1. Rockingham County Newspaper Group Jan. 7 - 13Page 6
ByMEAGANSyLVESTEr
TVMedia
F
ollowingtwoAcademyAwardnomi-
nationsandanumberofboxoffice
hits,HollywoodfilmdirectorLee
Daniels(“LeeDaniels’TheButler,”2013)
hasassembledanall-starcastforwhat’s
beendubbeda“sexyandpowerfulnew
drama,”basedonthekingofabooming
hip-hopempireandthebattleforhisonce
covetedthrone.
Terrence Howard (“Sparks”) and Taraji
P. Henson (“The Curious Case of
Benjamin Button,” 2008) will again step
into the limelight together as a hip-hop
power duo following Craig Brewer’s
2005 film “Hustle & Flow,” but it’s clear
“Empire” — airing Wednesday, Jan. 7,
on Fox — is neither an extension of the
“It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” storyline,
nor an expansion of those roles, Howard
said during an interview with
AndWePresent.com.
“Djay [Howard’s “Hustle & Flow”
character] is a completely different ani-
mal; as far as I know, he doesn’t exist
anymore,” said Howard, who would be
nominated for an Academy Award for
the role. “This guy [in ‘Empire’] is some-
one who finds himself at a strange road
in life ... where you have to make a deci-
sion about who are you and what will
you become.”
Critics have recently compared
“Empire” to the likes of “Entourage”
and “Dallas,” only this program is set to
an original urban soundtrack produced
by Timbaland, an industry giant who has
worked with the likes of Nelly Furtado,
Justin Timberlake and Missy Elliot since
his music debut more than 20 years ago.
Television programs tuned to catchy
soundtracks have been major crowd-
pleasers as of late, with shows such as
“Glee” and “Nashville” gaining wide-
spread popularity among viewers from
all demographics. But according to Malik
Yoba (“New York Undercover”),
“Empire” will strive to widen its audi-
ence with a predominantly black cast,
breaking barriers and creating space for
blacks in mainstream television.
“A show like this with a cast of peo-
ple of color, the perception could be this
is a show for people of color,”Yoba said
during a backstage interview with
AndWePresent.com. “But music has
proven that 75 per cent of consumers
are [non-blacks].”
Daniels and the cast are also using
the show to stray away from generic ste-
reotypes, leaning towards healthy imag-
es of blacks in the media. “We’re more
than just the hired help, the best friend
of or the cute girlfriend of,” said
All-star
hip-hop
All-star cast brings Fox hip-hop drama
to limelight
See COVEr,Page 9

2. Rockingham County Newspaper Group Jan. 7 - 13Page 9
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Academy Award nominee Henson in a
similar interview with AndWePresent.
com. “We have lives and stories, and I
feel like it’s my obligation to portray
and bring those stories to life.”
As for the storyline,Yoba says in the
interview that Lee Daniels’ work never
lies on the surface, and viewers will
have to look deeper to see how chal-
lenging social topics are first exposed
and then discussed as a result. From
dealing with fatal illnesses to homopho-
bia to sibling rivalries to nepotism,
Henson says these are things most other
big-name directors tend to avoid all
together. “[Lee Daniels] pushes enve-
lopes where a lot of directors in
Hollywood are scared,” Henson said. “I
don’t like to do projects unless they
scare me, and [my character] scares the
hell out of me.”
Remaining faithful to his longtime
colleague and the show’s executive pro-
ducer, Howard steps in to star as Lucious
Lyon, a former street thug whose raw
talent and thirst for innovation built
Empire Entertainment from the ground
up.The record label — working within
the ethos of the American dream —
could be compared to real-life Roc-A-
Fella Records, founded in part by hip-
hop icon Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter.
Lucious’ hard-earned success, howev-
er, comes crashing down when he is
diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s dis-
ease, rendering the music giant unfit for
business in a matter of just three years.
Forced to preserve his hard-earned lega-
cy, Lucious begins grooming a successor
and looks no further than his three loyal
sons.What better way to ignite 99 prob-
lems between three ambitious siblings?
As Lucious breaks the fateful news to
family and friends, including longtime
business partner Vernon Turner (Yoba),
his children want nothing more than to
take the helm, but each will have to
prove himself fit for CEO.
According to an early preview released
by Fox, Lucious’ favorite son is Hakeem
(Bryshere Gray, a.k.a. rapper Yazz The
Greatest), who also happens to be the
youngest of the sibling pack. Hakeem is a
gifted but spoiled lyrical genius who
appears to value fame over the kind of
hard work his father deems necessary.
The middle son, Jamal (Jussie
Smollett “The Mighty Ducks, 1992), is a
different kind of music prodigy, but
unlike his baby brother, he shies away
from the spotlight in favor of a simpler
life and is further pitted against his
eldest brother,Andre (Trai Byers,
“90210”), who acts as the company’s
chief financial officer.
With a star-studded cast and an
Oscar-nominated director, producer and
writer at the helm, “Empire” is shaping
up to be a huge hit for Fox. Catch the
series premiere of the hip-hop drama
when it airs Wednesday, Jan. 7, on Fox.
Cover