Ashton Nash
Staff Writer
Taking the reigns as the highest rated television show aired on the Fox network in three years, “Empire” has many hip-hop fans eagerly awaiting each episode.
The show premiered on Jan. 7. Empire and had nearly 10 million viewers and reportedly gained one million more the following week. While the show is doing increasingly well with viewers, each week the characters and storyline have viewers at the edge of their seats.
The music industry is a key component to this hip-hop soap opera. The starring actors include veterans Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson. Award winning producer Lee Daniels of the movie “Butler” fame and Danny Strong are the creators for “Empire”. The music is produced by hit maker and producer Timbaland. This music soap opera has intertwining stories of all the characters involved
The popular is leaving no stone unturned, tackling issues of homophobia, drugs, lust, greed, and power. In the premiere, Lucious Lyons (Howard) is a reformed drug dealer and rapper turned music mogul that has become a gimmick artist all about the dollar. His character puts you in the mind of Jay Z.
Lyons runs Empire Records, a notorious record label that is growing because of Lyons both savvy business mind and street knowledge. Now because of his illness that no one has yet to find out about he has designated the heir to the company to be one of his three sons.
Lyons, who is facing a diagnosis of ALS, a debilitating disease, has decided to choose a successor among his three sons. Andre (Trai Byers) is the oldest and most qualified and wants the company the most and will stop at nothing to get it.
Jamal (Jussie Smollett) is the gay middle son who is also a talented singer/songwriter who just wants acceptance from his father. Or will the coveted position go to Hakeem (Bryshere Gray), the wild card with talent rivaling that of his father, but many vices including women, immaturity and drugs to contend with as well.
In the midst of this, an unexpected surprise has come to shake Empire to its core and her name is Cookie Lyons (Henson), the ex-wife of Lucious, mother of all three sons and founder of Empire.
Cookie comes home after doing a seventeen-year stint in jail and comes home to take what is hers, the company. When Lyons refuses to meet her demands, she threatens to expose that it was her $400,000 in drug money that started the company, which would end Lucious’ plans to take the company public. Wanting to make amends for the time away from her sons, she instantly becomes Jamal’s protector against his homophobic father.
Flashbacks of Jamal’s childhood when Lucious threw him in the garbage can for wearing women’s clothes gives viewers a glimpse into what Jamal has endured at the hands of his father who seems determined to keep him from becoming a superstar because of his sexuality.
As the competition between the brothers heats up, fans eagerly await the varying storylines delving into betrayal, homosexuality, murder, mental illness, and sex with each new episode.
“I love Taraji’s character. She’s so fierce and all about her business. Overall the show kept me at the edge of my seat and I can’t wait until the next episode,” said Cherese Pendleton, a senior mass communications major from Hattiesburg, Miss.
“Empire” is a classic story with contemporary beats. One of the things that make this show so different is the music and the connection felt between the viewers and the artists. Empire’s scandalous story line has viewers intrigued and plagued for next week’s episode. Each episode reveals something new about each character and makes underlying stories.
“It’s great to see an African-American cast on television. I like show because it gives both Taraji a chance to play a new role but it also has a sense of realness to it as well,” said Stacie Hopkins, political science major from Chicago, Ill.
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