It may not be 50 Cent's cup of tea, but Empire has been the hottest new TV show of 2015.
There's clearly a "ripped from the headlines" element to it, so it's fun to speculate which real life figures the drama's oft-ridiculous characters are based on.
Danny Strong should have some good insight into this, since he c0-created the show with Lee Daniels.
The actor/writer/producer was asked by Sway in the Morning if Jay Z was the influence for family patriarch Lucious Lyon, and this is what he said:
"I've heard that, but there’s certainly some truth in that," Strong agreed. "The Jay Z story, which very much inspired Lucious Lyon, certain elements of Lucious Lyon, was that story."Strong, who's white, was also asked how he approaches writing black characters.
"So for me, I don’t think in terms of, 'Okay we have to be careful of certain things because of certain negative stereotypes.' I view it as, The entire cast is African-American, we’re gonna have all different types of characters, and we’re gonna tell good stories. We're not gonna sit here and play defense or think that our show is a representation as black culture in its entirety. It's not. It's just this story."The entire interview is below. For the latest Hip Hop tracks and news, follow us on Twitter.
Video For Pete & Bas's 'T-Pain' Shows What AI Can Do