anywhere else to turn.

[Rileyy] ♪ I'm a hustler, baby ♪

- ♪ I'm a hustler, baby ♪ - [50 Cent] ♪ Yeah,

[50 Cent] ♪ I know Heartbreaks, setbacks ♪

♪ Bitch, if I crap out I'm sure I'ma get back ♪

♪ I been through the ups and Downs, you know I get around ♪

♪ So to me It's all a part of the game ♪

♪ If I ain't the coke man Or the dope man ♪

♪ I'm almost for sure, man I got to take it ♪

♪ No need to say shit I'm gon' take it ♪

♪ Robberies turned homicide It's nothin' to play with ♪

♪ Make money Make, make, make money ♪

♪ When shit hit the fan We'll take money, South side ♪

♪ Beef with the best of 'em ♪

♪ Done shot At the rest of 'em, yeah ♪

♪ Checks, I'm collectin' 'em ♪

♪ Check, boy I'm finessin' 'em ♪

♪ Bag Supreme Boy, you fuck around ♪

♪ Put a big bag on your head ♪

♪ Before the weather break You're dead ♪

♪ Let's get to it, they Don't do it like we do it ♪

♪ Nah, cop it, whip it Bag it, flip it ♪

♪ Re-up, we up G'd up, what up? ♪

♪ Runnin' round this bitch Still not givin' a fuck, hey ♪

♪ When it come to that paper There'll be no complications ♪

Ha ha. That's right.

♪ Put a hole in a nigga Right in front of you ♪

♪ Your heartbeat pacin' ♪

[Rileyy and 50 Cent] ♪ And it's all right ♪

[50 Cent] ♪ That's how We do it on this side ♪

♪ Niggas get to it On this side ♪

♪ I know heartbreaks Setbacks ♪

♪ Bitch, if I crap out I'm sure I'ma get back ♪

♪ I been through the ups and Downs, you know I get around ♪

♪ So to me It's all a part of the game ♪

♪ If I ain't the coke man Or the dope man ♪ *POWER BOOK III RAISING KANAN*

♪ I'm almost for sure, man I got to take it ♪ Season 02 Episode 01

♪ No need to say shit I'm gon' take it ♪

♪ Robberies turned homicide It's nothin' to play with ♪

♪ Hey, hey ♪

[Rileyy vocalizing]

Episode Title: " The More Things Change" Aired on: August 14, 2022.

[Grown Kanan] 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.

[dramatic music plays]

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.

♪ ♪

[Raq] Deborah told me you were out here.

♪ ♪

I'm just taking a last look is all.

[breathes deeply]

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. [chuckles]

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.

[seagulls crying]

It's time to go, baby.

♪ ♪

I'm so damn happy to see you.

♪ ♪

[nurse] 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.

[bag rustling]

I ain't leaving until I find my ring.

[Dr. Nicolas] 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?

[Dr. Nicolas] 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.

[Dr. Nicolas] 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.

♪ ♪

[person] All right.

[applause, indistinct chatter]

♪ ♪

[video game beeping]

[video game announcer] Player one wins.

[Eric] Oh, yeah, check that.

Let's go. Come on, you see that.

[children chuckle]

You think you'll come back next summer, Kanan?

[Eric] 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.

[Pat] Mama ain't gonna just let you do that.

[Eric] Ain't gonna be Mama decision

[Pat] Everything her decision.

[Kanan] Exactly.

If it was my decision...

I'd probably stay here with y'all

and win at that shit.

[Pat chuckles] See? Kanan has said it's better here,

and he live in New York.

[Raq] 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.

♪ ♪

[Jessica] It's like I keep saying...

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.

[Jessica] 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.

- [car door opens] - Where you going, Lou?

- You know what? - [engine turning over]

You wonder why we always fight.

No, I don't.

[tires squealing]

Motherfucker.

[engine revving]

[hip-hop music playing from car stereo]

[singer] ♪ I know that You can't get enough of me ♪

♪ I'm turning heads Like I'm 'posed to be ♪

♪ Sexy all over my body ♪

♪ Who better than me? Nobody ♪

[singing along] ♪ I know that You can't get enough of me ♪

♪ I'm turning heads Like I'm 'posed to be ♪

♪ Sexy all over my body ♪

♪ Who better than me? Nobody ♪

Hey, yo!

♪ Let them say What they gonna say ♪

- ♪ Never close enough ♪ - [horn honks]

- ♪ To really know about me ♪ - Yo!

♪ I'm shy 'Cause I'm here to stay ♪

♪ I got my... ♪

[engine revving]

[tires screeching]

[person] Hey!

Yo, what the fuck? Stay away from me.

[Lou-Lou] 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?

[sighs]

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.

[car door opens, closes]

[engine revving]

[dramatic music plays]

♪ ♪

[Jukebox sniffles]

♪ ♪

[Grown Kanan] 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 getting' 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.

♪ ♪

[siren wailing, indistinct chatter]

[Barnes] Hey, brother.

That, uh, girlfriend of yours skipped town and...

Yo, Toni wasn't my girlfriend, man.

Call her whatever you want. [chuckles]

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.

♪ ♪

[car engine idling, stops, doors open]

[dogs barking]

♪ ♪

[keys jingling]

♪ ♪

[Howard sighs] 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...

I appreciate you picking me up.

[Burke] I'll call you later, see how you're doing.

All right, I'll be here.

♪ ♪

[door opens, closes]

♪ ♪

[person] Yo, kick the beat.

[sirens wailing]

[hip-hop music plays]

[officer] Turn around.

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter]

[person] 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.

♪ ♪

[singer] ♪ I can't wait to see... ♪

I'm hungry.

I'ma get you something right after this.

- [Kanan sighs] - [chatter stops]

- [person] Hey. - [person 2] What's up?

[Raq sighs contentedly]

[dramatic music plays]

[buzzer sounds]

♪ ♪

Why did nobody else get on?

Got to ask them.

[elevator bell dings]

♪ ♪

[Grown Kanan] 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.

[indistinct chatter]

♪ ♪

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.

♪ ♪

[Raq] Kanan.

[Marvin] Something I use.

Yo, look who back from the beach.

[chuckles]

What, you a-a surfing-ass nigga now or what?

[Kanan] What?

Ain't no Black folk surfing on the beach.

[Marvin] 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.

[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?

[Raq] Shut up, Marvin.

[light laughter]

[gate buzzing]

[dramatic music plays]

♪ ♪

[door buzzes]

♪ ♪

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.

♪ ♪

[hip-hop music plays]

[rapper] ♪ We got to wake up ♪

♪ ♪

♪ It's time to wake up ♪

♪ Back in the day, I would stay up all night ♪

♪ Praying my life Would turn out right ♪

♪ Seeing my brothers And sisters struggling ♪

♪ I knew I had to join The fight ♪

♪ So I laced up my kicks And hit the block ♪

♪ 'Cause I got a plan To change the locks ♪

♪ Locks on the brains Breaking these chains ♪

♪ Societal gains Know what I'm saying? ♪

♪ It's time to wake up ♪

♪ ♪

♪ It's time to wake up ♪

♪ Know what I'm saying? It's time to wake up ♪

♪ ♪

♪ It's time to wake up ♪

♪ ♪

♪ I want to buy a house For my mom and my pops ♪

♪ Make a lot of money By investing in stocks ♪

♪ Live like kings and queens Like we supposed to ♪

♪ You're royalty, don't forget That he chose you ♪

♪ So I laced up my kicks And hit the block ♪

♪ 'Cause I got a plan To change the locks ♪

♪ Locks on the brains Breaking these chains ♪

♪ Societal gains Know what I'm saying? ♪

♪ It's time to wake up ♪

[soft music plays]

♪ ♪

[dramatic music plays]

♪ ♪

[Marvin] Yo, things are going smoothly.

On track today to do that god power.

Business is up, barely keeping up with demand.

[Grown Kanan] 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.

[Scrappy] 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.

[Raq] 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.

[Raq] Late once, you're sorry. Late twice, you're sloppy.

You late all the time like you, you just don't give a fuck.

[person chuckles]

[Raq] 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.

[Raq] 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.

[Grown Kanan] 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.

[Grown Kanan] One time, he took $500 off Marvin

over how many fries are in a large order.

48.

[Grown Kanan] The over/under was 50.

50...

51.

[Grown Kanan] Scrap took the over.

Pay up, nigga.

Oh, he got you there. He got you. That's...

[laughing]

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? - [Raq] 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.

[Jukebox] ♪ Mm, mm ♪

♪ Mm, mm ♪

♪ Mm, mm-mm ♪

♪ Hmm, mm ♪

♪ Mm, mm, mm ♪

♪ Hmm, mm, mm ♪

♪ Mm, mm, mm ♪

I heard you was looking for a backup singer.

[chuckles] 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 are already being mean, man.

I should've stayed my ass in Virginia for this.

- That's really crazy. - [Jukebox] 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...

[dramatic music plays]

♪ ♪

[door opens]

♪ ♪

[bag clatters]

♪ ♪

[sweeping music playing, indistinct chatter on TV]

♪ ♪

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?

[Kanan laughs]

- Yo, fuck you, Lou. - [Kanan scoffs]

- [laughter] - Oh, that shit funny, huh?

- [laughs mockingly] - He got you there. I was...

[Marvin] 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.

[Kanan] You been stung by a hornet?

All right, then.

How you doin' Juke?

I'm all right.

Smells good.

[soft music plays]

Haven't seen you in damn near three months.

Mm, saw you at Grandma's for that cookout three weeks back.

[Marvin] 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.

♪ ♪

- [Marvin] But I feel like... - Dinner's ready, y'all.

[sighs]

[dramatic music plays]

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.

♪ ♪

[Famous] 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.

[Jessica] I'm doing all I can, Fame.

I got your mix tape out.

I got you played on Stretch and Bobbi to.

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.

[dramatic music plays]

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter on TV]

So, um, what classes

you taking in school this year, Juke?

School hasn't started yet.

[chuckles] I mean when it does start.

[chatter continues on TV]

Thanks for dinner, Aunt Raq. It was great.

Of course, baby. I'm glad you liked it.

[both snap fingers]

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.

[Kanan scoffs]

You ever gonna forgive Marvin?

[Jukebox] Wasn't planning on it.

[distant siren wailing]

[dramatic music plays]

♪ ♪

[Kanan] Nobody at dinner said nothin'

about what went down before I left.

What is there to say?

It is what it is, nigga.

[scoffs] Man, I don't know.

♪ ♪

[distant sirens wailing]

I was down there with Aunt Deb, and I started thinking.

[Jukebox] 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. - [Jukebox] Mm-mm.

They should've never asked you to do that shit, Kanan.

That shit was wrong.

[Kanan scoffs]

♪ ♪

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.

♪ ♪

[Kanan] Oh, shit.

♪ ♪

[Jukebox] 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.

[engine turning over] - 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...

[Kanan] Yeah, that sound like a real solid plan.

[Famous] Wasn't no plan, really.

I was just doin' the shit, few times here and there.

Like, every day on this...

[Marvin] 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.

[Raq] 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.

- [Lou-Lou] 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.

[teakettle whistling]

♪ ♪

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? - [scoffs]

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.

[Raq] You're runnin' the 40s, Lou,

and that's how it's gonna go.

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter, laughter]

[R&B music playing]

[Shantel] Hey, hey, hey. [laughs]

Y'all better not be taking Scrappy's money,

'cause my boy promised me a Fendi bag

for my birthday next week.

[laughs]

[Scrappy] Ma, way these cards are playing...

[Shantel] Uh?

[Scrappy] ...I'll be getting you the whole luggage set.

[person] Come on, man.

[person 2] You kidding me, man?

- [Shantel] Mm. - [person 3] Come on.

[Scrappy] Give me my money.

Police! Let me see your hands! Get them up!

[officer] Hands up!

[officer 2] Everyone put their hands where we can see them.

[Grown Kanan] 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.

[Shantel] Detective Peng know you here?

Where the fuck Peng at?

[officer] You know the drill.

[Shantel]

Get your hands off my boy.

Get them fucking hands off of me!

Get them fucking hands off of me!

[dramatic music plays]

♪ ♪

[telephones ringing, indistinct chatter]

[officer] Look who's back from the dead.

The prodigal son returns.

[detective] Please tell me you got better shit to do

than visit us in the middle of the fucking night.

[Howard] 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. - [laughter]

[detective] Crime's down since you been out, Howard.

I-in fact, we're starting to wonder

if you were the problem all along.

- [laughter] - [Peng] Uh...

I got a C.I. bellyachin' in Interrogation Two

that I got to go deal with. [scoffs]

[dramatic music plays]

♪ ♪

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.

[Peng] All right.

[officer] Good, great to see you.

[indistinct chatter]

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.

[chuckles]

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.

[dramatic music plays]

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.

[scoffs] 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.

[chatter continues]

♪ ♪

[Marco] Get your fucking hands off me!

You know who my father is? Look at me.

You know who I am? Huh?

[prisoner] 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?

[prisoner] Don't let him get away with that.

- Handle that boy, 'Nique. - [prisoner 2] Yeah, 'Nique.

- [Unique] What's up? - [indistinct shouting]

[prisoner] You should mind your own business.

This ain't business, bitch. This is pleasure.

[alarm blaring]

[guard] Break it up, break it up.

[indistinct shouting]

- 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. - [alarm continues blaring]

[jazz music plays]

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter]

[Raq] 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 the 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. - [Kanan laughs] Come on.

I'm all the way right, Symph. We know this.

♪ ♪

[Lou-Lou] 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.

[Lou-Lou] 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.

- [Jessica] Thank you. - Yeah.

To Lou's point, we just got to be smart about our money.

We ain't got a whole lot left.

[Lou-Lou] 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.

[dramatic hip-hop music plays]

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.

[dramatic music plays]

Man, the white dude in front of me

blew that spot up before I even got in there.

My eyes still stinging, God.

[scoffs]

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.

[soft music plays]

♪ ♪

You still owe me for those Cheetos, Kanan.

And I'm comin' for my money if I see you around the way.

[Kanan] Yeah, you can see me,

but can you catch me?

[Symphony] Ahh... [chuckles]

[Kanan] Come on, Ma.

♪ ♪

[Renée] So, before we begin,

I like to focus on getting present

and focusing on the breath by breathing in...

[inhales deeply] ...holding it, and releasing.

[Marvin] Do I sign in or some shit?

[Renée] 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?

[scoffs]

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.

[chuckles] 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. - [chuckles]

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.

[both laughing]

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. [exhales deeply]

Really coming together and being focused in this moment.

[hip-hop music playing]

♪ ♪

[Zisa] ♪ Ahh, ahh, ahh ♪

♪ Ahh, ahh, ahh ♪

♪ You might never had a love Like this ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Who know How to put it down like this ♪

♪ ♪

♪ You won't find Another love nowhere ♪

♪ Promise you That can't no one ♪

♪ Compare ♪

♪ You know I'm the only one You're thinking of ♪

♪ You know I'm the one That's got that sass ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ Anything you ask I'll give you more ♪

♪ I'll give you more, babe ♪

♪ What you waiting for, babe? ♪

♪ You and I ♪

♪ You and I could be More than friends ♪

♪ You and I ♪

♪ Together till the very end ♪

♪ 'Cause you know what it is ♪

♪ Boy, I handle my biz ♪

♪ You and I ♪

[Jukebox] Yo.

♪ ♪

She ain't no joke, right, Juke?

[Zisa] ♪ You and I ♪

♪ ♪

[people moaning]

[sultry R&B music plays]

♪ ♪

[both breathing heavily]

[Jessica] Shit.

♪ ♪

What you think Lou would do if he knew about us?

- Kill you. - [coughing]

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.

♪ ♪

[sighs deeply]

You got this.

[singer] ♪ And have a change of mind ♪

♪ Takin' the bumps And the bruises ♪

♪ And all the things Of a two-time loser ♪

♪ Tryin' to hold on Faith is gone ♪

♪ It's just another sad... ♪

[knock at door]

[Kanan chuckles]

Oh, it's the bedtime glass of milk.

I've been doing it since you got out your crib.

[Kanan] Thank you.

[Raq] How you doin'?

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.

[dramatic music plays]

You're not supposed to protect your mother, Kanan.

I'm supposed to protect you.

♪ ♪

And I didn't.

♪ ♪

[Kanan sighs]

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.

[distant telephone ringing]

♪ ♪

I love you.

[ringing continues]

I love you, too.

[ringing continues]

Mom, you should probably go get that phone.

♪ ♪

[ringing continues]

♪ ♪

[exhales sharply]

♪ ♪

[door buzzes, opens]

[Grown Kanan] 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.