Photo credit: STARZ/Facebook

The hit crime-drama ‘Power’ will be back on STARZ July 1st. The season four finale showed us an unlikely alliance between 50 Cent’s Kanan, Omari Hardwick‘s Ghost, and Joseph Sikora‘s Tommy. According to Entertainment Weekly, Courtney Kemp, the super-producer behind this powerhouse series, has promised season 5 will be the “most hard-hitting season yet.”

Furthermore, season 5 will pick-up the aftermath of Ghost’s son Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.) murdering the undercover cop who fatally shot his sister Raina. Cue the memes and Internet jokes detailing heartbroken fans after her death.

Kemp also teased the new season opening up with three questions: “How does Tariq get out of this, and is Tasha going to go down? And what is in plain sight that everyone is going to ignore?”

Check out the updated season 5 trailer below!

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The post Power Season 5 Hailed as “Most Hard-Hitting Season Yet” by Creator appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Photo Source: STARZ Press Kit

In anticipation of the hit show’s upcoming fourth season, Power has left many fans with a plethora of questions and speculations. The themes of loyalty and redemption have unfolded many times over throughout the show’s development but for Season 4 in particular, these themes will definitely be put to the test.

The newest season will pick up directly on the heels of James “Ghost” St. Patrick’s wrongful arrest by his ex-girlfriend AUSA Angela Valdez. Audiences will now get a chance to see whose loyalty lies where and how/ if James will be able to redeem himself not only for his own sake, but for the sake of his family as well.

To get a little insight on the upcoming season, RESPECT. Magazine sat down with Naturi Naughton, Joseph Sikora, Omari Hardwick, Lela Loren, La La Anthony and Rotimi.

On the subject of loyalty, Joseph Sikora (who plays the character of “Tommy”) had a lot to say about the dynamic between his character and James:

“I think Tommy is incredibly loyal to a fault,” Sikora said. “Tommy’s bond is something that he can’t even comprehend… Most of the time, the things we don’t understand why they’re happening, it always (has) to do with love.”

As far as the depth of loyalty that has heavily remained between Tasha and James (as her estranged husband) throughout the series, Naturi Naughton had a lot to say as well:

“I think Tasha has been loyal to Ghost to a fault from the beginning,” said Naughton. “She’s been so loyal… I’m like ‘Girl you better worry about you’ because at some point, Ghost is choosing himself. He’s not choosing Tasha, he has abandoned his family for this woman (Angela), he has abandoned the house (the home) that we built together, the business… So I think her loyalty is so deeply rooted in just the culture, it’s also deeply rooted in how she was raised. She doesn’t want to lose a father figure for her kids cause she didn’t have a father figure. So loyalty for different reasons, it’s almost like who you are, but at the same time you gotta start re-inventing yourself and saying ‘Do I deserve this?’…”

It’s quite easy to paint Lela Loren’s character “Angela Valdez” as a villain. Following her abrupt and essentially wrongful arrest of James on the Season 3 finale, here’s what Loren had to say in Angela’s defense:

“From Angela’s perspective, here’s a man that she’s fallen in love with… But she starts seeing things. She knows he’s a murderer, she’s seen certain things go down and because she can’t technically prove it because she could also be implicated in the Lobos murder, she doesn’t really go for it. (And) Then Greg gets killed, and all of the evidence points to him (James). So for her it’s ‘Damn me. Because of my self-serving nature, I didn’t check this and this person’s death is now on my hands.’ On top of the betrayal, on top of the heartbreak, it’s the guilt and the shame that ‘Because I let this fantasy go on too much, this person who has nothing to do with this mess is now dead.’…”

On his character’s arrest and the divide of viewership within Power‘s storyline, here’s what Omari Hardwick had to say:

“I mean he’s a sociopath in many ways,” Hardwick said in regards to James. “The viewership having a man colored ‘Omari’, which is an African American actor, being the level of IQ that this man is… Being all of the things that she’s (Angela) made this guy to be… I think the viewership is always split because we kind of know as brown people at least… We know that there’s certain things we’ve gone down for where we didn’t necessarily do it. So we often forget… Humbly I would definitely say we forget that this man has done all the things prior that she’s now accusing him of doing… As I get older in this show, I’m realizing that the viewership is always split because you don’t have Ryan Gosling as the lead role. You don’t have Leo Dicaprio, you got Omari Hardwick as the lead role. I think it splits people.”

Season 3 of Power left a lot of questions as to whether La La Anthony’s character “LaKeisha” would return or if her fate was already sealed. Here’s what La La had to say about her role as LaKeisha and the relationships that her character upholds in the upcoming season:

“Tasha and Lakeisha’s friendship is complicated because LaKeisha is really jealous of Tasha. I know a lot of LaKeisha’s and I know that feeling of ‘Why her and not me?’… I do understand the concept,” said Anthony. “Now Tommy is my (LaKeisha’s) piece of that world, whatever that means I’m willing to be a part of that and it gets very complicated and toxic and crazy because he’s Tommy… (Also in relation to Tommy’s character) I was so grateful to Tommy (in that moment) because he saved me and gave me life.”

Dre is a character that’s often caught in the crossfire of two opposing forces. Here’s what Rotimi had to say about Dre’s loyalty this season and where his character’s motivation truly lies.

“I think for him, he’s loyal to his daughter. He’ll do anything to make sure she’s okay… this season the way Courtney (the show’s Executive Producer) is building him is kind of like a baby “Kanan” mixed with a baby “Ghost”. So you’re starting to see his identity is being formed this year but his ultimate goal is to make sure his daughter is okay and (that) he becomes the man. He wants to be a Ghost 2.0.”

Season 4 of Power premieres on Sunday, June 25th at 9 pm ET on STARZ; new episodes will become available every Sunday.

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The post RESPECT. Interview: The Cast Of ‘Power’ On Season 4, Loyalty & Redemption appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

BE GREAT

“I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era.” – Michael Jordan

20 years ago Outkast stood on a stage at Madison Square Garden, and got booed after receiving the Source Award for Best New Rap Group. Being the birthplace of hip-hop, a vast majority of New York City natives were quite territorial back then, and not as open to receiving other areas representing the culture artistically. Plus, the amped-up east coast/west coast feud being elevated throughout the evening’s ceremony didn’t help. But little did we know at the time, that awkward experience ultimately turned into a milestone moment in hip-hop, after ‘Kast member Andre ‘Dre’ Benjamin stepped up to the mic and made it clear that “The South got something to say.” Not only did that rejection fuel the Atlanta duo to work harder to get better at their craft, but it also ignited a movement for every other aspiring rap act outside of New York to not only be themselves but to also be okay with not trying to sound like, be like or be accepted by anyone resistant to the change that was coming.

The cool thing about hip-hop in that era was the fact that it wasn’t cool to sound like someone else. Although it’s natural to be influenced and inspired by heroes and peers, what makes artists great is the ability to master the existing skills that best fit one’s personality, and to creatively make it their own. LBJ started off wanting to be like Mike, but now LeBron James has a great legacy of his own. Somehow we’ve arrived at a place, musically, where a lot of what’s being played on the radio and in the clubs is sounding the same. Based on those existing playlists, it’ll be hard not to credit Future and Mike WiLL Made-It for initiating the current trend. For only the second time ever, the two brilliant minds sat down for an interview together to share their perspective on why they continue to win, and how they’re continuing move the culture forward, which is the centerpiece for this issue’s theme on inspiring greatness.

Within the last 20 years, a lot of the great music that has helped reshape the way that the culture has been received has made it’s way through Patchwerk Recording Studios in Atlanta. From T.I. to Young Jeezy, Missy Elliott to Beyoncé, Nas to Kendrick Lamar, a lot of history has happened inside those walls. Across town, K Camp has quietly been kicking down doors and making a name for himself by being himself. Ice Cube has been relevant since 1987, when his controversial, sociopolitical organization disguised itself as the gangsta rap group N.W.A. The west coast legend’s new biopic Straight Outta Compton exposes a lot of new information regarding the methods behind their madness.

Years ago I had a talent and production deal with Starz, so it’s great to see my former team doing big TV numbers with Power and Survivor’s Remorse. We wish continued success to 50 Cent, Naturi Naughton, LeBron and RonReaco Lee. Not enough can be said to express our appreciation for our outstanding POV line up, Kyle Christy and Todd Spoth. Dig deeper, learn more and please join us at respect-mag.com for more digital coverage on this issue’s participants. Much love goes out to Greg Street, Jason Jeter, A3C, Courtney Lowery, Yvette Gayle, B. Write, Tony Draper, Robert Redd, Talitha Watkins, Joy Phillips, Curtis Daniel, April Love, Zaytoven, and Tony Gervino, our super-dope RESPECT. editor whom I missed in my last letter. Until next time…

#FocusOrFold

Adell Henderson

Editor-In-Chief
Issue Inspiration: Eric Thomas, “The Combat Jack Show,” 1 Goal 1 Passion, and the victims, families and friends of the Charleston shooting for inspiring the #RespectPlanDemand initiative. Stay tuned—more to come.

The post Future & Mike WiLL Made-It COVER: Issue #23 Editor’s Letter appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.