Joey Bada$$ on How Unique’s Mental Health Fuels His Vengeance in ‘Raising Kanan’ Season 4 (Exclusive)

Joey Bad$$ as Unique has been an unexpected breakout character on Power Book III: Raising Kanan. His street credibility is unmatched.

Watching him transition from an adversary of the Thomas family to an ally before softening Raquel [Patina Miller] as her love interest was an exciting journey for viewers to see. But as Season 4 unfolds, so does the partnership between Unique and the family.

Season 3 left off a cliffhanger: Unique is alive after suffering a brutal attack at the hands of his brother, Ronnie (Grantham Coleman). But in Season 4, he’s on a mission to figure out who else was involved in the attack, if anyone. Unfortunately, his brain injury has caused him to believe things that haven’t happened.

“We can expect to see Unique in the way that we’ve never seen him before. He’s suffered a traumatic brain injury, and in Episode 1, the doctor says something along the lines of like, ‘Yo, when he wakes up, he, ain’t no guarantee he gonna be the same person he was.’ I think what he’s going through is some version of CTE…But it’s the ’90s, so it ain’t no proper diagnosis for it at the time,” Bada$$ reflects in a recent chat with PopCulture.com. “But his mind, his emotions, his thoughts, his memories is [sic] all scattered around.”

When he does re-enter Raquel’s life, it’s not in the most romanticized way. They may have had a connection, but the old Unique is gone, and Raquel quickly learns she must watch her back. 

“What I can say is it seems like Unique is in a space where he’s convinced himself that she has something to do with it, and she might have been responsible for setting him up and conspiring with his brother Ronnie, so I think he’s more out for revenge for everybody,” he said. 

Season 4 of Power Book III: Raising Kanan premieres March 7 on STARZ. New episodes were available to stream weekly on Fridays on the Starz app and other Starz platforms. Watch the full interview with Curtis and Penn where they discuss more of how Howard’s death impacts him and Raquel on our YouTube channel and above.