EXCLUSIVE: Starz’s Power Book III: Raising Kanan has cast Chris Redd (Bust Down) and Grammy Award-winning rapper Pardison Fontaine (Rap Sh!t) for Season 4.
Season 4 is in production in New York. The series scored an early renewal for a fifth season following the Season 3 finale in February.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan explores the early life of everyone’s favorite villain Kanan Stark, originally played by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in the flagship series, and shows his evolution from näive teenager to a cutthroat villain. Season 3 saw an epic showdown between Kanan (Mekai Curtis) and his mother Raq (Patina Miller), resulting in a couple of surprise deaths and the return of a fan-favorite character. London Brown also stars.
Redd will play “Early Tyler,” who is described as “a trustworthy ally and secret-keeper.” Early Tyler is a neighborhood institution and a good friend to have in your corner – if you can afford the high financial price of his friendship. Fontaine will play “B- Rilla,” a raw, volatile, and incredibly talented young rapper serving a prison sentence for armed robbery. Lou-Lou (Malcolm Mays) sees B-Rilla’s potential and wants to sign him.
Sascha Penn will return as showrunner and executive producer for Season 4. The series is executive produced by the creator and showrunner of the original Power, Courtney A. Kemp through her production company End of Episode, Jackson through G-Unit Film and Television and Mark Canton through Atmosphere Entertainment MM. Chris Selak and Kevin Fox also serve as executive producers. Lionsgate Television produces the series for Starz.
Redd’s first one-hour special, Why Am I Like This? was released via Max in October 2022. He is the co-creator, writer and star of Peacock’s scripted comedy series, Bust Down and was a repertory player on NBC’s Saturday Night Live for 5 seasons. He can currently be seen hosting the Netflix series Resurrected Rides from the creators of the MTV series Pimp My Ride. Recently, he starred opposite Eddie Murphy in the Amazon Prime Video and MGM Studios’ holiday feature Candy Cane Lane.
He will next star in the Amazon MGM Studios‘ rom-com, Merv and will lend his voice to Ramy Youssef’s upcoming Amazon animated series #1 Happy Family USA. He co-created and voiced a lead role in a yet-to-be-titled project from Broadway Video and Audible, and is attached to star in the feature film Cyber Monday, which is currently in development at Universal. Redd is repped by CAA, Ayala Cohen Management and Schreck Rose.
Fontaine is a multi-platinum rapper and two-time Grammy Award-winning songwriter and creator. He has one acting credit under his belt, starring in an episode of the Issa Rae Max series Rap Sh!t. His work in Power Book III: Raising Kanan will serve as his debut in an expanded role in a TV series.
On the music side, he earned recognition for his song “Oyyy” and found a kindred creative spirit in fellow budding talent Cardi B. They collaborated on Cardi B’s history-making Grammy Award-winning debut album, Invasion of Privacy. He expanded his catalog working with Kanye West on his album Ye, the Cardi B ft. Meg Thee Stallion collab WAP and Megan Thee Stallion’s 2x GRAMMY Award-winning “Savage” Remix ft. Beyoncé, to name a few.
In 2019, Fontaine debuted his gold-selling album UNDER8ED featuring “Backin’ It Up” ft. Cardi B, “Peach” ft. City Girls and “Take It Down” ft. Offset. He is set to release new music this summer. He is repped by CAA and Mantua Ent.
