Power has long been one of the hottest shows on TV. Originally airing in 2014, the show followed drug dealer James St.Cloud as he tried to leave the world of crime behind him. It quickly became one of the most-watched shows on Starz. The original show ran for six seasons, ending in 2020. However, the show quickly blossomed into a sprawling franchise. Power Book II: Ghost began airing in 2020 and serves as a direct sequel to the original show. Power Book III: Raising Kanan first aired in 2021 and serves as a prequel to Power. Finally, Power Book IV: Force is the newest show in the series, starting 2022 and serving as an alternate sequel to Ghost.
50 Cent has done a lot for the Power franchise. He serves as executive producer and one of the original minds behind the idea. Furthermore, he provided the theme song and even appeared as the formidable Kanan Starks across all six seasons of the show. However, the iconic rapper has now given some shocking details about how much money he was making purely from the show's production.
50 Cent Only Got $17K Per Episode Of "Power"
50 revealed all sorts of details about the production of Power in a recent interview with Vulture. "Look, I took a major pay cut, too...There’s no one that could come and tell me to take $17,000 to act and executive produce and make music. I gave them the theme song for Power. I gave them the things that connected, hopefully, in a different way for it. You see what I’m saying? All those things for $17,000 per episode? I get paid more to go to the nightclub and wave. But I wanted to make the show. I wanted to make it so bad. When I was talking to executive producer Mark Canton in the beginning, I was like, 'Nah, I got to be like this'."
50 also revealed that Starz was his last choice as the platform for Power, revealing just how many companies passed on the idea. "HBO, Showtime, Paramount, Hulu. We went to all these organizations in the early stages. They probably had something else they felt was similar, or it wasn’t what they was looking for. I’m sure now they wish they didn’t pass on it. And then every two years, it felt like we was auditioning for a major carrier. It’s time to renegotiate, and it would be an issue. So for me at that point, really what it is, is racism. Because the project is a success, but the platforms are not necessarily acknowledging things that have diversity connected to them. I’m outperforming a lot of the shows that they had in the award-show ceremony, and they’re not putting the work in the awards show, even to watch it lose."
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