Michael Rainey Jr ready to pick up phone if co-producer Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson rings as Power Book II: Ghost comes to explosive conclusion

In the early days of the television series Power, one of its stars Michael Rainey Jr filmed a skit with comedian BenDaDonnn in which Rainey is being hassled after getting into an elevator.

“The crazy thing is, I was with him that night, and he kind of sees the reaction that the fans get when they see me,” Rainey Jr told ABC News.

“So, he was like, ‘Yo, people really be trippin’ when they see you.’ And he was like, ‘No, we gotta make a video about that.’ And then we made that video, and it went crazy.”

Rainey Jr embodies the role of Tariq St Patrick so convincingly on the show that to some fans the two are one and the same, so much so, he used to get death threats.

“Oh yes, all types of death threats,” Rainey Jr said.

“People saying I’m banned from their cities, all type of stuff. I’m like, ‘dang. Is it that serious?'”

He laughs, saying ultimately, it was validating as an actor.

“At first, I was like, ‘What the heck is going on?’ And then, after a while, I was like, ‘okay, it makes sense,'” he said.

“That means I’m doing something right.”

Power Book II: Ghost, also referred to as Ghost, is one of three spin-offs from the hit series Power, which is created by Courtney A Kemp who is also an executive producer on the show along with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. There is another spin-off in the works that explores the origin of its popular characters.

In Ghost, Tariq tries to balance his drug operation with his grades, love life, and family, and while he initially attempts to shed his father’s legacy, he figures out that the only way to avoid the same fate is to become his father, only better.

50 Cent’s pivot from rapper to television heavyweight

Rapper 50 Cent is a major player in television, with a number of successful series to his name, Power being among them. The Power franchise first launched in 2014 and was centred around James St Patrick (Omari Hardwick), Tariq’s father and a drug dealer nicknamed Ghost whose wish was to leave the criminal world behind.

So addictive is the Power Universe, as it’s referred to, more than 1.6 billion hours have been watched globally.

The series performs particularly strongly in Black households in the United States in key markets including Washington DC, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Streaming service Stan says in Australia, it has “amassed a cult following, with each iteration of the franchise adored by fans across the country”.

Rainey Jr says seeing 50 Cent go from “the greatest rapper ever” to an entrepreneur, mogul and executive producer, and being part of that journey, is a blessing.

“I looked up to 50 since I was six, seven years old,” Rainey Jr said.

“I’m just blessed to be part of anything that he has going on, because anything he’s doing right now, it’s really history because it’s not easy for people to come from the business that he was in, and then pivot, and then become as successful as he is now.

“So, he’s just a great role model for me and a lot of people.”

50 Cent isn’t the only music icon Rainey Jr works with on Ghost.

“Being young, and being in the house with my mum, she’s cleaning up, and she’s listening to Mary J Blige and stuff like that,” Rainey Jr said.

“And going from that to being on set with her and meeting her at the table read and her being just excited to meet me, as I was to meet her…that’s crazy.

“And then even with Method Man, me and him were very familiar, because we’re both from Staten Island. I play sports with his son.

“So, we’re super familiar, but just being able to share the screen with each other, especially being that we’re repping Staten Island, that’s like the Forgotten borough of New York. Nobody claims Staten Island.

“So, just me and him being on the screen, just putting on for Staten Island, that’s big for me. It’s definitely a dope full circle moment.”

Power Never Ends is more than just a hashtag

While fans disliked Tariq at first, Rainey Jr says there was a “complete 180” once Ghost was in train.

“Obviously, towards the end of the original Power, nobody liked Tariq,” Rainey Jr said.

“So, that was the first thought in my head when we started the spin-off. I’m like, ‘oh, man, I don’t know what we’re gonna do. I don’t know how we’re gonna do this.’

“But Courtney and her team of writers, they had a plan the whole time.

“They knew exactly what they were gonna do to make the fans end up on Tariq’s side, and they executed it perfectly.”

But with the final season of Ghost done and dusted, what’s next?

“Who knows what’s next?” Rainey Jr says.

“I’m super excited to see what’s to come. If they call me, I’mma pick up the phone.

“Obviously, they have the origin story coming, the prequel with little Ghost, little Tommy and everything, little Kanan and all of that.

“So, I’m super excited about that. But who knows what else they’ve got? They always got something up their sleeve,” he laughs.

Rainey Jr is grateful for fans of the Power Universe.

“It’s been 10 years of crazy seasons, crazy episodes, crazy scenes,” he said.

“You guys have been such great supporters…I appreciate every single last one of them, even the ones that still throw hate to me.”