Pardison ‘Pardi’ Fontaine Says ‘Raising Kanan’ Season 4 Is His Destiny After Losing Initial Role to Joey Bada$$ (Exclusive)

Raising Kanan has a few new faces in its fourth season. In Season 3 of the hit Starz drama, Kanan Stark finally stopped living in the shadow of his mother, Raquel, taking control of his life and took matters into his own hands by orchestrating the plan that ended in the deaths of Ronnie and Detective Howard. In season four, slates have seemingly been wiped clean for Kanan, Raq, and the rest of the Thomas family, and they must lean on one another to survive. 

His uncle, Lou, plagued by the feeling of being a Black sheep in the family because of his lack of street cred and struggles with alcoholism is finding his footing in the music industry, with a second chance thanks to a new artist, B-Rilla. Grammy-winning rapper, Pardison “Pardi” Fontaine, shines as B-Rilla, bringing a complexity to the character that allows viewers to root for Lou unlike ever before.

Pardi recently spoke with PopCulture.com about how the role came to be. He also dished on how acting has expanded his value, and what he loves most about the character. 

PC: Congratulations on the role. So first and foremost, this is obviously a big thing, being in the Power universe. So how did the opportunity to guest star on the show come about?

PF: Oh, I wanna say it goes back to about 2020. That is when I first was inquiring about really getting involved in acting, and the role had presented itself. I came in, they gave me a script over a weekend, and I memorized it, and I committed it to memory. They brought me in and I did a live reading actually, and they loved it. I got to do the meeting. I left. And the casting director was telling me just how much she was impressed, and they wanted to give me a call back before I even got to the tunnel. She was like, “Oh, I got the producers here. I was telling them how great you are, they want to meet you.” So I do a U-turn, I come back and I do it again, this time in front of all the producers. Sascha [Penn] was there and they tell me, “Yo, it’s really good. You’re gonna hear from us.”

So about two years go by, I don’t hear from them. So I don’t get the first part that I audition or that I read for, and it turns out that Joy Bada$$ as his character, Unique. I’m crushed. I’m devastated. But Joey is doing a phenomenal job. I don’t even know if I could have been as good of a Unique as him. He’s amazing. He’s perfect for the role.

But fast forward two or three years, another role comes up and they’re like, “Yo, we got somebody that may be perfect for you.” They asked me to read. I do. They love it and they bring me on board and be B-Rilla is born.

I like how your character enters the fold, because you come in at a time where Lou is looking for some hope. B-Rilla really gives Lou a new perspective on his life because he’s really relying on him to revitalize his career in music and give him a second chance?

I think Lou’s been at this for a while, and he’s a pretty determined person. He’s now getting the backing from, and he’s just building a friendship and a real respect for Rilla. I think they started off bumpy, not too much trust there, but as time goes along, I think they are both rubbing off on each other.  I think it’s making B-Rilla want to be a better person and really commit, and I think it’s making Lou step up to this real mogul role that he wants to be.

Now, B-Rilla has his own past. Obviously, as we know, when we first meet him, he’s incarcerated. And Lou is from the family that he’s from. So how does B-Rilla add to the chaos of the other cast members?

I think it’s a perfect marriage because B-Rilla is not green to these situations. He comes from it. He comes from some chaos. He comes from a little bit of a dirty background. So it’s a hand-to-hand fit. As far as him trying to go legit, I don’t know if it’s best that he’s to be working so closely to some people that aren’t exactly legit. But, I think they mesh well.

When you first got the role, even though you were bummed about not getting the role of Unique, because the Power universe is so expansive with so many different spinoffs and there’s so many opportunities, even if a character is killed off, there’s always flashback scenes, etc. Were you excited about the potential of being a recurring cast member for the franchise?

I was. I couldn’t even put in the words. I can’t even explain how excited I was, because it was something I really wanted and then to have an opportunity to be with Starz, such a big company and a big platform, I was taken aback for sure.

How do you feel like the character of B-Rilla helps you stretch you as an artist?

I think it made me more diverse for sure. I think people are able to see me in a new light, outside of just my own music. I think being involved with the soundtrack gave a new sound that I don’t typically tap into in my own artistry. But again, it allowed people to hear me in a different variation.

Just the other day, I went to my daughter’s recital and somebody came up to me and was like, “Hey, you’re, you’re…” and I’m expecting to be like “Pardi.” But he’s like, “You act on Power in Raising Kanan.”  And I’m like, ‘Oh s— he knows me from the acting.” He’s like, “You’re doing a great job.” So I think it’s definitely made me just more diverse as a name, as a brand, and allowed me to tap into different things in my own work.