When you think about the Power universe, you can't help but think about 50 Cent.

From the theme song to his portrayal of the most iconic villain the series ever saw, 50 Cent is an integral part of the franchise and its success. In this prequel, he gets to show off his voiceover skills as he narrates the fascinating and troubled upbringing of Kanan Stark.

We got a chance to sit down with the Power Book III: Raising Kanan executive producer to talk about the franchise he's synonymous with and ask him all things Power.

50 Cent is a living legend, and talking to him about a series we have so much love and appreciation for was an intimidating but incredibly rewarding opportunity! You can't speak to him and not talk about the impact Power had (and continues to have) and his excitement about the fantastic reception this new series has received.

For those who've watched Power and Power Book II: Ghost, you may be especially interested in what he hopes the audience will take away from this origin story.

Enjoy this candid conversation about the long-lasting legacy of this franchise with one of the men who helped shape it into the giant it's become.

Hi, how are you?

I'm good. How are you feeling?

I'm good. Thank you. So, first of all, congratulations on the success of Raising Kanan and also just Power in general, the whole Universe.

Thank you.

Did you ever imagine that Power would be so significant and so successful?

I did. In the very beginning, if you look in my early interviews, I said it would go for seven seasons. And at that point, I was mirroring the success of The Sopranos. That's what I could use to gauge how long you should go when it's going great.

And then we actually went the seven-season timeframe, but we did six and a half, and then technically Ghost started seven days after Power with all the results of what happened in Power. So. we technically are filming season nine of Power.

Mm-hmm. It's crazy.

I didn't understand why it had to stop because it seemed for the first time you look, and you say diversity is becoming cool. With the streaming platforms, you got to look and say they're creating so much content that they're willing to create the content that speaks to the different audiences.

And The Power Universe, we use New York City as a backdrop. And because there's someone that's a representation of everyone in New York, it was important to bring different people in to make that feel like everyone's there.

So, we had Serbian gangsters. You have the different styles of coaches from the Puerto Rican Spanish-speaking person or the Dominican-speaking person. It's a difference. I can't tell all the time, but it's a difference. They know if you from LA and you're Mexican, and you're speaking Spanish.

But we wanted to make sure it was all the way right and represented everyone in a different way.

As a producer, and then also as adult Kanan, I have to imagine that Raising Kanan is very close to your heart. How are you feeling about the spinoff and getting to tell more of Kanan's story?

I feel good, and then to have the spinoff perform-- viewership be higher than the original show, says, it speaks volumes. You know what I mean? Like the nostalgia of the 90s, the fashion, just the feel of it, even the musical choices, it all feels like for the kids right now, growing up and going out into this whole trap music sound.

They're watching the show and some of them don't know the records that are playing in the background. Then you got the people that are just a little older that lived through the 90s that identifies with why it's the way it is. And they're actually excited by it because you're not hearing these things 24/7 anymore.

It just like has to be on your special playlist for you to hear these things. It does change. It puts a different feeling around it. It makes it exciting.

Good! What are you hoping that the audience learns about Kanan in this prequel that we didn't already know?

Right. He started out a good kid, a good person. The things you go through make you who you are. I believe that statement is true for a lot of people in their experiences.

And then when you see the confusion and the trauma over the period, you'll understand why he turned into that person that you saw coming out of jail and wanting his business back and out and looking at ghosting them, like complete suckers because they used law enforcement.

They used the cops to put them away instead of killing them because they had a closer relationship to Kanan than they did to Breeze. And they knocked Breeze off. But you know for them to use the police, it was not the coolest way to do things. It shouldn't even be an option.

It spoke to Ghost's character and the narcissism that Courtney was writing into his behaviors that allowed him to just do whatever he had to do at the moment to be a solution.

And it's cool, then you can see why Tasha, there's a point where Ghost forgave Kanan and wanted him back around. Cause it was just better to work with them than to work against him. And you see that Tasha has additional passion or additional anger, and it's unexplained. It was unexplained in Power, but they'll get the explanation later.  

I'm excited about that. Thank you so much for your time today. And again, congratulations on all the success of Power. TV Fanatic: 

Appreciate you.

Thanks.

You can watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan at 8/7c on Starz. And follow along with our reviews here at TV Fanatic! 

Whitney Evans is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lover of all things TV. Follow her on X.