The hip hop nation has a new king, and his name is Lucious Lyon. If you don’t know about the new TV sensation Empire, you need to catch up.
The show revolves around the owner of Empire Entertainment, Lucious Lyon (Terrace Howard), his ex-wife Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson) and his three sons.
The show started with Cookie being released from jail after serving a 17-year sentence for selling drugs. She is ready to take back her share of Empire Enterprises # after all, it was her blood, sweat and tears that helped build this company from the ground up.
However, when she returns to her family, she finds that nothing is as she left it years ago. As if Cookie needed another thorn in her crown, the love of her life has abandoned her for a younger woman and her son, Hakeem, never utters a single pleasant word to her. Cookie never lets hardships get her down though.
Lucious may seem manipulative and power hungry, especially if you look at how he treats his son, Jamal, who is gay. Not to mention Lucious has ALS, so his health is taking a serious hit. He also has to keep his lovers at a safe distance from one another, and he has to choose which one of his sons will take over for him when he is gone.
As a result, Lucious pins his three sons in a war against one another and destroys their lives. Maybe in order to have fame, you have to be willing to sell yourself, because that is what Lucious does. According to him, his family is everything, but he fails to strive to achieve what is best for his family. He doesn’t realize that his sons would do anything to please him. Hakeem pushes himself to be the greatest rapper he can be, Jamal always searching for love when it is right in front of him, and Andre has to maintain a sense of control even at the expense of his own health.
Empire is not only spectacular because it is packed with high-stakes drama, but it also gives people a look into the beautiful landscape that is part of the African-American culture. It takes on the topics no one wants to discuss, like underappreciated African-American art, the impact music has on people’s lives, black people’s ability to see beyond Obama’s race, and life after a jail sentence.
To watch:
Tune in on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Fox to catch Empire.
