Television’s first great hour-long musical drama of 2015, Empire, has become a water cooler conversation initiator after making its debut in early January. Starring Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, the FOX series has already been dubbed Hip Hop’s equivalent to ABC’s insanely popular country music-based Nashville. Focused on record label and media company Empire Enterprise, Howard stars as Lucious Lyon; former drug dealer turned rapper who has built the American dream through even more questionable means. This is where Henson’s portrayal of ex-wife Cookie Lyon comes in. Recently released from prison after a seventeen year sentence for drug charges, Cookie wants half of Empire Enterprise as cash gained through illicit dealings funded the company’s early beginnings. A huge bulk of the drama also comes through Lucious’ recent diagnosis of ALS and which of his three sons get control after his eventual death. This leads to an interesting power struggle between executive eldest son Andre, singer/songwriter middle child Jamal and hot-headed aspiring rapper and youngest sibling Hakeem.
Already a hit with both viewers and critics, Empire takes inspiration from news and rumors that have spread throughout Hip Hop for decades. Those with both underlying and surface level knowledge of the culture are bound to have a grand time naming those varying aspects. With that in mind, DX will be presenting a weekly series based around the show entitled “Empire State of Mind” which will recap episodes and offer insight into possibly inspired scenarios among others.
Since we gave light to the flaws of Empire in our last iteration of “Empire State of Mind,” this week DX explores things that the series gets right.
Money Being Made Outside Of Music Is The Norm
From what’s been shown on the series, Empire Enterprises has a variety of other business ventures outside of music. This includes clothing and liquor lines along with the obvious nightclub ownership. Considering the hyper capitalistic nature of Hip Hop and plummeting sales it makes total sense. Most rappers of today’s era always have side hustles to complement music sales. Countless artists ranging from Jay Z to Lil Wayne have successful clothing lines. Staying current, Kanye has made huge noise with his latest deal with adidas. Nicki Minaj, E-40, Hov and Lil Jon all own some type of liquor line. It’s even getting to the point where rappers have their own line of marijuana. If recent news has anything to say about it, Hip Hop is even moving into venture capitalism.
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Labels Grounded In Hip Hop Signing Artists Outside Of The Genre
As season one of Empire comes to a close, the series has focused on two artists who aren’t exactly Hip Hop. One comes in the form of rock act Elle Dallas and pop act Tiana Brown. Most rap labels with storied histories have introduced artist outside of Hip Hop as the genre struggles in regards to sales. Def Jam made a transition from Hip Hop to R&B to full on Pop once they signed Rihanna nearly a decade ago. Then there are those Island Def Jam years. Though Cash Money is known for cultivating the careers of Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Drake among others. Non Hip Hop acts signed to the label included Teena Marie, Paris Hilton and even Limp Bizkit. Creatively, Hip Hop has been influenced by a ton of different genres over the last couple of decades. Therefore, it would makes sense that those in power would bring “outsiders” into the fold.
The Relationship With The Streets
Part of Empire’s various subplots involve the struggle Lucious and Cookie have with their past lives in drug dealing. It’s been known for years how some record labels have either openly admitted (sometimes without actually doing so) the seed money which contributed to its early beginnings. Then there’s the fact that most members of a rapper’s entourage can sometimes stereotypically be people of questionable backgrounds. Yup, it’s always the homies or weed carriers who get most artists in trouble. Though oldest Lyon Andre is responsible for the split between Hakeem and Jamal, the youngest’s “friends” are the ones who cause the studio shooting. Even before Lucious and Cookie do their best to pursue previously incarcerated Titan to join Empire Enterprise, the rapper is sent to prison over a shootout with a rival gang. Some of rap’s biggest artists from T.I. to Snoop Dogg have all be involved in a shooting of some kind. Sometimes, the level of authenticity presented can become deadly.
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Label Politics
It’s no secret that major record labels will do anything in their power to insure their artists are selling and constantly within the minds of many. Artists who are slightly dissatisfied with management are quick to jump ship before momentum ramps up, similar to Tiana’s move from Anika to Cookie. Jamal’s struggle with going from hit making songwriter to solo artist is something that’s not anything relatively new. Frank Ocean, Ne-Yo and The Dream all had those similar problems. In regards to Hakeem, yes, artists deal with the same office politics most mundane nine-to-fives have as well. That includes working with people one may not particularly care for. Obviously, the recent news regarding Tyga and Drake is further proof.
Popular East Coast Rappers Being Thoroughly Influenced By The South
Empire Enterprises is based somewhere in Philadelphia (though Empire is shot in Chicago). For Hakeem to be an East Coast rapper, he actually sounds more like from the South or West Coast. To be more specific, the youngest Lyon is Empire’s Lil Wayne/Tyga/Chris Brown hybrid. Even his music like “Drip Drop” sounds similar to something that could be heard on the radio today for better or worse. Like Senior Features Editor Andre Grant loves to remind everyone at the DXHQ, New York Hip Hop is at a place where a generation of kids have been fed a diet of Lil Wayne, Drake and everyone else in between. Excluding some expectations, Hakeem is essentially the perfect representation of most commercial rappers today like it or not.
