Michael Rainey Jr. (born September 22, 2000) is an American actor best known for the role of Tariq St. Patrick on Power and Power Book II: Ghost. He also starred as Michael Burset in Orange Is the New Black and Jalen in Barbershop: The Next Cut.^[1][2]

Rainey Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Michael Rainey Sr. and Shauna Small. Through his mother, he is of Jamaican descent. His father lives in New York, with Rainey Jr. being raised in Staten Island, New York from the age of one. His mother homeschooled him in his youth and as he grew older, he became known for the various cars he owns and to this day, his fashion taste is praised, both on and off screen. Rainey Jr. supports ‘Find and Feed’, an Indiana based organization that cares for the homeless.^[3]

Rainey Jr. began his career at the age of ten when featured in Un Altro Mundo, and followed it with appearances in a variety of movies and shows such as Orange is the New Black, Barbershop, Amateur, 211 and Power.^[4][5][6]

Rainey Jr. currently stars as Tariq St. Patrick in the expanded Power franchise, Book II, where he plays the shows leading character.^[7][8][9]

In March 2022, Rainey Jr., along with Power co-star Gianni Paolo, launched Twenty Two Entertainment. The first project is the self-hosted podcast, The Crew Has It. Twenty Two Entertainment is fully funded by Artists For Artists, launched in December 2021 by Kenan Thompson and John Ryan Jr.^[10]