INTERVIEW: Joseph Sikora, Isaac Keys and Kris D. Lofton On Continuing The 'Power' Story, 50 Cent Loyalty + More

Summary

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The Breakfast Club: Joseph Sikora, Isaac Keys, Kris D. Lofton on Continuing the 'Power' Story, 50 Cent Loyalty + More

Date: November 11, 2025
Podcast: The Breakfast Club (iHeartPodcasts)
Guests: Joseph Sikora (“Tommy Egan”), Isaac Keys (“Diamond”), Kris D. Lofton (“Jenar Gennard”)
Hosts: DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God (with Lauren Larose)

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Episode Overview

This energetic episode reunites Power Book IV: Force leads Joseph Sikora, Isaac Keys, and Kris D. Lofton for an in-depth, candid conversation about their show's final season, the real-life inspiration behind their characters, brotherhood, the nuances of loyalty, and their deep connection to 50 Cent. The hosts dig into acting challenges, street authenticity, the cultural impact of Power, and how the “Power Universe” might end—or keep expanding.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Approaching the Final Season

[03:19-04:33]

• The cast describes the final season as “bittersweet” but motivating.
• They’ve pushed for higher intensity, “every episode had a bang factor.”
• Joseph Sikora, who produced the later seasons, emphasizes authentic Chicago portrayal, aiming to depict “the diversity within the diversity” of the city.

Kris D. Lofton: “Once we know it’s the final season, I think it makes us go a little harder… making sure every episode had a bang factor to it.” [03:28]

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2. Authenticity and Research in Storytelling

[04:34-05:54]

• Sikora went back to Chicago to do research, speaking to cops, ex-gang members (“robbers”), to ensure realism.
• Cautions taken to avoid offending real-life people and situations, particularly gang affiliations.

Joseph Sikora: “I… met with cops and robbers... a city of gang nations... now with these renegade gangs… how would Tommy Egan survive in this?” [04:37]

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3. Character Motivations: Tommy, Diamond, Jenard

[06:08-10:49]

• Tommy this season is driven by “revenge” and “hunger for power” but remains complicated by issues of loyalty, especially with Diamond and Jenard.
• Diamond is trying to navigate between “righteousness in a dirty world” and the lure of power, confronting the tension between moral codes and survival in the streets.
• Jenard, as interpreted by Kris D. Lofton, is “misunderstood”—he feels like the voice of local Chicagoans questioning why a white outsider (Tommy) should be accepted.

Joseph Sikora: “Can you have it all? …Tommy’s going for it all this time and is he going to sacrifice loyalty with Diamond?” [06:31]

Isaac Keys: “I feel like I’m the voice of the fans… the only one that got some sense. Why are we all so trusting in [Tommy]? …I created a whole backstory in my head to make some of this make sense.” [09:41-10:58]

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4. Brotherhood, Family, and Forgiveness

[12:14-14:19]

• The brother dynamic between Diamond and Jenard is layered, reflecting complex real-world family relationships.
• Themes of forgiveness, ambiguous loyalty, and how hurt can only come from those close to you are explored.

Isaac Keys: “Forgiveness could probably be a thing. And love trumps all. And blood is definitely thicker than water… only people closest to you can hurt you.” [12:38]

Joseph Sikora: “But blood is finite. Water is infinite… water, that’s life giving, too.” [13:06]

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5. Portrayal of Gangs and Community Responsibility

[15:23-18:57]

• The actors and power universe creatives avoid naming real-life gangs to prevent glorification or drawing negative attention.
• Isaac Keys shares about receiving DMs, even threats, over the portrayals—a mark of the show’s real-world resonance.

Isaac Keys: “There are some things that we don’t want to touch on because it’s too real. Like, that’s why they don’t mention, like, real gangs. We make up gang names because we don’t want to seem like we’re promoting actual gang violence.” [17:43, 17:52]

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6. Staying in Character; Separating Art from Life

[19:17-19:36]

• The cast discusses how they compartmentalize their roles, emphasizing the discipline to “leave the character on set.”

Isaac Keys: “For me, it’s action and cut… I don’t really, like, take it home with me.” [19:23-19:32]

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7. Spin-offs, The Power Universe and Its Future

[26:16-27:26, 41:29-42:45]

• Sikora and the others discuss what makes Force unique, primarily shifting the location from New York to Chicago.
• Expansion is the focus—international possibilities are teased; Sikora hints at hopes for a “final” Tommy movie.

Joseph Sikora: “Most talks are about expansion… we’re the only power show that takes place outside of New York. I feel like they’re gonna probably be thinking about a little bit of international expansion.” [41:36]

“Me and Gary Lennon are already starting to make an outline for a movie, for a feature that would be… the final, final chapter.” [42:19]

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8. Loyalty, Betrayal, and Ambition

[33:51-35:04]

• A philosophical segment on whether “ambition with no loyalty” is more dangerous than “loyalty with no ambition.” The consensus: unchecked ambition is the true danger.

Isaac Keys: “I’d go ambition with no loyalty… that’s dangerous.” [34:04]

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9. 50 Cent’s Influence and Loyalty

[31:06-33:43, 42:45-43:18]

• All guests express strong loyalty to 50 Cent (“Fif”), both personally and professionally.
• Isaac Keys humorously shares he unfollowed Ja Rule immediately after getting the role to avoid drama.
• Sikora details 50 Cent’s support—paying for actor’s classes, offering guidance, and notes he runs all major moves by him.

Isaac Keys: “The day I booked this role… I went straight to Ja Rule’s Instagram and pressed unfollow… Curtis Jackson will not choose to just be sitting down one day and go on Ja Rule’s page and see ‘followed by Chris D. Loft.’” [31:13-32:09]

Joseph Sikora: “Any move I make fif is all—I always have because it’s responsible… he’s owed it because he’s an executive producer and a creator. So he’s owed it twice… I realize how much I owe 50.” [42:45]

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Authenticity in Chicago Storytelling

  “You don’t want people from the past popping up and being like, ‘yo man, why’d you put it like that?’” — Joseph Sikora [05:36]

• On the Tommy/Ghost Dynamic

  “It mimics… that hurt people hurt people… the sins of the father… there is this kind of reverseness that’s happening too.” — Joseph Sikora [08:16]

• On Coping with Acting's Demands

  “I just mind my business, man.” — LaQuan Jones [32:33]

• On the Power of Communication and Loyalty

  “If you just communicate with the person… you might have made him feel a little better… it’s the deepness… of what you’re willing to lose and sacrifice for what you want.” — LaQuan Jones [13:25]

• On Leaving the Character Behind

  “Could y’ all imagine if Joseph pulled up to pick up his kid from school? He pull up in the car [Tommy’s Mustang].” — DJ Envy (everyone laughs) [25:49]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:19] — Reflections on the final season: “Bittersweet”, raising the stakes.
• [04:34] — Sikora’s research for Chicago authenticity.
• [06:08] — Tommy’s motivation: power, revenge, loyalty.
• [09:41] — Kris D. Lofton on Jenard’s perspective and Chicago authenticity.
• [12:38] — On brotherhood, forgiveness, and family.
• [15:48] — Social responsibility: fictionalizing gangs.
• [26:26] — What makes Force stand out; Tommy’s evolution.
• [31:13] — Isaac Keys on personal loyalty to 50 Cent.
• [33:51] — Loyalty vs. ambition in real life.
• [41:36] — Future of the Power Universe; plans for Tommy’s ending/movie.

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Tone and Atmosphere

The conversation is frank, energetic, and packed with comedic moments true to The Breakfast Club’s style. The guests openly discuss personal history, industry realities, and the pressures of depicting gritty street life with nuance—always grounded in authenticity and loyalty, both on screen and off.

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Conclusion

This episode offers a rich, behind-the-scenes look at Power Book IV: Force as it reaches its conclusion, reflecting how loyalty, ambition, and authenticity intersect both in fiction and reality. The bonds among the cast and with 50 Cent shine through, and the door remains open for the Power saga to continue in surprising new directions.

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Transcript

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

This is an I Heart podcast.

[Podcast Narrator / Storyteller]

Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

You're almost at the finish line.

[Podcast Narrator / Storyteller]

But first there the last one. Enjoy a Coca Cola for a pause that refreshes.

[Marcus Grant / Michael F. Florio (Ad voice / Host)]

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[Hari Kondabolu]

On the podcast Health Stuff. We are tackling all the health questions that keep you up at night.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

I'm Dr. Priyanka Wali, a double board certified physician.

[Hari Kondabolu]

And I'm Hari Kundabolu, a comedian and someone who once googled do I have scurvy at 3am and on our show we're talking about health in a different way. Like our episode where we look at.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

Diabetes in the United states. I mean, 50% of Americans are pre diabetic.

[Hari Kondabolu]

How preventable is type 2?

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

Extremely. Listen to Health Stuff on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Narrator / Storyteller]

The murder of an 18 year old girl in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved for years until a local housewife, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Isaac Keys]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[Podcast Narrator / Storyteller]

Listen to Graves county on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Joseph Sikora]

Join me, Danny Trejo in Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows. An anthology of modern day horror stories inspired by the legends and lore of Latin America. Listen to Nocturnal Tales from the shadowers on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or.

[LaQuan Jones]

Wherever you get your podcast.

[Isaac Keys]

Hold up.

[Joseph Sikora]

Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up.

[Isaac Keys]

The Breakfast Club.

[DJ Envy]

Morning everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious. Charlemagne the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. Lauren Larose is here as well. We got some special guests in the building.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes, indeed.

[DJ Envy]

We got Chris Lofton, we got Isaac Keys, and we got Joseph Sakura. Welcome, gentlemen.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What's up?

[Isaac Keys]

What up man?

[DJ Envy]

How's everything?

[Joseph Sikora]

Fantastic. You saw that first episode. It dropped as heavy last week.

[DJ Envy]

That's right.

[Joseph Sikora]

Set it up for the rest of the season. It's gonna be entire season.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

How do y' all approach doing a final season? Like, how does that even make y' all feel? Is it bittersweet? Like, what is. How do you approach it?

[LaQuan Jones]

I think, like, you just said bittersweet. But, you know, I think once we know it's the final season, I think it makes us go a little harder, you know what I mean? Like, make sure we make the scenes a little bit more intense. I think the writing room did the same thing and just making sure that every episode had a bang factor to it. And, you know, as actors, you know, like, we're gonna put our best foot forward. And I think we did a great job doing that.

[DJ Envy]

Is it always that feeling? Like, the last show would be so amazing, but like, yeah, we just can't end it like that. We gotta do another one or another one.

[LaQuan Jones]

Is that.

[DJ Envy]

Is that ever a feeling? Or you're like, nah, this is a rap.

[Joseph Sikora]

Well, I think that Gary and I just wanted to make sure that we gave Chicago. Chicago's due. A big thing was, is that I didn't produce the first season, just the second and the third season. And a big thing for me was, was getting Chicago better, you know, a little bit more realistic. Like, even the power show is kind of like New York adjacent, but we wanted to be Chicago adjacent. But it's like, it's a real place. We wanted to show the diversity within the diversity. Like, I think it was kind of like a globular south side of Chicago, a globular west side. And I just mean that there was no specificity or details. And we do a lot more detail oriented stuff in the third season. And I think that the city is really gonna bless this show for this final season.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

What did you do to. To do, like, what was your research like, leaving the city?

[Joseph Sikora]

Well, yeah, you know, I mean, I moved. I moved to New York 26 years ago. So it was like, you know, I went back early and I met with cops and robbers and asked and learned more about the city. Because when I was there, there was really. It was really a city of gang nations. You know, there was folks and people and. And. And a lot of things that were rules that were street rules that were followed. And now with the emergence of kind of like all these renegade gangs and. And gangs within that used to be nations that kind of went against each other. Where would the pipeline be coming from? How would Tommy Egan survive in this? Who would want to just make the money and who would just want to see him dead? And I think that we do a lot of responsible storytelling in like, there's a million people going at each other in on the south side and on the west side and where the distribution comes from and some of the cartels that would really, truly exist that mimic the cartels in real life. And that's what we did.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Were there any things in your research trying to get it so real where you were like, nah, we don't want to touch this just because of what may actively be happening or just history wise, you just don't want to, you don't want to ruffle any feminine.

[Joseph Sikora]

Yeah, well, you know. Yeah, I mean, Chris and I are both from Chicago and there's definitely, you know, I mean, it's now that I'm this age, this old, it's like in my 30s and 40s even going back. I mean, I remember it'd be like, you know, you don't want people from the past popping up and being like, yo, man, what's up? Why'd you put it like that? Or why'd you do this like this? And so you do. There is kind of, you know, it's adjacent, but it mimics the real life. It's like people if, you know, you know, style. And I think there's a lot of wink, wink, non to real life stuff going in there. But yeah, I mean, you want to be careful.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, Tommy's such an interesting character. Joseph, like, you know, he's always either chasing control or power or loyalty or revenge. Like, what's, what's driving him this season?

[Joseph Sikora]

Man, that's a great question. A lot. I think a lot of it is revenge and kind of this, this, this hunger for power and how that, that the power. You know, they say power corrupts complete. Power corrupts complete.

[Isaac Keys]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Joseph Sikora]

Absolute power of collapse. Absolutely. I know Charlamagne's always just a little smart, but that's what it is. And I think that again, it's, it's like, can you have it all? And that's, that's the question because Tommy's going for it all this time and is he going to sacrifice loyalty with Diamond? Is he going to. Is he going to do backhanded deals with Gennard, who's a backhanded deal master? But yeah, it's a really exciting season. Gary Lennon, again, our showrunner, in the whole writing room, did a fantastic job. I'm so proud of them and I think the fans are going to be really happy.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I always feel like Diamond's trying to move righteous in a, In a dirty world.

[LaQuan Jones]

I agree I'm doing a great job then that's what I'm trying to portray. I think, you know, it is like you just said, like, you can't. It's not moral and values too much in the street now, there's street codes. You try to go by those things, but those moral than values that get you killed. And he was trying to play both sides for so long, and I think now you start to see he's starting to, like, he's choosing a side he's both feet in, you know, now he's actually kind of looking at Tommy like, why you in love? You know, looking at his brother Jnard. Because he wants that brother relationship, I believe. But at the same time, it could be his downfall. I mean, it's all about relationships and alliances right now and how you choose and what side you gonna choose to go on. And I think diamond is caught in that little quandary right now.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You guys, relationship. I was gonna say diamond and Tommy, Joseph and Isaac, you guys relationship in the new season kind of mimics what the relationship was with Ghost and. And Tommy a bit in the reverse. Yeah, yeah. And it's weird because it's like, now you're in that power seat, no pun intended, but now you're in the driver's seat. Right. And you're able to, like, choose what you say, what you don't say, and you're kind of like, controlling him. Was that purposely done for the fans who've been following all the shows to kind of put that together?

[Joseph Sikora]

Yes. Yeah, I think so. But I also love how it mimics just like that. Hurt people. Hurt people. And if, you know, you kind of follow the faults of your father or whatever, that the expression charlamagne will correct me, but they're, you know, the sins of the father. It's like there's. There is. There is this kind of reverseness that's happening too. And we'll see what happens to Tommy because ultimately what happened to Ghost, so, you know, we gotta see what happens.

[Isaac Keys]

Definitely. There was a moment in the first episode where there was that when you came to talk to him in the warehouse, I felt like you turned into Ghost in that moment and.

[Joseph Sikora]

But Tommy checked himself, too.

[Isaac Keys]

Yeah, but I felt like Ghost would have did that to you. It was almost like reverse psychology. Like you were just telling him what you know.

[Joseph Sikora]

He. I don't know, man. Ghost had a hard time saying that's how I felt.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I didn't even know. You thought that you were checking yourself in that moment. And it's Hard to talk about. Cause.

[Joseph Sikora]

But it was real. I mean, I think Tommy's an honest character in the way when he's like, yo, man, I should have told you everything. I should have done that. But is Tommy gonna do it again? That's the thing.

[LaQuan Jones]

Yes, it was smart. It was, like, kind of manipulative. He knew how to down, like, minimize the situation at the time. Cause I felt Dime was coming high, and I think that was a different level of seeing Tommy and Joseph play that. So, you know. Yeah, I thought it was a great. It's a great scene. Cause it was even hard for me as a character. Like, they like, no, bring it. I'm like, y' all want me to bring it? You know, like that. No, bringing it. And they're starting to. It starts to build with the character.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Chris, how do you see Gennard? Because I see people call him a smart villain. Some people call him a. A monster. Is he just a man trying to out hustle a system that's against. Stacked against him?

[Isaac Keys]

Man, I think Gennard is misunderstood because honestly, I, Isaac, hate when I go off into this tangent, but I honestly feel like nobody's looking at it the right way. I feel like, because I'm actually from Chicago, I try to implement a lot of what I know. The people are gonna be watching this saying, like, nah, that ain't. That ain't how we would do it in Chicago. Y' all really gonna let this white boy come up in here and do that? So to me, I feel like I'm the voice of the fans. So to me, I look at Gennard as to me, the only one that got some sense.

[DJ Envy]

For real.

[Isaac Keys]

Because why I'm supposed to not know anything about what Tommy was doing those six years on power? I'm supposed to not know that. To me, this is just a white man in Chicago who may or may not be the police. Nobody knows. Like, why are we all so trusting in him? Like, nobody. And then with my brother, I'm like, okay, you were in prison. I heard you like to cut hair in jail. That's what you was in there doing, right? Bought you a barbershop, put you up, you're comfortable. You got something to do, Stay out the way. You're on. You're on parole. You hot. You're not supposed to be touching the streets. You're gonna mess up the whole organization. If you get called, you're gonna blow it all up. So I'll handle it. I'll talk to you. We'll deliberate. We'll be partners, brothers. You know, that was my. My goal. My dream didn't work out like that.

[DJ Envy]

Is that difficult to make it make sense? Because what you just said is I have to make it make sense.

[Isaac Keys]

I had to make it make sense.

[DJ Envy]

Because, you know, we look at him from. But this is a new series.

[Isaac Keys]

Yes. Yeah. To me, trying to make it make sense. I did create that backstory. I sat with. I remember I told Joseph Isaac, and with Gary Lennon, our showrunner, I created a whole backstory in my head to make some of this make sense. Because obviously, I would never go against my brother trying to kill my brother. That's crazy. But I tried to make it make sense. To Janard, it's like, okay, we talking about millions of dollars. This organization, cbi, is supposed to be worth millions of dollars. And if he's been in prison for 15 years, that means I kind of know more life without him than with him. And now if we add millions of dollars into the mix and some new person that nobody knows who's white.

[DJ Envy]

How about I kill both of you, right?

[Isaac Keys]

How about I just kill both of you? You ain't even been here for 15 years anyway. I could do without you, you know? So it's like, I don't understand. Like, so that's how I had to convince myself. And sometimes I get too invested in it, and I'm like, yeah, you know what? Janard Gennard, you can't get. I know. I get so invested sometimes, and I'll be like, no, this is wrong. Nobody gets ex.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

That comes across on screen, though. I feel like on screen, you're like the little brother that's like, no, I can do this. Listen to me. Listen to me. But then you be messing up, and then you gotta call Diamond.

[LaQuan Jones]

Thank you. You got the messing up part right.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

That's a little brother thing, though.

[Joseph Sikora]

What is up, party people?

[Isaac Keys]

I text him that the other day as soon as I landed in la. I mean, in New York, I told him that that's fine.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I was gonna say, and speaking of the brother dynamic, you guys, dynamic is kind of like the same but a bit different in this new season because you're kind of making your own moves, and you got your girl and she's, you know, helping you a bit more. You trust them a little bit more, but you're not. At the same time. What do you guys want your relationship to say to people in a regular world about brother relationships? Big brother, little brother relationships, People that don't sell drugs or they do, right?

[Isaac Keys]

I would personally, I would probably say, like, Forgiveness could probably be a thing. And love trumps all. And blood is definitely thicker than water. I think I would want people to, like, take that from it. Like, blood is truly thicker than water. And your family, I feel like the only people closest to you can hurt you, because if you don't care about somebody, they can't hurt your feelings. They can't. They can't betray you. You know, it has to come from somebody you love. So I feel like learning to forgive and learning that family trumps all is something that I would want people to know.

[Joseph Sikora]

Well, but blood is finite. Water is infinite. Oh, there's a, you know, there's all kinds. Yeah, I think water is going to make you survive longer than blood. I mean, drink that a little bit, you know what I mean? The French soldiers with the Russian horses, I know all that stuff. But the water, that's life giving, too.

[LaQuan Jones]

Take the war, baby. Take it to war. I think, you know, it's real life. Like, you know, we all have family members there. We necessarily don't get along, but we still kind of love them. But we may have to keep them from afar, but we're still trying to figure them out. I think it's really deep about the relationships. I think the whole show really dives into how the relationship and the toxicity of it, you know, like, you know, like, you know, really all you have to just communicate. If you just communicate with the person, if his brother, if diamond just would have gave Gennard a hug, you know, another hug or something, he might even made him feel a little better or just talked about it, like how you go kill your brother. Like, it's the deepness and the depthness of what you're willing to lose and sacrifice for what you want, the kind of motives you want. And then what. How does that align in your life, like, to him killing his brother? That wasn't nothing for him. Some people, that's something hard to do. We still get on the streets all the time. Like, why, why you don't kill you, why you don't kill your brother, why you don't unlive your brother. And it's like, can you do that? Would you be able to do it in the world? So that tussle, I think, is just amazing to be able to show the relationship between brothers.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I haven't noticed, but you sound like Deion Sanders, man.

[Isaac Keys]

I'll take it. We should let Deon sand the money.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This feel motivational for some reason.

[Isaac Keys]

He's good.

[Joseph Sikora]

He's good.

[LaQuan Jones]

He's there sometimes, man.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What does redemption look like for diamond, like now that the streets, you know, keep pulling them back?

[LaQuan Jones]

I think ultimately what diamond wants is he wants to be able to make this money, have power, but he doesn't want all the violence and stuff that goes along with it. At some point, like if it was the best world, the coalition, everybody working together, you know, everybody's making money, let's just do that and be cool, you know. And I think that, yeah, and I think, but it's like, you know, when you see the character, the atomic character coming with Joseph play so well, it's like, nah, we want more than that, we want more than that. So he's still gotta make his moves and make his moves, you know, in alignment with how he wants to move. So that somehow kind of creates that friction between everyone in a sense because there's so many players in this, you know, we still have the Aladdin and the cartel side and have the control that they have. So now we just trying to, you know, I think Diamond's redemption is. He really just wanted, he wants to be there, but, but he, but you know, it ain't going to work the way he wants it to work. And that's how it works in the streets.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Do you, do you think the world will ever look at the gang organization as like anything for anything righteous they've ever done? I know with BMF50 also tried to talk about the family union and stuff like that. And it's very prevalent that you're that character in this show. But people don't see that. They only say, why would you guys be in a show that showcases all these things? I'm sure you get that question all the time. Do you think the world will ever. But wait, there was a righteous component to this. There was a family aspect.

[LaQuan Jones]

Yes. And I think even outside the show, we make sure we do a lot of stuff in the community. I make sure we start, we have speaking engagements and talking to make sure we know this is entertainment. It's telling a story, you know, a story of some made up characters of some made up characters that, you know, how they move in the streets and how their life and how their family dynamics happen. And I think that also by showing that in Chicago with all the things that are going on with the city of Chicago, we're able to show the entertainment part of it, but we also able to touch on some of the things of the diversity of the city and how the city is made up and the history and architecture and just kind of giving some more light on the city in that way as well, too. But I think it's very important for people to know even as we talk, is to make sure that we know that this is a story. It's a TV series, not real playing characters. It's not real life. It's the power universe. We know that's not real life. There's so many things that happen. That Mustang pulls up anywhere. No parking tickets, no nothing.

[DJ Envy]

I will say, though, that these stories are. Might not be based on somebody's real life, but they are lives that's happening out there.

[Isaac Keys]

Oh, for sure.

[DJ Envy]

There's a time in.

[Isaac Keys]

Some people walk up the street every time.

[LaQuan Jones]

Like, bro, all the time.

[Isaac Keys]

Me and my brother. Oh, man.

[DJ Envy]

That's how it was, bro.

[Isaac Keys]

You, me.

[DJ Envy]

But that's why I think these stories mean so much, you know? And a lot of times, like she said, a lot of people feel like, oh, well, they're idolizing or they're making it seem like this. But for a lot of times, that's what we grew up seeing.

[LaQuan Jones]

Right.

[DJ Envy]

We grew up seeing the local drug dealers. And you always wanted to know. Well, I always wanted to know, like, how did they do their business? How did it work? So I think this kind of gives you an inside. False or not false, but primarily true of how it worked and how it got down. So when you tape.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So I don't think so. Tommy would have been in jail a long time ago, man. He drives the same getaway car. All right.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yo, and it's loud.

[LaQuan Jones]

The car, and it is loud.

[Joseph Sikora]

Yeah, there are those aspects.

[Isaac Keys]

It's hard to drive, too.

[Joseph Sikora]

It'd be pretty easy to peg Tommy. He's not switching up rides all that much. Although in the original power show, they did, you know, some of that. Some of that stick that.

[Isaac Keys]

I think when you made that drive to Chicago, you switched cars in the original, right?

[Joseph Sikora]

No, it was like they. They booked me out of the car. Let's not talk about season one.

[DJ Envy]

I was gonna ask, you know, when you talk about street credit and talking about what's real, how. How important is street code when you're doing these shows?

[Isaac Keys]

I. I honestly do think it's important. Honestly. We gotta keep it true to what it is. But also, there are some things that we don't want to touch on because it's too real. Like, that's why they don't mention, like, real gangs. We make up gang names because we don't want to seem like we're promoting actual gang violence in the city or making other gangs, because our DMS Are crazy. I can't speak for everybody, but mine is insane. Like, my DMs get crazy when they show on the death threats. And a lot of people really. Oh, dog.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Death threats.

[Isaac Keys]

I get crazy dm. So it's like, we try to be careful with that.

[Joseph Sikora]

I think you slip in little vernacular improvs that every now and again when I see in the cut, I go, yeah.

[Isaac Keys]

Because I'm really from Chicago. So I'll try to slip in on phone every chance. Again, I'll try to say slipping in. And then. Because I know the city is gonna be like, bro, I know. Yeah, yeah, I know. Like that the city of Chicago is behind it. I feel like New York and Chicago are two cities that they don't. We don't really particularly like when actors portray being from there if they're not really from there. Like, we don't want you to come from LA and try to be on a New York TV show saying you a hood dude from New York. We don't.

[Joseph Sikora]

I don't, man. London Brown crushes it as Uncle Mark.

[Isaac Keys]

What he doesn't. Exceptional case. London Brown. Shout out to London. That's my dog. But, like, I don't feel like New York and Chicago likes that that much.

[DJ Envy]

LA don't like it at all. L A is another one. Yeah, Louisiana don't like it at all. I always also wanted to know, when y' all shoot so many different films, how do y' all stay in character?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

TV shows, TV shows.

[Isaac Keys]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

How do y' all stay in character in all the shows? Cause y' all different characters in different shows.

[Isaac Keys]

I mean, for me is the simple version, for me is action and cut. Like, I'm not. I don't deal.

[DJ Envy]

Take it home with you.

[Isaac Keys]

Yeah, I've never been that guy for real that really, like, takes it home with me. I just.

[Joseph Sikora]

Me neither.

[Isaac Keys]

Yeah. I just know how to.

[DJ Envy]

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[Isaac Keys]

All.

[Marcus Grant / Michael F. Florio (Ad voice / Host)]

This is that classic HBCU vibe. Non stop action. The band is rockin and the crowd lit. Chance echo drum beat everybody showing that school pride game like this. Yeah, it calls for an ice cold Coca Cola. Ah, crisp and refreshing. That's a game changer right there. Yeah, that taste always hits the right note. Just like the band at halftime. And just like that, we're back at it. Passionate fans. Our school colors every everywhere and in ice cold Coca Cola that's a winning combo no matter the sport, no matter the yard. Everybody knows fan work is thirsty work. So grab a Coca Cola and keep that HBCU pride going.

[Hari Kondabolu]

On the Podcast Health Stuff we are tackling all the health questions that keep you up at night.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

Yes, I'm Dr. Priyanka Walley, a double board certified physician.

[Hari Kondabolu]

And I'm Hari Kondabolu, a comedian and someone who once googled Do I have scurvy at 3am on health stuff, we're.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

Talking about health in a different way.

[Hari Kondabolu]

It's not only about what we can do to improve our health, but also.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

What our health says about us and the way we're living.

[Hari Kondabolu]

Like our episode where we look at.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

Diabetes in the United states. I mean, 50% of Americans are pre diabetic.

[Hari Kondabolu]

How preventable is type 2?

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

Extremely. Or our in depth analysis of how incredible mangoes are.

[Hari Kondabolu]

Oh, it's hard to explain to rest of the world that like your mangoes are fine because mangoes are incredible. But like you don't even know.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

You don't know.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You don't know.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

It's going to be a fun ride. So tune in.

[Hari Kondabolu]

Listen to health stuff on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[DJ Envy]

All I know is what I've been.

[Joseph Sikora]

Told and that to have truth is a whole lie.

[Podcast Narrator / Storyteller]

For almost a decade. The murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Joseph Sikora]

I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.

[Podcast Narrator / Storyteller]

We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.

[Podcast Narrator / Storyteller]

My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.

[Joseph Sikora]

I did not know her and I.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Did not kill her or rape or.

[Joseph Sikora]

Burn or any of that other stuff.

[Marcus Grant / Michael F. Florio (Ad voice / Host)]

That y' all said.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her.

[Joseph Sikora]

They made me say that I poured.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Gas on her.

[Podcast Narrator / Storyteller]

From Lava for good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.

[Isaac Keys]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[Podcast Narrator / Storyteller]

Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Marcus Grant / Michael F. Florio (Ad voice / Host)]

Hey y', all, it's me, your man, M.G. marcus Grant. And I'm Michael F. Florio.

[Joseph Sikora]

And I'm Laquan Jones.

[Marcus Grant / Michael F. Florio (Ad voice / Host)]

If you're looking to win your fantasy football league, you need to tune in to the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. It's right there in the name. Every week, Florio, LQ and I bring you the latest news from around the league. We break down every matchup, give you our analysis and advice so you know who to start, sit, drop and trade.

[Isaac Keys]

To bring that championship trophy home.

[Joseph Sikora]

I just want to remind everyone how good Rasheed Rice was last season.

[Marcus Grant / Michael F. Florio (Ad voice / Host)]

In these three healthy games, he was the wide receiver.

[Joseph Sikora]

Two in fantasy I think Rasheed Rice.

[Isaac Keys]

Just goes off this week. The Chiefs come on a flip pass.

[Joseph Sikora]

To Rice near side.

[Isaac Keys]

Touchdown.

[Joseph Sikora]

Remindre Stevens is my sleeper this week.

[DJ Envy]

This is a matchup where I think.

[Isaac Keys]

I can slide in Stevenson in my flex position and he could deliver double.

[DJ Envy]

Digit points this week.

[Joseph Sikora]

Drake takes the snap, hands it off for Madre. Running it right and running into the end zone.

[DJ Envy]

Touchdown.

[Marcus Grant / Michael F. Florio (Ad voice / Host)]

It's never too late to turn your fantasy season around. Subscribe to the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Joseph Sikora]

Disassociate a lot more Fun. I just find that there's a lot more fun when you get to.

[Isaac Keys]

It is.

[Joseph Sikora]

But also, it's like coming, you know, coming from the theater, darling, you know, it's like, if you're not gonna bring that character home, you're playing the guy for six months. You know what I mean? You just. You just. You bring it to the theater. That's why you warm up. That's why you get, you know, do the whole thing.

[DJ Envy]

Could y' all imagine if Joseph pulled up to pick up his kid from school? He pull up in the car.

[Joseph Sikora]

Oh, yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

When I see you, it's so hard to not see Tommy, all of you guys. It's hard to not envision y' all in the show. I'm like, dang, I was just watching you last night. Like, if you don't need that girl, not to me.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I think Julie does a fantastic job acting, because he's nothing like Tommy in real life. He's just a 90 out.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

But the voice is there.

[Joseph Sikora]

He's selling copious amounts of drugs. But other than that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I be wondering, with all the spinoffs, what makes force stand out to you creatively? And just all of the different shows, when you got to show up as Tommy, do these shows even feel different?

[Joseph Sikora]

I mean, they don't. When I show up as Tommy, Tommy is. Tommy is Tommy. And I feel like on the original, it was fun doing the guest that's on the ghost show just to be that. And I love Michael so much, so it was always fun to come back and do something with him. But I think that, yeah, Tommy is kind of his own entity. And one of the fun things about taking the character home, I always kept Tommy as close as I needed him those first seasons to make sure that, you know, everything was right and consistent, and that was my job. But, like, now it is fun in some capacity. This, you know, 10, 11, 12 years on from the original to be. Just be like, let the light switch go, just to see what happens. Because I'm not even positive what I'm gonna do in those situations, because I have the luxury of this character who's got its own life. So you just flip it on. Sometimes this happens. Sometimes this happens. I'm like, oh, that's kind of funny or bizarre or whatever. So that has been a wonderful part of this journey.

[DJ Envy]

I always wanted to know also, too, when you took the audition to play Joseph or play Tommy, I should say, did you think it would be this far? And did you really? Did you want to do it?

[Joseph Sikora]

The original audition, I Wanted to do it so bad because I. Well, because, you know, I played around in the streets growing up and I, you know, I was a very unsuccessful actor for many years. And even in Chicago, a lot of the areas where you. Because I was a graffiti writer that many people know. So, you know what I mean? You're dipping into these different kind of lifestyles and stuff like that. I based Tommy a lot on guys that I was scared of growing up and, you know, making your way through. So I think I felt like I was just like, ah, they're gonna hire some pretty guy and they're gonna get it all wrong. But so I passed on the initial audition for it just because I was getting married. And so I was just like, I can't make the audition. But then I came back around because, you guys know that Fif was originally gonna play the ghost character, and then when he wasn't going to anymore, then they had re auditions for everything. And I liked the script. I thought this would be great. And I was a fan of Fif anyway. And then when I actually got it, I was the only one that auditioned from New York. And so it was five auditions. And finally in la, we did the chemistry reads and blah, blah, blah. And when I booked it, I was really. I was super excited. And I said, the fifth is amazing, man. You know, I hope it goes more than a season or whatever. He goes, it's gonna go seven. And he was almost right. I mean, it was six and a half. It's pretty.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I mean, actually more if you think about it, if you add all the.

[Joseph Sikora]

Spin offs now, it's been. It's been whatever, you know.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So which series means more to you? The original power or the 4 spin off?

[Joseph Sikora]

It's hard to say. I just like working with Gary Lennon as a writer. Like, that's why it means. I mean, I think that just Gary bringing in the authenticity of his brothers being, you know, Westies from Hell's Kitchen, and Gary brings in so much of the life of it. And even though Tommy's from Southside Jamaica, I think just like the whole. The authenticity of New York that Gary brings to the character has really been a dance of two people. So whatever Gary's writing means most to me. But I love these guys. These are brothers and brothers for life. And I'm so happy that I have, you know, got to have friends like this on the fourth show. So that means a lot. But it was also. It meant a lot for me to produce the show. And finally, because it's hard, man, people don't want to give you. Even when you've earned your seat at the table, you guys know that nobody wants to let you have that seat. And everybody's still vying for it. And even when I'm doing it, especially the second season, you had people like picking at you, trying to put you down, like playing weird games behind the scenes. You're just like, stop this nonsense. What is happening here? But I think that I'm really proud of the third season and I think the fans are going to like it the best out of any other season of the fourth show.

[DJ Envy]

What's more grueling, NFL or being an actor?

[Joseph Sikora]

Right.

[DJ Envy]

Because on Monday you gonna get what you did wrong in the NFL. But as an actor, you get that every day that show comes on and them comments. So what's more grueling for yourself?

[LaQuan Jones]

You know, I don't miss. You know, they always ask you, what do you miss from football? And I'm like, you don't miss being out there? I was like, at this point in my life, no. Like, no. You know, because it was, you know, the physical aspect. But for me, playing football was actually more of a grind than this acting. You know, I was always trying to. I was making a team. I was on active roster at the practice squad. I didn't know where I was gonna be at next, you know, but, you know, being emotionally unavailable to a lot of outside relationships because I just felt unstable in the game at the time. And I felt like I was giving so much to the game, but it wasn't giving back to me.

[Joseph Sikora]

Gotcha.

[LaQuan Jones]

You know, so. And when I got into acting, how they did that, I don't know. You know, they say maybe you took too many hits in the head. Cause you chose something that's very similar, you know. Cause it's still. It's unstable as well too. But the things I've learned in the game of football, I was able to transfer over to acting. As far as the discipline, as far as the work ethic, and far as the knowing how to deal with rejection. Because we get so many no's without them even saying no to our face in acting, you know, so it's like you just wait for that one yes. And you realize how many people said have to say yes in order for you to get this role, you know, and then. So I look at it now, it's like, you know, you grateful for it, but it's.

[Joseph Sikora]

Yeah, it's.

[LaQuan Jones]

Both of them are grueling their own aspects, man. So, you know, I'm just The grind don't stop. It just changes.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know, Isaac and Chris. In regards to dealing with 50 cents, what did y' all learn from Little Meech?

[Isaac Keys]

I never want to be on 50s bad side. That's all. I just learned that. And I never. I never want to owe 50 money ever in life. Not from little me, but just in general, just from knowing things. I know he wants it by Monday, and. And I just, you know, and I just want to stay on this good side. That's it. I don't know, you know, with him and little Holo me saying I have no clue. I'm not privy to truly what's going on there. I just know my loyalty runs deep. I know the day I booked this role, one of the first things I did, you would appreciate it. Charlamagne, because, you know, you. You a little messy. First thing I did was I went straight to Ja Rule's Instagram and pressed unfollow. It says follow back right now. This is follow back. Because I had already met Ja. I'd already met him, and long before I got up, I met him and he followed me, his manager and everything. And I said the one thing that will not happen. Curtis Jackson will not choose to just be sitting down one day and go on Ja Rule's page and see followed by Chris D. Loft. And you will not. And I just unfollowed him.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

No gyro on the playlist anymore.

[Isaac Keys]

I don't know. God, heavens no.

[Joseph Sikora]

Heavens, though, you hang around with me pretty long.

[DJ Envy]

Listen, everybody. Fifth got problems, but you won't follow.

[Isaac Keys]

I don't follow. Rick Ross. Everybody, everybody. I don't follow any of them. I swear. When we get off, I'm gonna show you. Just gonna say follow back. Here's your viral moment. Follow back.

[DJ Envy]

Jessica, I saw T. No, I can't answer.

[LaQuan Jones]

Hey, man, I've learned as you talk about football and I just walk in my. Like, I don't get involved in the mess. I don't get involved in anything, especially other. I got too many other problems of my own to be worried about something else. And what's going on over there? Cause you never know all the complete details. You never know. So why pass judgment on it and try to, you know, do whatever? I just mind my business, man.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Simple, simple answer. Joseph, I once said, I saw TMZ ran into you and they asked you about the Meech situation. 50 posted it and said you was too smart. You got up out of there easy.

[Joseph Sikora]

I don't know if I got out of there easy. I Think I chose my words pretty carefully. But it's be smart, because I think Meech is a nice young man. And I think that what people forget is that Fif paid for his acting classes. I mean, he invested into Meech. So there's. There's a certain amount there that's, that's, you know, there. There was love. And I basically, what I said to tmz, if there was love, there can be love again. You know, there. There's a certain amount of redemption or forgiveness within there. So it's also just like I, I try to stay in my lane as well. You know, it's not my again, like Isaac said, it's not really my business. But I, I. I want everybody to get along. But if you can't, man, I'm gonna keep it moving.

[LaQuan Jones]

Exactly.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You really think, though, that there could be love again? It seems like 50 is kind of, like, done with that situation.

[Joseph Sikora]

I mean, he. Then he's probably. Then he's probably done, you know? But I always. I. There. There's always hope.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's interesting with power, too, because power is built on loyalty, is built on betrayal and ambition. So I want to ask y' all in real life, what's more dangerous? Ambition with no loyalty or loyalty with no ambition.

[Joseph Sikora]

Wow.

[Isaac Keys]

I'd go, ambition with no loyalty.

[Joseph Sikora]

Yeah, same.

[Isaac Keys]

That's what I would go. That's dangerous.

[LaQuan Jones]

I'm still processing. That's deep.

[Joseph Sikora]

I'll be overthinking something fantastic. I'm going for it, Bishop.

[LaQuan Jones]

With no loyalty or loyalty, no ambition. I probably would have to concur, like ambition. I think ambition can be too much ambitious and always ruin a relationship, because therefore, now you just going for what you want. You can. It becomes. You become very selfish in that spec. And when you become selfish, you end up hurting a lot of people that are around you, especially when they try to be loyal to you, you know, and then you. Ambition now you moving different, as you say. You're moving weird, you know? You know, so trying to figure that out. I think that's. That's a good question.

[Joseph Sikora]

And I like when the power show in all of its incarnations shows that. Yeah, that, that without loyalty, without this, with just blind ambition, things fall apart. You know, this kind of lifestyle is people. You can't be happy. In a lot of ways, I always say Tommy's like a vampire in some ways. He keeps living, but, like, he's living alone, and it could be a lonely life. It's like it's not winning.

[Isaac Keys]

Yeah.

[LaQuan Jones]

Every day is like, you Looking over your shoulder, you're trying to figure it out. There was some scenes I always look and I always admire, you know, how Joseph does. Because you talked about how can you walk away from it. But there's scenes where, you know, I'm just only. This is like my first season of doing them. And I'm like. But you feel all the treachery behind you. You know, people that's trying to do all these things. Like, feeling like Gennar trying to kill Diamond. I personalized that a little bit. Like, so even on the set, Like, I couldn't talk to him for a little while after that. Like, knowing how, you know, just knowing how he's moving. He's sitting around the corner, over the corner, smoking, the square, hanging, laughing, being Chris as big. I'm in the barbershop looking like this. Like, I still wasn't over with for a time because. And I always admired about the, you know, the character Tommy's. Because he dealt with that for so many seasons on Power, like, over and over again. And then come to this, I'm like, it takes some therapy. It takes some, you know, some. Some aspect later on to be like, okay, let me let that go. It takes practice because it is deep.

[Joseph Sikora]

I'm still in therapy. And you're talking to the right guys here who are advocates for it.

[LaQuan Jones]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's a Cain and Abel dynamic, the relationship on the show.

[Isaac Keys]

It definitely is. I think so. I definitely think it's that. That's a good analogy.

[LaQuan Jones]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Can y' all talk about from. From ghosts to force the women that are involved with different characters throughout the series. So Shanti with you this season. And then you're dating Miguel. Maria, Miguel's sister. Right. There's all. And then you go in and out of your situation, dabbling. Yeah.

[LaQuan Jones]

Looking for love in all the wrong places.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

All y' all be, though. That's what I was gonna ask. Like, that common storyline is every chapter every season. But y' all never learn. People always end up dead. What is the reason for that? Like, why are we watching you guys never learn? Like, why does it work?

[Joseph Sikora]

Because it mimics life. I think that all the time, like, oh, you know, girls like the bad boy. But then I get hurt, and it's like, then what are you dating a bad boy for? But because I like him. So, you know, a lot of that, I think, just is, again, responsible storytelling because that's what humans do a lot of times. I think that that's not necessarily Tommy's intention speaking with Maria, but in a lot of ways, like he demands loyalty or death. And so, I mean, you think about, well, Akisha, and he's like, yo, you want be with me, Keisha, you gotta be all in. He pulls out the gun. She's like, I'm all in. He's like, ganga slips back under the couch. Yeah, so with Marea, just that she said, I'm choosing this lifestyle to be in here, even though I've done everything in my life to not be part of this. Although I know what the game is, and I grew up around it. I'm gonna put all that aside for you. I'm gonna put everything aside for you. I think in a lot of ways, the Tommy that we know is like, okay, then I'm gonna put everything away for you. And he means it. And that's one. That's one of the. The attractive qualities about the character is that this extreme loyalty that you're almost like. But hold up, you just know this. You just met. But some people are like that. Like, when we move in with each other, people too early, when we. When we. I'm all for you. And like, sometimes when you're all for somebody, it actually, you know, pull. Pushes them away with that same. That magnetism. Because magnetism works both ways, right? It either goes like this, or if you flip it behind, it goes like this. So it's. It's going to be a little push and pull with Tommy and Maria, and.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

A lot of times with the women that y' all are dating, there is no loyalty there, right? Everybody wants something out of situation. Do you think that you're able to really be loyal in what you're doing day to day in your life? If you can't be loyal in your relationship from what you guys are doing.

[Joseph Sikora]

If there's communication there and you say, hey, listen, like Tommy said, listen, I can't tell you this. I'm not. This what you. Everything is happening, all right? But you need plausible deniability. I can't tell you everything because I care about.

[LaQuan Jones]

You do.

[Joseph Sikora]

So as long as there's communication, I think that helps a lot of stuff. But I want to hear what you want to say about Shanti.

[Isaac Keys]

What I want to say about Shanti.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

He had you spinning.

[Isaac Keys]

That's the thing. Like, I think there truly is love there because a lot of people always question, does Shanti and Janar really love each other, or is she just using him or manipulating him? I think she truly does love Janar because she was there for me when I was in the dark place, you know, Janar was going through, he was battling an addiction, he was everything like that. She was there for him. I couldn't tell my brother because I was trying to hide it. I was embarrassed. I didn't want nobody to know that this is how Janard was. So Shanti came to Janard in a very dark place. So I think there is love there. But I do think that Gennard sometimes makes her think that she's in control and that's why he ends up going out and doing whatever he wants to do anyway. But he, sometimes he just tell her what you want to hear so she can shut up. And I don't think. And I think it mimics real life because some boyfriends, husbands, sometimes girls do that. Okay, babe? Yeah, you're right. Knowing damn well I don't think that. But yeah, you right. Just so you can keep the peace. Happy wife, happy life. But then you're gonna end up doing your own thing. So I think that this season with Shaunti and Gennard, we just gonna see how that relationship truly unfolds and I think they love and loyalty and all of that will be tested.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Mm. For me, this season with you guys, one of the biggest things I looked at as in the earlier episodes was she saw you as like almost like something that she could like build up and use and dangle. Like you have a sort of power that you didn't know and she saw it and she was using you. Once she used you, it was going to be like whatever.

[Isaac Keys]

That's, that's what you take from it.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

In the earlier episodes. I don't get in the earlier episodes yet.

[LaQuan Jones]

See that.

[Isaac Keys]

Cuz it came across like that and I feel like while I was doing it subconsciously because we never know what's going on with the scripts. Every episode we get the script. Like we never know who about to die or nothing. Right. You know, so I'm, I'm looking, I'm like, okay. But in my head, in my head, I. I always try to subconsciously play Gennard and Shanti's relationship a little to the point where it's like Janard could possibly kill her if he wanted to or if he has to. Like he loves her, but I don't know what was that look?

[Joseph Sikora]

I always feel like Janar could kill anybody.

[Isaac Keys]

That's what I tried to subconsciously implement that like, so there will be moments in the script where it'll say like, Janar leans in and kisses Shanti passionately. And instead of doing that, I just look at and be like, I with you and do that instead of kissing her. Because I feel like that leaves room. If I have to kill her, it won't come as. You know what I'm saying? And in my head, I played it like that subconsciously. I'm not gonna kiss her right here. I did one. I was like, you know, I'm with the right girl. I said that instead of the passionate kiss that was supposed to happen, I just tried to keep that open just in case, because I didn't know where they were going. Why?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You think it would have made you look more grimy if you kissed her and had a relationship and then killed it?

[Isaac Keys]

No, I just wanted to leave fans in my head. And like I said, it might not have even been working. But in my head I was like, might be people watching this that. That are looking like, oh, he might kill her. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, in my head it might not even been the case. But I just kept that window open.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Joseph, is there an end to the Power Universe? Like, have there been talks, like, to the. Maybe to who? The end of Tommy's character?

[Joseph Sikora]

There's been talks. Oh, but I feel like in terms of the end of the Power Universe, I think that most talks are about expansion. All right, where. Where can we go next? You know, we're the only power show that takes place outside of New York, so that was a. Kind of a big thing for them at this point too. But then with, you know, with 50s other shows, with Fightland coming out and in England, I. I feel like they're gonna probably be thinking about a little bit of international expansion in some capacity through the Power Universe. And then I'm sure that they'll. They'll expand on stories in New York like they are doing already in the Origins story. But I bet there'll be more spin offs that take place around.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Do you have an idea what you would want the ending for Tommy?

[Joseph Sikora]

I know exactly what I would want the ending for Tommy. In fact, me and Gary Lennon are already starting to make an outline for a movie, for a feature that would be kind of the. Possibly the final, final chapter.

[Isaac Keys]

Wow, I love that.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

You're not gonna tell us.

[Isaac Keys]

That'd be hard.

[DJ Envy]

No, he can't tell us.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

I'm listening.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Does 50 know about this? I don't want this to be the first listen.

[LaQuan Jones]

No. 50.

[Joseph Sikora]

Every move I make that has anything to do with power, on almost any move I make, anything he wants to know, he could know. But any move I make fif is all I always have because it's responsible. Like, he's owed it because. Yeah, because I'm a loyal friend or colleague or whatever. But he's also owed it because he's owed it because he's an executive producer and a creator. So he's owed it twice. But I also, I always give the respect to Fif because Fifth's a good guy. Like, he's been a good person to me, a great person to me. He's taught me a lot. He sat down with me. He's been accessible. Like, I. I realize how much I owe 50, and I'm, I'm grateful.

[DJ Envy]

All right, well, definitely check out the final season of Force. Make sure you check it out. The first episode was last Friday, and we appreciate you brothers for joining us. Thank you so much. Isaac Keys. Christy Lofton. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.

[Isaac Keys]

Wake that ass up in the morning.

[LaQuan Jones]

The Breakfast Club.

[Marcus Grant / Michael F. Florio (Ad voice / Host)]

What a matchup we got, y'.

[LaQuan Jones]

All.

[Marcus Grant / Michael F. Florio (Ad voice / Host)]

This is that classic HBCU vibe. Non stop action. The band is rocking and the crowd lit. Chance echo drum beat, everybody showing that school pride. A game like this. Yeah, it calls for an ice cold Coca Cola. Ah, crisp and refreshing. That's a game changer right there.

[LaQuan Jones]

Mmm.

[Marcus Grant / Michael F. Florio (Ad voice / Host)]

Yeah, that taste always hits the right note. Just like the band at halftime. And just like that, we're back at it. Passionate fans, school colors everywhere. And in ice cold Coca Cola, that's a winning combo. No matter the sport, no matter the yard. Everybody knows fan work is thirsty work. So grab a Coca Cola and keep that HBCU pride going.

[Hari Kondabolu]

On the podcast health stuff, we are tackling all the health questions that keep you up at night.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

I'm Dr. Priyanka Wali, a double board certified physician.

[Hari Kondabolu]

And I'm Hari Kondabolu, a comedian and someone who once googled, do I have scurvy at 3am and on our show, we're talking about health in a different way. Like our episode where we look at.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

Diabetes in the United states. I mean, 50% of Americans are pre diabetic.

[Hari Kondabolu]

How preventable is type 2?

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

Extremely. Listen to Health Stuff on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Narrator / Storyteller]

The murder of an 18 year old girl in Graves County, Kentucky, went unsolved for years until a local housewife, a journalist, and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Isaac Keys]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[Podcast Narrator / Storyteller]

Listen to Graves county on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to Binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Isaac Keys]

Jingle bells, jingle bells, Jingle all the way. Can we get a Thanksgiving first?

[LaQuan Jones]

I'm hungry.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

What's up, y'?

[Podcast Narrator / Storyteller]

All?

[DJ Envy]

It's Kadeem and Deval, the host of the Ellis Ever after podcast.

[Joseph Sikora]

This holiday season, tune out the noise.

[DJ Envy]

And tune in to Ellis, Ellis Ever After.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

On Ellis Ever after, we get real with our crew about family, love and.

[DJ Envy]

Marriage and everything else in between.

[Dr. Priyanka Wali]

Listen to Ellis ever after on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow Ellis ever after and start listening on the free iHeartRadio app today.

[LaQuan Jones]

I knew it was a bomb the.

[Joseph Sikora]

Second that it exploded.

[DJ Envy]

I felt it rip through me.

[Isaac Keys]

In season two of Rip Current, we.

[Joseph Sikora]

Ask who tried to kill Judy Berry and why? They were climbing trees and they were.

[Marcus Grant / Michael F. Florio (Ad voice / Host)]

Sabotaging logging equipment in the woods. She received death threats before the bombing. She received more threats after the bombing.

[Hari Kondabolu]

I think that this is a deliberate.

[Isaac Keys]

Attempt to sabotage our movement.

[Joseph Sikora]

Episodes of rip current season two are available now. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

This is an iHeart podcast.