Matriarch, Shirley Ann "Ma'Dere" Whitfield (Loretta Devine) and her boyfriend, Joe (Delroy Lindo) are joined by her 6 children: eldest child, Quentin, Jr. (Idris Elba) a musician who is always on the go and hasn’t been home in 4 years... much like their father who abandoned them; oldest daughter, Lisa (Regina King), a housewife, her cheating husband, Malcolm (Laz Alonso) and their two kids; the uppity one, Kelli (Sharon Leal), a Harvard grad visiting from New York; Claude (Columbus Short), a U.S. Marine; baby girl, Melanie/Mel (Lauren London), 6 year college student accompanied by her boyfriend, Devin (Keith Robinson); and the youngest of the bunch, Michael/"Baby" (Chris Brown), a photographer and aspiring musician.