Power's Michael Rainey Jr. Shares The Best Advice 50 Cent Has Given Him

Forbes

Michael Rainey Jr, an actor most known for his character Tarik St. Patrick on Power, joins Rosemarie Miller on “New Money” to discuss his life growing up as a child actor, his passion for music, and 50 Cent’s mentorship.  0:00 Introduction 0:46 The Start Of Michael's Career At 9-Years-Old 4:57 Landing Power And Barbershop 3 7:16 Michael On 50 Cent's Mentorship 9:59 Starting A Music Production Company And Entrepreneurial Endeavors 11:49 Expanding Beyond Acting 12:39 Michael Beyond Acting And Music 15:16 Best And Worst Money Decisions  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00 We were just in this trailer, like, chillin', choppin' it up, and like, this one thing he told me was like,

00:04 "Don't ever feel too, you know, entitled to where you deprive yourself."

00:07 And that always stuck with me, 'cause it's like, I could literally count on my hands, like,

00:12 the amount of situations I've been in where I felt like, I should, you know, I should have this,

00:16 like, I should be, I'm entitled to this.

00:18 Whole time there's a big blessing out there that I'm blind to because I'm so entitled to this,

00:23 and I'm depriving myself to a way bigger blessing, so like...

00:25 [music]

00:29 Hi everyone, and welcome to New Money, where we talk to movers and shakers about how they made it.

00:34 I'm your host, Rosemary Miller, here with Michael Rainey Jr.,

00:38 an actor best known for his role as Tyreke St. Patrick on Power.

00:43 Thank you so much for joining me today, Michael.

00:44 Thank you for having me, thank you for having me, I'm excited.

00:46 Absolutely.

00:47 So Michael, you've been an actor your entire life.

00:50 Yes, I have, since I was around like, eight.

00:55 I say eight, but like, it really, really started when I was like, nine going on ten.

00:59 I did my first movie role when I was nine, so yeah, like, around like,

01:02 nine going on ten, that's really when it kind of like, really started moving, moving for me.

01:06 Yeah.

01:07 And how'd you get started? Was it you who wanted it? Was it your parents?

01:10 You know, it's weird, like, you know, as a kid, like, you watch TV, obviously,

01:13 and you're like, oh, like, look at Nickelodeon, look at Disney, and like,

01:16 I would love to be a part of this, obviously, but like, it was just always a thought in my mind.

01:20 I never really like, was like, oh, ma, I want to be on TV, like, oh, I want to be on Disney, like,

01:24 and then it just happened, like, one day I was in the city with my mom,

01:27 we were going to get lunch, and a lady named Gina from Generations,

01:31 that's a talent agency at the time, she literally just walked up to my mom and said like,

01:35 your son has a great face for like, acting or modeling, like, does he, is he, like,

01:38 does he do any of that? And she was like, no, and then, like, a week after, we ended up, they,

01:44 they had a meeting in the office, and after that, they just started giving me like, auditions for

01:49 like, Sesame Street, I did like, a little commercial for Price Choppers, and things just started like,

01:55 you know, like, rolling in, and then, yeah, and then after that, it was just, you know, motion.

02:00 - The rest is history, okay. What was your financial situation like, at that time?

02:05 - I mean, growing up, I mean, it wasn't like, like, we didn't have anything, like,

02:09 we couldn't eat or anything, it was like, you know, just regular, like, you know, regular living,

02:13 like, we weren't rich, we weren't like, you know, poor, it was just, you know, regular, just

02:17 regular living, and then, you know, I joined the family and made a change.

02:22 - Yeah, and so, how did your first few gigs go, like, was that the moment where the money started

02:28 coming in, or what?

02:29 - It's so funny, all right, so my first few gigs were, like I said, the commercial for

02:33 Price Choppers, I did like, a photo shoot for Target, and then I did this music video for an

02:37 Italian singer named Tiziano Ferro, and it went like, super crazy in Italy, and then an Italian

02:43 director named Silvio Mucino, he saw that video, and was like, I don't know how he got in contact

02:47 with my mom, but he got in contact with my mom, he's like, I saw your son in a music video, and

02:51 like, I need him to be a part of my movie, like, I want him to be the star of my movie, and my mom

02:56 thought it was like, a joke at first, and then, obviously, she like, she went around to ask

03:00 questions, and it was, you know, legit, and then we ended up going to Italy for like, 10 days,

03:04 and then came back home, and then went back to Italy, and I ended up living there for a year and

03:08 a half, filming that movie, so like, stuff just started happening fast, you know, like, literally

03:13 just like, like this, it was crazy.

03:15 - So, why did they want an American kid, a black American kid, in their stuff?

03:20 - I have no, that's what, that's the first thing I always thought, like, how do you see a music

03:24 video, like, I wasn't even saying, I wasn't speaking or anything, like, you literally just

03:27 see my face, like, maybe just like, expressing emotions, like, expressing emotions and stuff

03:31 like that, and I'm like, how do you, like, come to, like, Mucino, you want me in your movie just

03:35 from a music video, but the role was, he was like a mulatto kid, like, he was an Italian kid, his

03:42 dad was Italian, and his mom was African, and yeah, and then, and the kid actually spoke like,

03:48 full Italian, so I had to learn Italian for the film and everything, and yeah, I still don't

03:53 understand why he chose me, but I guess it was a good choice, it was a good choice.

03:58 - So, as you kind of like, basically fell into acting, was there anything else you ever wanted

04:03 to do with your life?

04:03 - Really, like, the first, like, I've always been in love with, like, arts, like, all type of art,

04:09 like, you know, visual art, musical, like, everything, so, from a kid, like, I was in love

04:14 with music first, like, music was my first love, like, I'm a producer now as well, so I make music

04:19 still to this day, but music was my first love, and then obviously, you know, like, sports, you

04:23 know, young kids, you know, we love sports, and then, you know, it came to a point where it was

04:28 like, I don't really have time to play sports, because, you know, the acting kind of really,

04:32 kind of really took over, but for the most part, I really was just, like, into music and art before,

04:37 like, the acting, acting really started, and then everything just started coming together.

04:41 - So, what do you mean by the acting, acting?

04:43 - See, like, I would say, like I said, like, I never really thought of, like, really wanting

04:48 to be on the screen, like, obviously, I would watch and be like, oh, it would be cool to be

04:51 a part of it, but then, you know, it just started happening, and then, yeah, it's just, like,

04:55 the rest is history.

04:56 - And when did you realize, okay, my career is really taking off? What projects were you

05:02 working on, or what attention were you starting to garner?

05:04 - Obviously, power was, you know, my, that's, like, you know, a life-changing role for me,

05:11 but I would say, like, around, like, season three of power, like, during the hiatus,

05:16 when we finished filming season two, I did Barbershop 3, the next cut, and after that movie,

05:24 I feel like the writers and everyone at power, like, they kind of saw, like, me in a different

05:30 light, and that's kind of when they started, like, you know, like, building on my character

05:34 story in the show, and then after that, it was kind of like, all right, now I see, now I kind

05:39 of see where, like, my career is kind of going, like, I'm getting, like, my workload is a lot

05:43 heavier now, like, you know, they kind of, like, they trust me a lot more with, you know,

05:47 with the material that they're giving me, so I kind of see where this can go, but I definitely

05:50 did not expect, like, the character to, you know, to go from what he was to, obviously,

05:55 not what he is now.

05:56 - Well, you clearly did that. You had something to do with that, so congratulations.

06:01 - I appreciate that, I appreciate it.

06:02 - Well, how did your life change, though, with power?

06:06 - Man, my life changed drastically, like, obviously, you know, I've been working since

06:10 I was young, but my mom, like, she also always did a great job of, like, kind of, like,

06:16 helping me save my money since I was a kid, like, I didn't know, I didn't really know what

06:21 kind of numbers I was pulling in until I was, like, 17, 18, you know, like, my mom really did,

06:26 like, a good job of, like, putting money away from me, you know, when I was young, because

06:29 obviously, like, at a young age, like, I don't really know what I really want to do with that

06:33 money, like, yeah, so she really did a good job of kind of, like, you know, just making sure a lot

06:38 of it was put away for when I reached the age to where it's like, all right, I could do this with

06:41 my money, I could do that with my money, and yeah, I appreciate her for that, because I literally

06:46 did not know, like, obviously, I knew I was making money, but I didn't know, you know,

06:49 the numbers I was pulling in until I was 18, or, like, 17 or 18.

06:52 - 17 or 18.

06:53 - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

06:54 - And so, did the life-changing money happen around power, or what?

06:58 - I would say, but, like I said, she was putting money away from me, like, before that,

07:05 so I guess, like, it was, some of it was still there before power, but obviously, power was just,

07:10 like, a completely different, you know, machine for me, like, it was, that was completely life

07:15 changing for me.

07:15 - So how did you learn, once you gained control of your money, how did you learn how to manage it?

07:20 - Obviously, I'm still learning, you know, I'm still young, so I'm still learning how to,

07:25 you know, manage my money, but I really just, you know, just, like, take advice from the people

07:30 that are around me, like, as I said, being on power changed my life, not even just, like,

07:34 you know, career-wise, just being on that show, being, like, on set with everybody, like, every

07:39 day, you know, just being around those great people, those great minds, like, I learned a lot,

07:42 you know, like, obviously, from 50, from Omari, from Joseph, so, you know, everything they taught

07:47 me on set, I kind of just, I just kind of play it close to me, and I keep it with me everywhere I

07:52 go, and 50 definitely taught me to save that bread. - Speaking of you and 50, all right, there

07:57 was that little moment where you felt blindsided by not knowing that Ghost was coming to an end.

08:03 - Right. - Are y'all good now?

08:04 - Oh, no, we super good. I was really just pulling a page out of 50's book, 'cause, look, I'm gonna

08:10 tell y'all, I knew that, you know, obviously, I knew that the show was gonna come to an end way

08:14 before they announced it, you know, we had a talk about it, the studio and 50 and I, but I really

08:20 just pulled a page out of 50's book, kind of, like, just trolling everybody, 'cause, like, you know,

08:24 like, why not stir the pot a little bit, so I was like, "Damn, they ending the show, they not gonna

08:28 tell nobody," and then, obviously, 50 came back with the, "Yeah, we ending the show, 'cause you

08:32 don't answer your phone," so, like, you know, just, like, a little back and forth, just to get,

08:36 you know, the fans, like, you know, just to have them thinking, like, what's really going on,

08:40 you know, just to stir the pot a little bit. - So, he's one of your mentors.

08:44 - Oh, yeah, for sure, that's like a father figure in my life, like, yeah, yeah, yeah, like,

08:48 I could call him for literally anything, like, any advice, anything I need, I could literally

08:53 call 50, like, even my mom would call 50, like, if she sees me doing something that she's not really

08:58 a big fan of, she'll call 50, "I'm calling 50," and then she'll call 50 and then, trust me,

09:03 I'm getting that call from 50 right after, so, yeah, 50's definitely, like, a father figure to

09:07 me, like, he gives me, he will be on the phone for, like, three hours, literally just talking

09:11 about, like, everything, so, yeah, yeah, he's definitely, like, a pops to me, for sure.

09:15 - What's the best piece of advice 50's given you?

09:17 - It's literally countless, but this is something I keep close to me, this is when we were,

09:25 this is when, like, my character actually started, like, building in the show, it was, like, season

09:30 three, we were in Red Hook, Brooklyn, filming on one of the scenes, we were just in this trailer,

09:35 like, chilling, chopping it up, and, like, this one thing he told me was, like, don't ever feel

09:39 too, you know, entitled to where you deprive yourself, and that always stuck with me, 'cause

09:43 it's, like, I could literally count on my hands, like, the amount of situations I've been in where

09:48 I felt, like, I should, you know, I should have this, like, I should be, I'm entitled to this,

09:52 whole time there's a big blessing out there that I'm blind to, because I'm so entitled to this,

09:57 and I'm depriving myself to a way bigger blessing, so, like.

09:59 - Well, Michael, going back to Ghost coming to an end, what's next for you?

10:04 - What's next for Michael? A lot is next for Michael, because, you know, like, the platform

10:09 that Power's given us is just, it's huge, so, it's a blessing to be in the position I am, and

10:14 obviously, like, I can navigate in different avenues, like, me and Gianni, we started our

10:19 production company, and, obviously, moving forward, we're gonna focus on getting some

10:24 more projects under the belt of that, we did the podcast at first. You know, I have a restaurant

10:29 in Jamaica that I own, it's called Catch 22, and I also have a, I'm part of a franchise called

10:34 Herbs Jamaica, it's a dispensary that I own as well, so, right now, we're actually moving

10:40 locations to, like, a bigger space, and I'm super excited about that, we're kind of, like,

10:44 redecorating, kind of, like, rebranding the whole thing, and, yeah, I'm super excited about that,

10:48 also, you know, monetizing my love for cars, so, I'm gonna start a car channel, and I'm gonna just

10:57 be featuring the craziest car builds from all over the world, I'm gonna be reaching out to everybody

11:01 that has the craziest cars, and I'm gonna be featuring them on my channel, that's gonna be

11:05 called 22 PSI, yeah, for the entrepreneur, Michael, that's, you know, that's what's going on right now,

11:13 for the person, Michael, you know, I'm just chilling, I'm just chilling, vibing, I'm actually

11:18 leaning in to start, you know, working really, like, heavy with my Solid Help Foundation, that's,

11:24 like, my non-profit, we do, like, we help with, like, college tuition, and, you know, like,

11:29 food drives, and, you know, clothes, and stuff like that, for, you know, the less fortunate,

11:33 and, um, I'm, this year, I'm kind of, you know, I'm gonna press the button on doing a lot more

11:37 with that, you know, I've been doing, you know, stuff here and there for the foundation, but

11:42 I think now it's time to kind of just, like, you know, just attack it fully, and just go crazy,

11:46 and just, you know, go crazy. - You know, that's really bold, by the way, especially the music

11:52 thing, because, you know, people like to pigeonhole you, they see you, like, you're an actor, this is

11:56 what you do, how dare you try to cross over into music, what are your thoughts on that, what are

12:01 your thoughts on how the world is gonna perceive you? - I mean, you know, everyone is gonna have

12:06 their, you know, their good things to say, and their negatives to say, but at the end of the day,

12:09 it's like, this is something I love, you know, like, music is something I love, and I've been

12:13 doing, I've been making music for, like, for fun, for my whole entire life, so it's like,

12:18 I'm still doing it for fun, but it's just kind of just bringing it to the forefront, you know,

12:21 just letting people know that I'm, that I do music, and I don't only act, and, you know,

12:25 there's other arts that I enjoy, you know, so, just wanted to, you know, show people a little

12:29 bit more of Michael, you know, 'cause, you know, Tariq is kind of like, he's in the light, but I

12:34 kind of want people to know who Michael is, rather than just, you know, Tariq, 'cause Michael's a

12:38 pretty cool dude. - Michael's a pretty cool dude. Well, tell us about Michael, actually, aside from

12:43 just the music and the things you do, who are you, who are you inside? - Michael is a, is an artsy

12:54 car fiend, like, I love cars, and I love art, like, I love fashion, cars, and art, and, yeah,

13:00 that's literally it, like, cars is my love, though, like, that's my, those are my babies,

13:04 right there, like, I don't, I don't even know how to explain my love for cars, like. - So,

13:08 it sounds like you wanna lean into music more so than you wanna keep leaning into acting. - No,

13:14 not necessarily, you know, like, it's a balance, you know, it's a balance, but, like I said,

13:18 music has always been my love, so, like, being that I have, you know, the platform that I have now,

13:23 why not just use it and, you know, put my music on the platform and have people open their eyes

13:29 and open their ears to my music, and at the same time, I'm gonna still be attacking, you know,

13:33 the screen, you know, I'm still be auditioning, and also, I'm gonna be writing as well, like,

13:37 I'm forming my writer's team, shout out to Kourtney Kemp, I stole that idea from her,

13:41 so I'm forming my writer's team right now, it's about five of us right now, and we're currently

13:46 writing about, like, two or three projects, so, you know, there's just a lot of things in the

13:51 works, a lot of things in the works, and just taking advantage of the position that I'm in,

13:55 you know, and the blessings that God has given me. - Oh, Michael, I heard you say that it's a

14:00 blessing to be in this position, could you tell me a little bit about your spiritual life? - I'm

14:06 pretty spiritual, I would say, I have, like, a, I don't know, I guess, you would say I'm spiritual,

14:12 right, Neetch? In a way, yeah, I guess I'm spiritual, I mean, you know, I just, I'm big on,

14:19 like, gratitude, and just being thankful, and stuff like that, so, like, I'm just super,

14:23 super grateful for just being in the position I am, and obviously, I believe in the man up above,

14:28 of course, so, I thank him every chance I get for my blessings, for sure. - Well, I'm not gonna hold

14:33 you too much longer, but I am curious to know about your work ethic, what do you think stands

14:39 out about your work ethic that you believe has put you in the position you're in right now? - I think,

14:46 like, the fact that I kind of have, like, my hands in, like, in so many different areas, like I said,

14:50 like, music, producing, and, you know, acting, and just, like, I just feel like a lot of things I do

14:57 is just, like, I don't know, I'm very passionate about it, you know, I'm super passionate about

15:01 the things I do, and even, like, when it comes to, like, fashion, stuff like that, like, I'm super

15:07 passionate about that, you know, I just, I just, everything I attack, I kind of just want to give

15:12 it my all, so, you know, yeah, that's how I am. - We ask everybody this on New Money, what has been

15:17 the smartest purchase and the dumbest purchase you've made since you've gotten money? - My

15:26 smartest purchase, I would definitely probably say some Bitcoin, some Ethereum, some land,

15:35 and my dumbest purchase, I mean, I guess, like, certain people would classify this as dumb,

15:45 but I love cars, so, like, so it's, like, I can't ever look at it as a dumb purchase, but,

15:52 so, Porsche 911 Turbo at 23 is kind of crazy, but, I mean, you know, when you work, you got to kind

15:59 of treat yourself, and that's the way I wanted to treat myself, but I would say that's kind of a

16:04 crazy purchase at this age, but, you know, it is what it is, you got to, got to enjoy, you got to

16:09 enjoy yourself, got to treat yourself. - I like those answers, you're talking to a former cryptocurrency

16:13 reporter, so, yeah, I like that answer. - I'm not gonna lie, when I bought that Bitcoin, at first,

16:18 I'm like, uh, and now, you know, like, it hit, like, the, yeah, I'm like, oh, yeah, thank God,

16:24 I'm like, thank God I did that, yeah. - So, we back. - We back for sure. - Well, thank you so much for

16:30 joining me today. - Thank you for having me, I appreciate it. - For sure. - Of course.

16:34 (upbeat music)

16:36 (upbeat music)

16:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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