Power Book III: Raising Kanan (2021) s04e01 Episode Script

1
[UPBEAT HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[RAQ]
Previously on Raising Kanan
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
I can't handle wildness
around me and my son, 'Nique.
You know, you and me, we in-in
different places right now.
I think we gotta pump the brakes.
I mean, we just
kicking it anyway, right?
- To Cafe Vous.
- Cafe Vous.
I need you to put that on the airwaves.
Get it bubbling in these streets.
I'm here to move weight.
It's what I do. It's who I am.
So what the fuck am I doing here?
You're throwing them back fast.
[LOU-LOU] It's a bar, right?
Throwing them back
is what you do in a bar.
Think of the good times too, please.
[LOU-LOU MUMBLES]
Raquel Thomas.
Special Agent Preston Tanner.
I'd like you to come in
for a conversation.
I'm gonna have to call my lawyer.
I'm the big dog, nigga.
Running your fucking mouth to Pernessa
ain't no big-dog shit.
That's bitch shit.
♪
[THWACK]
♪
[STEFANO] I heard
about our friend Unique.
I'm sorry.
I'm gonna step into what he
started with you, take it over.
Let's give it the old college try.
[RONNIE] 'Nique's gone,
and he ain't coming back.
Now we do business.
[JULIANA] If we do this,
it's you and me.
Cousin isn't involved,
and no one else can know.
[RONNIE] Time to go to work.
[RAQ] This right here is about
knowing that I win every fucking day.
[GUNSHOT]
Your moms is fucking
with our investment.
She need to be handled.
- [TIRES SQUEALING]
- [GUNFIRE]
I told you not to ever
fuck with my family.
You don't tell me shit, little boy.
[TIRES SCREECHING]
- I know Ronnie had
- Shut the fuck up.
[HOWARD] The math is real easy on this.
It's either Marvin,
or it's you, me, and Kanan.
You adding shit up all wrong.
The feds on you, not me.
Raq, it's Kanan.
I want my son back safe.
What does Ronnie want for the boy?
Five.
That cruddy-ass nigga want $500,000?
I got your money. Now give me my son.
Ain't nobody kidnap me, Ma.
Y'all been played.
You and Ronnie in on this together?
Throw that over here.
♪
Shit's all you, ma.
♪
[RILEYY] I'm a hustler, baby
I'm a hustler, baby ♪
[50 CENT] Yeah, 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, Southside ♪
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 ♪
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 ♪
Hey, hey ♪
[RILEYY VOCALIZING]
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[GUNSHOT]
[GROWN KANAN] Before you can
figure out where you going,
you gotta look back
at where you been.
[GUNSHOT]
And you gotta look real close,
'cause you miss shit,
forget details.
There's things that happened
that seem like
they didn't mean nothing
at the time.
♪
But then you realize
they mean everything.
That's why you gotta look back
♪
because now that you see
where you at,
you gotta understand
how the fuck you got there.
[THUNDER BOOMING]
[RAIN PATTERING]
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[COUGHING]
♪
[THUNDER BOOMING]
♪
[GRUNTS]
[COUGHING]
♪
[GRUNTS]
[THUNDER BOOMING]
♪
[BREATHING RAGGEDLY]
Oh.
I need a fucking doctor, man.
I'm all fucked up.
Yo, Early [RASPING]
I need you to come get me.
♪
[EARLY] Shit.
Goddamn, boy.
A'ight, you all better. [GRUNTS]
Up slow.
- Right here.
- OK.
♪
[HIP-HOP MUSIC PLAYING]
♪
[EARLY] Don't even know
how you still alive, boy.
You been worked the fuck over,
then worked over
three more fucking times.
Goddamn.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[UNIQUE BREATHING HEAVILY]
[EARLY] A'ight, come on, fam. Easy.
- Come on, man. Almost there.
- [UNIQUE GROANS]
[EARLY] Almost there.
♪
Yo, careful.
♪
[DOGS WHINING]
[STEELE] In here.
[DOGS BARKING]
[GROWN KANAN] Everything
you seeing here happened already.
[FAMOUS] I'm too famous ♪
[GROWN KANAN] But we didn't
peep it the way we needed to
because we wasn't looking.
[FAMOUS] These streets need a body ♪
I'm too famous ♪
Me and my niggas 'bout them triggers ♪
Puttin' bodies in rivers ♪
Robbin' for major figures ♪
I was born in the gutters
Of Southside ♪
And outside is where
I earned my stripes ♪
I'm 'bout mine ♪
Corner bodega
Played a nigga ♪
- Let me get a water, please.
- [BARTENDER] I got you.
[FAMOUS] That's how I do it ♪
[LOU-LOU] Yo, Juke.
Been meaning to get at you.
♪
I'm sorry that I missed your audition.
I been dealing with some shit,
and it-it got the best of me.
It's all good, Uncle Lou.
It's not, though. I fucked up.
I know I been saying that a lot lately,
but I'm trying to figure my shit out.
[FAMOUS]
Body, body, body, body ♪
Need a body, body body, body ♪
Streets need a body, body
Body, body ♪
I like the spot.
[FAMOUS] I'm too famous ♪
It's good, right?
[FAMOUS]
Body, body, body, body ♪
That's your uncle?
That's Uncle Lou, yeah.
He and you tight?
♪
We family. We all tight
sort of.
♪
You ever met Juke's friend Nicole?
[FAMOUS]
That's Queens for you ♪
Fiends on every corner ♪
I did.
She cool?
[FAMOUS] Triple beams
And porterhouse steaks ♪
No doubt.
Is she pretty?
♪
Nicole a'ight.
[FAMOUS]
Hundred and forty reasons ♪
Why you no longer Breathin' ♪
Bitch ass, we even ♪
Juke's so dope. Nicole was lucky.
[FAMOUS] I'm comin'
For them payments ♪
In funeral arrangements ♪
I'm kissin' your mama ♪
Happy to be here with you, Kanan.
[FAMOUS] Flowers and
Hard dick for your girl ♪
- Pretty good, right?
- Mm-hmm.
And he's cute, which never hurts.
See what I mean ♪
Don't tell me you into all that
March November shit, Shirley.
I think it's May December,
but, no.
I like my men like you like
your whiskey, aged.
I heard that. [LAUGHS]
He's talented, though,
and he's got stage presence.
[PAGER BEEPING]
[FAMOUS] Streets need a body
Body, body, body, body ♪
Streets need a body ♪
Uh, excuse me for a minute.
[FAMOUS] Streets, streets
Streets need a body ♪
[SHIRLEY] Hey.
[FAMOUS] Streets need a body
Body, body, body ♪
Streets, streets
Streets need a body ♪
- I'm too famous ♪
- Excuse me.
I'm comin' from the streets ♪
Streets need a body ♪
I wish a nigga would
Say something about me ♪
- You good?
- For sure.
You still coming over
for dinner with my parents
later this week, right?
No doubt.
Good.
[FAMOUS] I wish a nigga would
Say something about me ♪
Bring out the whole hood
Say something about me ♪
The streets need a body ♪
Yo, I thought Raq
was coming through the spot.
I don't know what the fuck she doing.
She got her own life, and I got mine.
[FAMOUS] Body, body ♪
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
They think they smell something,
but they're realizing
it's just their own stench.
There's no there there,
and they know it.
I feel very confident
that you won't have to worry
about the FBI or this so-called
task force anymore.
This dog simply don't hunt.
Hmm.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Everything OK?
I just got crazy hungry.
Guess I ain't eat in a minute.
Well, tell me what you want.
I'll go back and get it.
I appreciate that,
but I gotta see what they got.
Can't have you bringing me back no
nasty-ass Mounds bar or some shit.
[CHUCKLES] I'll wait for you outside.
- Thanks.
- Mm.
Who's this?
You sure he want to talk to me
and not my sister instead?
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
A'ight.
♪
I'll come through, then.
♪
♪
[STEELE] He's seriously injured, Early.
I can't X-ray him here,
but I'm betting he has
multiple skull fractures.
I ain't his daddy.
I don't fucking care about all that.
All I need to know is whether
he gonna live long enough
to pay for services provided.
He'll survive, but recovery
from head trauma like this
is long and difficult.
I mean, he's gonna need
constant care and monitoring.
Someone in his condition should be
in a rehabilitation facility,
where he can recover
while under the care
of a full medical staff.
That shit ain't gonna happen.
We often see
significant personality changes
in people with these kinds
of brain injuries.
Can you speak normal, nigga?
'Cause I don't get all that
doctor-nese you spitting.
When he wakes up, he could be different
than who he was before.
I mean, it-it's not unusual
for people with this kind
of injury to experience
significant bouts
of anxiety, even rage.
Like I said, Doc,
I need to know if the fool
gonna give me my money,
'cause I came straight out of pocket
for your fucking time tonight,
and it sound like my work
ain't even done.
Getting you your money
is gonna be the least
of your friend's problems.
♪
[DOGS BARKING]
[SIREN WAILING]
Look, while you seem
to be out of their crosshairs,
I can't say the same for
everybody else in your circle.
The FBI doesn't like
to leave a party empty-handed.
And frankly, there's no depths
to which they won't stoop
to get an indictment.
You and your family need to keep
your side of the street squeaky-clean
for the foreseeable future.
Let's also acknowledge tonight
for the win that it is.
Right now, at this moment,
they have nothing at all on you
or anyone else in your circle,
which is inarguably
and undeniably good news.
- [SIREN WAILING]
- I'll be in touch.
Have a good night.
You too.
[EARLY GRUNTING]
[SOMBER MUSIC PLAYS]
[UNIQUE GROANING]
Those my blocks.
All of them.
♪
Raq need to step the fuck off.
♪
[BREATHING RASPINGLY]
Tell her I love her, though.
♪
Tell her that.
♪
[GAGS]
[RETCHING]
[STEFANO] I'm sure you were
surprised to hear from me.
[MARVIN COUGHS]
Never- never met you, you know,
face-to-face like this before.
Heard good things
from my sister, though.
Well, I was really impressed
with your work
with our pal from Jersey.
And I wanted to put a name to a face.
Hey, by the way, that job,
executed flawlessly.
Felt like I could've tightened
it up in a couple spots,
but I appreciate the kind words.
[STEFANO] Yeah.
Hey, uh, so you-you're wondering
why I reached out to you.
And the answer is twofold, my friend.
Uh, first off, as discussed,
you are a true professional,
I mean, and-and in-in a business
that is sorely lacking
in that particular area.
And secondly, as was the case
with our, uh, late comrade
in Newark,
I have a job that, uh, demands,
uh, a little bit of-of distance
and some cover for me.
You need me to do more work for you.
My daughter Paulette, her, uh
her new husband, Tomasso,
he's embarrassing her and me.
And that's unacceptable.
Problem is, is Tomasso's a made guy,
so I can't have one of my own guys
go over there and knock some
much-needed sense into him.
You know, it's against the rules.
[CHUCKLES] You Mafia guys seem
to find a whole lot of ways
around the rules, though.
Well [CHUCKLES]
Well, it's, uh it's not
so much the letter of the law
as it is the spirit,
if you know what I'm saying.
Anyway, this piece of shit Tomasso,
you know, he's-he's
running around on my daughter,
which, in and of itself,
it's not the end of the world.
It happens to the best of us.
But the issue is, Tomasso's
doing it in such a public way
that it's insulting to my family.
And that's where I come in.
Now, look, this is gonna have
to be between the two of us.
That's why I didn't contact your sister.
I don't like mixing my businesses.
It confuses the conversations.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
Raq ain't the king of me.
♪
I got my own life and my own interests.
I do what I do.
Yeah. [CHUCKLES]
A man after my own heart, eh?
[LAUGHS] All right, so we're agreed.
All right, you'll-you'll set
my son-in-law straight for me,
and we'll keep this to ourselves.
♪
You give me that information.
I'ma roll up on that sucker
and see what he talking about.
Marvin, a friend in need
is a friend indeed.
♪
I know I say this to you
every time that we meet,
but I just cannot help
but remember when you were
in the tenth grade and I encouraged you
to take the test to go to Stuyvesant.
That seems like another lifetime ago.
Things turn out
how they supposed to, Dr. West.
Our lives are what
we make of them, Kanan.
And your grades
are what you make of them,
which is why you're here.
Ms. Terrell tells me
that if you don't turn in
your research paper
on one of your grandparents
before the end of the semester,
you'll fail her class,
which will put you in violation
of the terms set forth
by the social worker
who's managing your court case.
I told Ms. Terrell I'd do her paper.
I just wanted to do it
on something else.
I ain't really got
no grandparents to write about.
I spoke to your mother,
who says
that both your grandmother
and your late grandfather
have wonderful histories
you could explore.
You don't get to decide what
work you're assigned, Kanan.
This paper has to get done immediately.
Understood?
Understood.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
This is for the pain,
but he really should be
in a hospital, Early.
He ain't going nowhere.
I don't know who did this to him,
and I don't know
if they still out there,
waiting to finish the damn job.
Just last week, we had a German shepherd
who got hit by a car
- and had similar head trauma.
- [EARLY] Hmm.
[STEELE] When the dog
finally regained consciousness,
he turned vicious,
gave one of my nurses stitches.
We had to put him down.
Well, last time I checked,
this fucked-up nigga
ain't a German shepherd.
He paying me for safety and security,
and that's what he getting.
You may be keeping him secure
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYS]
but I can't say that this is safe.
♪
Hell no, you can't write
about my family.
You don't even know them.
That's why I'm trying to learn, man.
I mean, they my grandparents too, right?
Could be good for me
to know who they are.
Why don't just write about
your mother's parents, man?
Nah, then I gotta talk to her.
And I'm really not about that right now.
You can't write about my peoples.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
What if somebody
put two and two together,
start asking questions,
realize you ain't Def Con's son?
You want people to know you a cop's kid?
♪
Look, I haven't given up on you and me.
I'm still thinking
maybe we could connect,
be something to each other.
I mean, we ain't there yet,
but maybe we can get there.
I'm hoping we can get there.
But you
writing some history paper
about my family,
that just ain't smart, yo.
♪
I gotta get back to work.
Hey, yo, for future reference,
showing up
to my place of business
is probably not the brightest
idea you ever had.
♪
Iesha never stops raving
about you, Jukebox [LAUGHS]
which is a nickname I absolutely love.
And I need to know
the origin of it.
- Thank you for having me.
- Mm.
And Jukebox is what my family call me
'cause I was always singing
when I was young.
[LAUGHTER]
And what do your parents do, Jukebox?
Actually, my-my moms passed
kind of recently.
Iesha told us,
and we're sorry about that.
And my dad, he does a whole lot
of different things.
Juke's dad is so cool.
He's been to a few of our rehearsals
and says the funniest stuff.
[LAUGHS]
My dad always talking.
So, uh, what are your plans
for next year, Jukebox?
Where are you thinking
about going to college?
Can Juke just enjoy her dinner
without being interrogated by you guys?
Right now, I'm kind of
just focused on Butta, I guess,
seeing where that goes.
Well, this singing group
is a wonderful extracurricular activity
for you girls,
but it's a diversion.
It's a lark.
Wow, thanks for stomping
on our hopes and dreams, Mom and Dad.
We are not stomping on anything.
Last time I checked,
you've been dreaming
of going to Spelman
since you were eight years old.
I'm just saying, not everybody
has to have the same dreams.
I'm quite certain Jukebox wants
a bright future for herself, right?
Right.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYS]
[PERSON] I don't wanna do it
in the car again.
♪
Can't we, like,
go to a motel or something?
- No.
- [SCOFFS]
♪
This nigga don't give a fuck at all.
[HORN HONKS]
[LAUGHS]
♪
Does the father know?
[RAQ] No.
[HOLT] Are you planning on telling him?
He's dead.
I'm sorry.
Is that why you're terminating
the pregnancy?
Ain't got no room for another
kid in my life right now.
Just so you're aware,
you are going to need to meet
with one of the clinic's social workers
when you return for your follow-up.
We are just as concerned
about your emotional well-being
as we are about your physical health.
Let's get this scheduled.
[UNIQUE GRUNTING]
[COUGHS]
Yo, Early,
give me the keys
to one of them rides, man.
And just where the fuck
you think you goin'?
[GROANS]
I gotta let Pernessa
and Jerome know I'm alive.
Doc says you in the danger zone.
Need to stay your ass in bed.
I'm paying you
to do what the fuck
I tell you to do, nigga.
You ain't paid me shit, boy.
I'm still waitin' on my fuckin' money.
Give me them keys.
[COUGHING]
[UNIQUE GROANS, COUGHS]
[SLURPS]
This fool wanna get behind the wheel.
Can't even walk across my damn kitchen.
[UNIQUE GROANING]
[UNIQUE COUGHS]
[EARLY] Clown-ass motherfucker, man.
Special occasion over here.
[CHUCKLES]
[PERSON OVER TV] From the
President of the United States
It's not often
my grandson comes calling.
So
to what do I owe this pleasure?
Because you know I love
seeing you any chance I get.
[KANAN] Yeah, I'm sorry I
haven't come over more often.
I just I been caught up
with school stuff and
Uh-uh, you don't ever need
to apologize to me, baby.
I'm not your mother.
I don't put expectations
and demands on you.
Look, I got this assignment.
Gotta write a research paper
on one of my grandparents.
I was thinking I'd write it
on Grandpa Elijah.
Like, I done heard
so many stories about him,
but I don't know the story,
if you know what I'm saying.
I know exactly what you saying,
and I think it's a great idea.
You should know more
about your grandfather
because he would have loved you, Kanan.
[CHUCKLES]
You have that same spirit he had,
that same belief in yourself.
Look, your grandfather did what he did
because he didn't like his life
and the world around him.
Mm, he didn't like me much neither.
But for most of his life,
he believed he could do
anything he set his mind to.
That's why he had so many jobs
and interests and passions.
Elijah was capable and skilled
and brilliant
just like you.
I appreciate that.
You don't have to thank me, baby.
I'm your grandma.
I'm supposed to pile praise on you.
[CHUCKLES]
I'm gonna tell you my point
of view of your grandfather.
Now, your mother and your uncles,
they're gonna tell you
something different.
So I'm not saying
I'm right about all this.
I'm just saying,
this is how I remember him.
[TENDER MUSIC PLAYS]
You got your pencil and paper?
Oh, yeah. No doubt.
♪
Elijah Thomas was born in 1925
in Clinch County, Georgia.
His daddy, Charles,
worked on the railroads.
And his mama, Ruth,
did laundry for white folks.
♪
[DOOR CLICKS SHUT, FOOTSTEPS TAPPING]
Yo, Tomasso.
You lost?
My bad. Um, this Fort Greene?
Not even close.
Yeah, you got off
on the wrong exit, boy.
[CHUCKLES] Maybe so.
Um, never been good with directions.
Hmm, right, well,
here's some you should follow.
Get the fuck back in your car right now,
and we won't make you
eat the fucking curb, OK?
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYS]
Uh, my bad, I was expecting you to say
that I should make a left at the light
and then my second right or some shit.
[CHUCKLES]
But y'all, y'all crackers
got different maps
out here, I see.
♪
Y'all have a good night.
♪
This fucking coon.
I mean, does this look like Fort Greene?
I don't see no monkeys swinging
from the fucking trees.
- Do you?
- [CHORTLES]
Come here. Looking insane, bro.
- Is this new?
- You like that?
[NURSE] The doctor will walk you through
the actual step-by-step process, but
Ain't my first time.
Oh.
I didn't see that in your chart.
It was an off-the-books type thing,
when I was a lot younger.
I'll let the doctor know.
And I'll see you in the recovery room.
[SOMBER MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[POP MUSIC PLAYING]
[SINGERS] Come over ♪
Come over ♪
Does it hurt?
Nah.
Just uncomfortable is all.
♪
It was 'Nique's.
♪
If you wanna drop your jaw
or yell or some shit,
do what you gotta do,
'cause I know the shit's
gotta be a shock.
Uh, I mean, it's-it's a surprise.
[CHUCKLES] It's a surprise
that I was carrying
the baby of the nigga
I was trying to kill for years?
Come on, Juke, you gotta give me
something better than that.
[JUKEBOX] OK.
It's a shock.
Like
I can't even believe it.
[RAQ CHUCKLES]
Like, I don't even know what to say.
[RAQ CHUCKLES]
That's more like it.
Of course, you gotta
keep this shit to yourself.
[SINGERS]
Won't you come over ♪
To the grave, Juke.
No doubt.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
Truth is, I can't even
believe this shit myself.
♪
Can't believe none of it.
♪
Did you love him?
Think I could have.
♪
[SLURPS]
This the Elephant Man-looking
motherfucker
eating solid food.
[CHUCKLES]
Just give me a couple more days.
I'ma be ready
to circle back on my brother,
settle this fuckin' score.
You don't wanna do all that right now.
[SLURPS]
Like I keep saying, I don't give a fuck
about what you think I should
or I shouldn't do, Early.
[GRUNTS]
[EARLY] Just hear me out, nigga.
You got a damn superpower
at the moment, man.
You invisible.
Everybody think
you dead and gone.
Why you wanna go and fuck all that up?
Let the dust settle.
Lay back in the cut,
see who comes
to fill that hole
you left behind,
'cause whoever step in behind had a hand
in taking you out in the first place.
I don't need to let nothing settle,
'cause I already know who did it.
It was my own fuckin' brother, man.
But maybe he had somebody behind him.
It's a big move
for a nigga to make dolo.
Look, point is, element of surprise
is the biggest advantage there is,
and you got that shit
in spades right now.
♪
All I'm saying, you ain't paid me shit,
so I gotta protect my investment.
My investment is you, nigga.
You get took out,
all my money deaded with you.
[SIGHS]
Well, I'ma need you to do
some recon for me, then
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYS]
see what niggas
is talking about out there.
♪
I need to understand
the lay of the fuckin' land.
Trust me when I say this.
Just 'cause I'm invisible right now
don't mean you ain't gonna see
your fuckin' money, Early.
♪
Every debt I owe is gonna get paid,
every fucking one.
♪
He just gave up, man.
Your grandfather threw up his damn hands
and checked the fuck out.
Didn't think about nobody else
when he did it neither,
'cause him being gone made me
having to step up and be daddy
to your moms and uncle.
Couldn't be no kid no more
'cause I had to raise Raq and Lou.
Had to help out any way I could.
What your grandfather did
was selfish, man,
and weak.
To him, it felt like
it answered all his problems,
but all he did
was leave them problems behind
and some new ones, too, for
the rest of us to figure out.
So you don't have
no good memories of him, then?
Course I do.
I loved that nigga, man.
He was my father.
[SOMBER MUSIC PLAYS]
That's why it hurt so bad.
That's why it stay hurtin'.
♪
[CHUCKLES]
Man [CHUCKLES]
I remember when he was prizefightin'.
That's when your mom was
still young and Lou was a baby.
He'd take me to his fights, and
I'd see him put fools on they backs.
You know what that's like
for a little nigga,
seein' his pops do that to another man?
♪
I remember it- it felt like
his muscles was-was my muscles,
like nobody could fuck with me.
♪
See
I loved him most out of everybody
♪
which is why I can't never forgive him.
♪
- [UNIQUE GRUNTS]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER OVER TV]
[SIREN WAILING]
Man, three weeks of picketing.
Wait till I get my hands
on that Tony, huh?
When is this all gonna end?
[JOEY] Wow, this is really
getting to you, huh, Roc?
[ROC] Well, hell yeah,
my whole life, I've worked
It's all Raq out there.
[EARLY GRUNTS]
She picked up all the work, man.
And she movin' out
of that old Chinese spot
that you was fuckin' with too.
Yeah, I can't say for sure,
but it's also sounding like
she getting her supply
from your old connect.
This bitch tell me she done.
And now she got my work?
She let me get shit up and runnin'
just so she could take it from me.
[EARLY SIGHS]
And your brother
fuckin' with Raq's kid too.
[SCOFFS] Ronnie and that boy
working together.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[UNIQUE] So you was right, then, huh?
Raq had Ronnie's back.
They conspirin' against me and shit.
♪
Kanan had Ronnie
take me out for his moms
so she could jack my work.
I mean, you jumpin'
to a lot of conclusions there,
but some of it sound
like it could be real.
That's her fuckin' son, nigga.
That motherfucker don't wipe
his nose without her say-so.
They all workin' together
against me, man.
Raq do this with every nigga
she's ever been with,
from Def Con to High Post.
She plays them,
and she takes what they got.
That's how she do.
You ain't been her man like that.
♪
[UNIQUE GRUNTS]
Yo, you got a gat?
Just what you gonna do with it?
Hold it, nigga.
[JOEY ON TV] Remember we said
that we felt bad
about the situation?
♪
[TV CONTINUES IN BACKGROUND]
Because you were on strike,
- we wanted to help out?
- [ROC ON TV] Yeah.
[JOEY ON TV] Well, right now,
Pop's out looking for a job.
[ROC ON TV] Oh, that's really
nice. What about you?
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[BREATHING DEEPLY]
♪
This bitch think I'm dead.
♪
I ain't never been more fuckin' alive.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[LOU-LOU] What your moms say
about your grandfather?
[KANAN] I ain't really talk to her.
[LOU-LOU] Ain't you back home
'cause of the school shit?
[KANAN] That don't mean
me and her talkin'.
Well, look, I-I'm still learning shit
about your grandfather
that I didn't know.
But here's something
your moms and grandmom
don't understand about your grandpa.
Nigga was a creator.
He could take nothing,
turn it into something.
He was real good with his hands.
You know, he used to make a lot
of the furniture we had up in the crib.
And I know you know
he was a hell of a horn player.
Yeah, I do.
That man could blow, boy.
I mean, he'd get lost in the shit.
[CHUCKLES]
He'd close his eyes,
he'd blow that horn,
and he was a million miles away,
somewhere better than here.
And he always worked for himself.
He was his own fuckin' man,
never licked no nigga boots,
never took no shit from nobody.
Wish I could say
the fuckin' same about myself.
[SOMBER MUSIC PLAYS]
You know, I used to be real angry at him
for leaving us like he did.
I'd lie up my bed at night,
scream into my pillow
so no one could hear me
raging at that motherfucker.
Now that I'm older, though
♪
I understand him better,
understand why he did
what he did better too.
♪
Death gotta be easy, kid,
'cause life is fucking hard.
♪
[SIREN WAILING]
Yo, Mikey, I'm sorry about that check.
I thought you saw me coming.
No, you didn't.
[CHUCKLES] You're right, I didn't.
[MIKEY] Fuck you, Tomasso.
Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch.
You're fine.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
[COUGHS] Who the dumb ofay motherfucker,
standing out in some brick-ass cold,
peeped a fucking sheet of ice
and thought, yo,
let's slide around on that shit
with fucking sticks in our hands?
I got off on the right exit
this time, white boy.
Who the fuck are you?
[GRUNTS]
[COUGHS]
[MARVIN] You been disrespecting
your wife with that other bitch.
I'm here to tell you
to knock that shit off.
You following my directions, nigga?
Say it out loud, motherfucker!
All right, I hear you.
♪
Yeah.
You did.
♪
What you doing?
Working on this paper on Grandpa Elijah.
Oh, yeah. School called me on that.
Meant to talk to you about it,
but I got caught up in other things.
So you ain't got no questions
for me about your grandfather?
I mean, you know I was his favorite.
I talked to Grandma,
Uncle Marvin, and Uncle Lou.
They gave me what I needed.
[RAQ SIGHS]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
You know it don't matter to me
what you think of me, Kanan?
Don't matter to me at all.
I don't need you to love me
for me to love you back.
♪
You understand what I'm saying?
♪
I love you so much
♪
don't matter if you hate me.
♪
[UNSETTLING MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[ENGINE TURNING OVER]
♪
[JAMES] So happy to hear
from you, Laverne.
[JUKEBOX] I just wanted to say thank you
for telling me about that audition.
Uh, I decided to try out after all,
and I got picked for the group.
[JAMES] Oh, my gosh!
[LAUGHS]
That is such wonderful news.
Oh, I am so happy for you.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Nicole would be so happy for you.
Wow, but I thought you said
you were tired of singing,
that you didn't
you didn't wanna do it anymore.
Um, thought I'd give it a shot.
- [JAMES] Yeah.
- Owe it to myself, I guess.
Well, you did, and you do.
I'm so proud for you.
- Thanks.
- [SERVER] Here you go, honey.
Mm, there was something
I wanted to ask you.
Please.
I remember Nicole saying to me one time
that you were in the army
back in the day.
[JAMES] Mm.
I was just wondering what that was like
and how you felt about it, all that.
Are you thinking about enlisting
in-in-in the military?
It's something I'm considering.
[JAMES] Hmm.
Well, I-I was, um,
on an ROTC scholarship
in college, which requires
four years of service after graduation.
I served in the intelligence branch.
And, uh, you know, for-for me,
the service, um, helped.
It taught me discipline, commitment,
um, might have given me
some direction that I lacked.
But, you know, the-the army is
not for everyone, uh, Laverne.
It's a very conservative institution,
uh, especially
when it when it comes
to c-certain, um,
societal issues.
But look, you're gonna be
a huge pop star,
so you're not gonna have time
for anything else.
Tell me tell me
about the, uh the group.
Mm, it's called Butta, with a A.
Ooh, Butta with an A.
I love it. [LAUGHS]
I'm gonna buy 20 copies of the record
just because of the name alone.
- [LAUGHS]
- [JAMES] Butta.
- Yeah.
- [CHUCKLES] Wow.
Wow! I'm so proud of you.
Thank you.
[JAZZY MUSIC PLAYING]
[DOOR CLICKS OPEN AND SHUT]
♪
We ain't open yet.
[PERSON] Not here for a drink, Lou.
Oh, shit.
It's Jess.
It's me.
♪
Fame told me he was
working here a while ago.
[LOU-LOU] Mm.
- I like it.
- [LOU-LOU] No, you don't.
It ain't high-post enough for you.
I'm still a Southside Jamaica girl, Lou.
I won't ever change.
That Cali life look good on you, though.
It never rains over there.
It feels like you're always on vacation.
Shit, I could use a vacation.
You could do big things in LA.
Mm, and, what,
leave all this behind?
♪
I heard about Crown.
Crown, yeah.
That nigga's dirt
finally caught up to him.
And they still don't know who did it?
Crown was owing crazy loot
to a lot of people.
♪
Anyway, I'm in town for a minute,
just doing some label meetings.
Family doesn't even know I'm here,
but I wanted to stop by and see you.
Now you see me.
♪
You know, I tell the people I work with
about you all the time.
I'm always talking about how talented
and smart you are,
how one day, we all gonna be
working for Lou Thomas.
♪
Anyway, I gotta get going.
But I'll-I'll be back in New York soon,
so maybe I'll come through and see you.
Or don't.
That'd be OK too.
You know, one day, you're gonna
have to forgive yourself
for all this shit that wasn't
even your fault in the first place.
[BROODING MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[SMOOCHES]
♪
I miss you.
♪
[DOOR CLICKS OPEN AND SHUT]
Man, you got us out here
all day and night,
delivering shit.
You gotta make it worth our while.
We need more money.
[KANAN] So the other niggas
sent you in here
to negotiate with me
for they fucking raises.
- [PAGER BEEPING]
- They know I'm about business.
[SIGHS] I'm paying y'all way more
than Paul was hitting you off
for his courier shit.
But Paul was only
working us nine to five
Monday to Friday.
You got us out here 24-7.
You making 24-7 money.
[DEMAR] Ain't enough.
A'ight, I'll run some numbers.
I'll get back to y'all,
and I'll see what's good.
Word.
I'll let the crew know.
[DOOR CLICKS SHUT]
[KANAN] Everybody always
want something.
Shit never end.
You can't ever control
the money coming in.
You can only control what's going out.
What the fuck you know
about it, Krystal?
My father owned a health food store.
And before he bounced on us,
he was always telling me this stuff.
What else your father have to say?
[KRYSTAL]
If everyone else going one way,
you go the other
'cause that's where the opportunity is.
- [PHONE RINGING]
- [CHUCKLES]
Where he get that shit,
a cereal box or something?
[LAUGHS]
Hello.
Grandma, where are you?
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
I'm on the way.
It's my grandmother.
She at the hospital.
I gotta go. I'll get at you later.
Well, you want me to come with you?
♪
[STEFANO] Come on, Marvin,
sit, sit, sit, sit, sit, sit.
Here, try this on for size, huh?
Here, let me light it for you.
Yeah, there you go. There you go.
Hey, so Tomasso
just booked a cruise to the Bahamas
for him and Paulette.
So whatever you said did the trick.
I just told him
a good woman's hard to find.
[LAUGHS] Hey, so's a dismembered body.
[LAUGHTER]
Hey, Marvin, I owe you one.
And believe me,
that's great news for you.
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
You must be the grandson.
[KANAN] Yeah.
I'll let you two talk.
Thank you.
- Grandma, what happened?
- [JOYCE SCOFFS]
I fainted. It's no big deal.
Happens at my age.
They're gonna discharge me
in about an hour or so,
which is why I called you.
I could use a little help getting home.
Yeah, of course.
Uh
why-why did you faint, though?
This boy always asks
the right questions.
Your grandmother has kidney cancer.
The treatment
makes me weak sometimes,
which is what happened today.
But I'm OK.
Like I said, they're letting me go home.
[SOMBER MUSIC PLAYS]
Uh, do Mom and Uncle Marvin
and Uncle Lou know?
♪
You're the only one
in the family who knows.
And I'd like to keep it that way.
♪
I don't want everyone coming around,
making this about themselves
and all they problems with they mother.
♪
I'm asking you to keep this to yourself.
♪
I got you.
♪
[JOYCE] I know.
♪
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[SHIRLEY] Louis,
you can't drive like this.
- [LOU-LOU] I'm all right.
- [SHIRLEY] You're not.
- I'm all right.
- You're not. You're not.
I'm not gonna let you
get behind that wheel.
You give me those keys and let me drive
this shit into a fucking tree.
I'm not letting you do that.
♪
Over here.
All right.
In we go.
All right, here's a step.
There we go.
All right.
Now got a step here.
That's it. That's it.
That's it.
So how are you feeling
your feelings, that is?
How are your feelings feeling?
They fine.
I'm fine.
Your chart says that the father
is recently deceased.
I'm sure that makes
for some complicated emotions.
Well, the only thing
that makes it complicated
is conversations like this.
That kind of a loss, coupled
with a terminated pregnancy,
is a lot to grapple with.
Everybody loses something every day
time, money, people.
It all comes and goes.
And you can fight that shit
all you want,
cry about how it ain't fair,
but it ain't gonna change shit.
You expecting me
to kick and scream
about what I gave up here
and what I lost before,
but I don't do that.
That ain't me.
It ain't never gonna be me.
You spend time
crying about what you lost,
you never get shit.
And I'ma get mines.
You can be goddamn sure of that.
♪
My feelings is good.
Nobody need to worry about them,
and nobody need to worry about me.
♪
I appreciate your time.
♪
[GUNSHOTS]
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYS]
♪
[ENGINE TURNING OVER]
♪
[GROWN KANAN] Now here we are,
back where the fuck we started.
♪
See, you thought
you knew everything.
But turns out, you didn't,
'cause nobody know everything.
And it's better that way,
'cause if you knew everything,
you'd know too much.
♪
You'd know how many times
you'd been lied to,
how many times
you done lied to yourself.
♪
You'd know how many times
you came close to dying
and how many times
you almost made somebody die.
♪
And knowing about
them lies and dying,
that ain't no fucking way
to live.
[ERIC B. & RAKIM'S
"CASUALTIES OF WAR" PLAYING]
[ERIK B. & RAKIM]
Casualties of war ♪
[GROWN KANAN] Not at all.