Kanan had to prove himself at a young age.
It’s 1985.
The episode opens up with a now-dead Kanan narrating his first fight on a Southside Jamaica, Queens basketball court in 1985. As he’s getting bloodied and bruised after taking too long to give neighborhood boys his money, a young Jukebox has to be held back as she yells for him to stop trying to fight. But Kanan gets up once more to try to deliver a blow to the ringleader, only to get knocked back down onto the ground. Embarrassed, he runs off the court back home.
When he gets back to his apartment, his mom Raq and her boyfriend High Post are at the table seemingly handing drugs. High Post comes to the conclusion that Kanan just got into a fight. He offers to go check on Kanan, but Raq says she’ll do it instead. Deceased Kanan says that High Post will be dead in a year from this moment. Someone set him on fire for “telling.” But High Post was the one that got his mother into the drug game. And Kanan always liked him because he treated Raq right.
Raq goes upstairs and Kanan tells her he was jumped for his money. As he cries, Raq takes his socks and puts batteries in them. She tells Kanan they are going back to the basketball court so he can handle his bullies. When they get there, she instructs Kanan to beat down the boys with the socks as she watches on and smokes a cigarette. Deceased Kanan says that moment was the first his name was on everyone’s lips and that never changed.
Raq wants a better future for Kanan.
Fast forward to 1991.
Stuyvesant is a new high school with all the bells and whistles. The staff is top-notch and it has everything a student can hope for. Raq wants Kanan to transfer to this new school and his current school principal agrees. She even signed Kanan up to take the entrance exam. And Raq tells Kanan that she wants him to have a better life and go on to college to become a CEO. Kanan isn’t thrilled and likes the school he’s already at. But he has no choice but to go along with what Raq wants.
Kanan goes to his cousin Jukebox’s chorus class. Deceased Kanan reminds viewers not to let her sweet voice fool them because she’s harder than any man he’s ever met. And he truly loved her.
Raq’s crew is having some troubles.
Kanan runs into his crush Davina at lunch before sitting at the table with Jukebox and the rest of their crew. Shawn, also known as Famous, raps at the table. Kanan looks on as Davina hugs her boyfriend Buck Twenty. Deceased Kanan describes him as a very popular and well-dressed guy that he’s jealous of. Jukebox thinks Kanan should move on from his childhood crush but Kanan tells her he’s never moving on.
Raq and her brother Lou Lou walk into the hospital after one of their affiliates, Born Ready, is shot. Raq’s other brother Marvin is there with the rest of their crew and nonchalant about not being there when everything went down. Marvin is also Jukebox’s father. Someone named Nique has been putting pressure on their men. And Marvin thinks it’s time to hit back.
Buck is involved in the street life.
As Kanan is getting cash to play video games with Famous and Jukebox at an arcade, he looks outside and see Unique, the biggest drug dealer on the Southside. Deceased Kanan says all the men want to be like Unique or become a part of his crew. Apparently, this is the drug dealer who is applying pressure to Raq’s crew. Unique is talking to Buck Twenty. And Kanan didn’t know that Buck is now a part of Unique’s crew.
Lou Lou and Raq head to Hugo’s club but he’s not there. But his publicist says she knows who they are and she doesn’t want them selling their “ghetto” drugs there. She has a better source Hugo will use. Raq warns this woman that she’s not the one to mess with. But Lou Lou asks her to let him handle this. As Raq walks to the bar to wait on Lou Lou, she meets Symphony, a new bartender who only works there on Tuesdays and Thursdays as he works on his masters degree. They bond over their dislike of Hugo’s publicist and flirt.
Unique sends a message.
As Kanan is eating dinner at the local diner with Raq, Jukebox, and his uncles, Famous walks in with his sister Jessica. Lou Lou doesn’t take long to take interest in Jessica, much to Famous’ annoyance. As they talk outside, a car full of men drive by and gunshots are fired. Everyone ducks for cover and Kanan sees Buck in the backseat of the car. Luckily, no one is shot. And Jessica is impressed that Lou Lou saved her life.
Later that night, Kanan tells Raq he knows what she’s been up to. And he knows who shot at them hours earlier. He worries that Raq could be killed but she tells him not to worry because she will handle everything.
Unique and Raq come to an understanding.
Raq meets with Unique and he says his men shot at them just to get her attention, They had no plans of hurting anyone. With High Post dead, Raq knows that she can’t ever come off weak to any man. She tells Unique that her crew wants to hit back, so to prevent a war, Unique needs to give her the blocks that she wants. He agrees.
Kanan causes problems.
Hugo’s publicist is horrified when she finds her little dog dead and being cooked in the microwave. Raq had her crew handled this for her. The next day Kanan purposely fails the entrance test for the new high school. He decides he would rather help Raq and make sure she’s safe.
When Kanan meets up with Famous and his friends, he learns that Buck was on 140th and that is supposed to be Raq’s corner. So Kanan says they will handle this. HIs friend D Wiz says his brother has some guns they can use nearby.
Marvin tells Raq that Hugo said everything is cool and they can sell their drugs in his club. He realizes Raq had the publicist’s dog killed and laughs.
Kanan and D Wiz grab their guns and run up on Buck and the others on the corner. They shoot down Buck and Kanan is in shock because Buck is the first person he’s ever killed, let alone point a gun at. Famous comes around the corner and yells that the police are on their way. So Kanan and D Wiz run off.
Unique gets even.
While Raq is on a date with Symphony, Lou Lou tells her she needs to go because something happened with Kanan. She’s furious when she finds out he killed Buck. She explains to him that the block Buck was on was one she agreed to give up. And she had squashed things with Unique. Now Unique is going to hit back. After this, Raq tells Kanan he needs to live with his grandmother.
While Kanan is out handling the trash can, a car drives by and gunshots are fired. He hits the ground and Raq returns the fire as the car speeds away. Luckily, Kanan isn’t hurt.
Detective Malcolm Howard arrives at the house. Raq tells him that whoever shot at them hit the wrong house and Kanan has nothing to say to him. Malcolm doesn’t believe this and he tells Raq she needs to be careful and watch her back. He advises Kanan the same.
Marvin and Lou Lou tell Raq that Kanan is in serious danger and she won’t be able to save him.
Kanan’s decision changes everything.
Unique and Raq have another meet-up. While Unique agrees to call off the bounty on Kanan, he can’t guarantee that Buck’s own people won’t come for Kanan. He also says that all the corners are now his and Raq won’t be able to make smart choices because she’s connected to Kanan because she gave birth to him. He doesn’t think this game is for women.
Raq takes Kanan out to practice shooting. She warns him that he wanted to be in the game and now he’s in it. And he will have to watch his back now moving forward.
What are your thoughts on the series premiere?
