FOX's 'Empire' Is Partly Inspired by Jay-Z
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Series co-creator Danny Strong reveals the new hit drama is loosely based on the early life of Beyonce's husband.

AceShowbiz - FOX's freshman drama "Empire" is partly inspired by the early life of real-life hip-hop mogul Jay-Z. Series co-creator Danny Strong confirmed it when appearing on "Sway in the Morning" Thursday, February 26, where he addressed negative feedback about some of the show's storylines, like Terrence Howard's Lucious Lyon being a former drug dealer who turned into the CEO of a music label.

"I've heard that, but there's certainly some truth in that," Strong said. "The Jay-Z story, which very much inspired Lucious Lyon, certain elements of Lucious Lyon, was that story." He continued, "So for me, I don't think in terms of 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 sit here and think that our show is a representation as black culture in its entirety. It's not; it's just this story. ... It's an American Dream story. This is metaphorical of so many people in America, how they rise up to power."

Previously, Taraji P. Henson revealed that her character Cookie was partly influenced by Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Salt-N-Pepa. "Is she influenced by Foxy Brown? Certainly," the actress said in an interview with Vogue. "That's where a lot of her style comes from...Salt-N-Pepa, all of that. That era of hip-hop was her heyday, those are the woman she identifies with." She added, "Kim is everything... Kim came on the scene and made everything change for women-she made it feminine and sexy and hardcore. She was a champion, and she's certainly Cookie's champion."

Addressing reports that Mo'Nique was supposed to play Cookie, Strong said during his "Sway in the Morning" appearance, "Well, I don't know if Lee Daniels had a conversation with Mo'Nique about it that I don't know about. I know that Lee and I were partners on this project, and we discussed Mo'Nique once very briefly, and from my knowledge - unless there was some conversation I never knew about - we never offered her the part and she wasn't going to be Cookie. We both think she's incredibly talented and genius, but we didn't think she was right for the part. ... It was always Taraji."

"Empire" airs Wednesdays at 9 P.M. on FOX. It has been renewed for a second season by the network.

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