Ade Chike Torbert Biography: Scrappy’s Death on Raising Kanan and His Dance-to-Screen Career

Profile

Early Life and Dance Training

Torbert was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and began studying dance and theatre at age 6.

He was accepted into the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School as a dance major, the same performing-arts school portrayed in the film Fame, before going on to train at The Alvin Ailey School, the Boston Conservatory, and the New World School of the Arts in Miami.

So You Think You Can Dance and Broadway

In 2010, Torbert competed on the seventh season of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, advancing to the Top 4.

The exposure led to further dance work, including performances on Saturday Night Live, The Ellen Show and Dancing With the Stars, an appearance in the NBC musical drama SMASH, and stints performing with the Blue Man Group.

In 2012, he made his Broadway debut in the Tony Award–winning musical Fela!, and went on to dance in projects with artists including Nicki Minaj, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson and Natasha Bedingfield.

From East Los High to David Makes Man

Torbert’s move into series acting began with the Hulu original East Los High, in which he played Caleb Summers across the 2016–2017 seasons.

He went on to guest roles on Nickelodeon’s Game Shakers as Pico, ABC’s The Real O’Neals as Billy, and danced in the live television broadcast of Grease: Live! in 2016.

In 2019, he was cast as Raynan in David Makes Man, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Peabody Award-winning drama for OWN, and also appeared that year in the TNT limited series I Am the Night as Calvin.

Power Book III: Raising Kanan and Scrappy’s Death

Torbert joined Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Starz’s 1990s-set prequel to the Power franchise, when it premiered on July 18, 2021, playing Scrappy, a longtime soldier for the Thomas family known for his loyalty and his fondness for gambling.

Scrappy’s arc ended abruptly: after being seen at a police precinct by a detective, he became a suspected informant in the eyes of Raq, the family’s matriarch, and was killed by her in the season two episode “Mind Your Business.”

Discussing the character’s death in an interview with The Knockturnal, Torbert described drawing on years of accumulated slights the character had quietly absorbed, saying “I just thought about all of Scrappy’s grievances from season one.”

He said he approached the confrontation scene as the one moment Scrappy finally voiced frustrations he had carried since being passed over in favor of Kanan. Torbert appeared in 12 episodes of the series between 2021 and 2024, according to IMDb’s credited episode count, spanning the character’s on-screen death and later flashback or memorial appearances as the show continued through its fifth and final season, which concluded on August 7, 2026.

Career Beyond Kanan: 2022–2026

Since Scrappy’s exit, Torbert has continued to work steadily across procedural and streaming television. He played Brawlah in an episode of The Equalizer in 2022 and appeared in the short film Death & Taxes in 2023.

In 2024, he took guest roles as Marcus Williams on Blue Bloods and as Mo Betta on Alert: Missing Persons Unit, followed by a 2025 appearance as Carter Thomas on Chicago P.D.

As of this writing, he is credited in the cast of the feature film Don’t Say Good Luck, playing Frank, which was listed by IMDb as in post-production for a 2026 release.

Selected Filmography

Sources

• IMDb — Ade Chike Torbert
• IMDb — Ade Chike Torbert Biography
• Power Universe Wiki — Ade Chike Torbert
• Power Universe Wiki — Scrappy
• Wikipedia — Power Book III: Raising Kanan
• The Knockturnal — Exclusive: Power Book III: Raising Kanan Star Ade Chike Torbert on Scrappy’s Death
• The Cinemaholic — Is Scrappy Dead? Did Ade Chike Torbert Leave Power Book III: Raising Kanan?
• BroadwayWorld — Ade Chike Torbert
• Famous Birthdays — Ade Chike Torbert