(No lie, I witnessed this exact scene playout in middle school, but with girls fighting!) With his mother watching from afar making sure he doesn’t back down, Kanan gets his revenge and redeems his reputation in the park. Not only does Raquel casually bring Kanan back to the park to confront the boys who jumped him, she makes sure he has a homemade weapon, batteries stuffed in a sock. Played by Broadway award-winning actress Patina Miller, Kanan’s mother Raquel Thomas, also affectionately called Raq, is exactly who I imagine Queens rapper LL Cool J was thinking about when he said he needed a “round-the-way-girl.” Like most moms, Raquel shows concern, but she does so in the most South Jamaica way possible: She makes him fight again.

1: When one family member fights, everyone fights.Įmbarrassed by the beatdown, Kanan runs home crying where he’s found by his young hood momma, who also happens to be a drug kingpin. To make matters worse, Kanan’s favorite cousin Jukebox (played by the talented Anika Noni Rose in Power season three and four) is being restrained and is unable to assist him, forcing her to break NYC ’90s playground rule No. Two neighborhood kids who appear to be a little bit older than Kanan, and are much bigger in stature, essentially jump him while the other neighborhood kids cheer in excitement. Young Kanan (Mekai Curtis) gets into a fight in the park and is getting his ass whooped. to be exact) and I grew up in the early ’90s, so the opening playground fight scene felt like I was watching the childhood experience of almost every New York kid who grew up in the hood.

I just so happen to be from the same exact neighborhood (right around the corner from the McDonalds on Sutphin and Linden Blvd. The Power universe has expanded, and if you’ve ever wondered what it was like growing up in South Jamaica, Queens in the early ’90s, episode one of the new prequel series Raising Kanan, “Back in the Day,” transports you back in time.

Photo: Cara Howe/2021 Starz Entertainment, LLC

Power season 1 sex scenes