*A realistic depiction of what goes on in the music industry or not, “Empire” has clearly struck a chord among TV viewers.
With so much of it dealing with the life of Hip-hop artist and CEO of Empire Entertainment, Lucious Lyon, and his decision to select one of his sons to take over the business as well as deal with the return of his ex-wife Cookie from a 17-year prison stint, Vulture took a minute to ask real-life label heads about Fox’s hit show.
“I love the Cookie Monster,” Epic Records CEO L.A. Reid said about Taraji P. Henson‘s popular “Empire” character. “I identify with her. She’s funny, she deals with talent well, she has so much game. She’s real to me. She feels like the industry.”
For Reid it’s Cookie’s unstoppable hustle that reminds him of the “greats of our industry.” While he didn’t name anyone specifically, Reid stated, “I see many characters within those characters.”
Although Cookie always gives viewers something to talk about, former Roc-A-Fella Records general manager Al Branch says there are some things that are not believable about her.
“Taraji’s role is kind of corny,” Branch told Vulture. “You can’t leave the scene for 17 years and come back as a producer. That’s not realistic. That’s almost impossible.”
Branch isn’t the only one to notice Cookie’s believability gaps. The music executive pointed out that viewers have noticed the discrepancies he found with Henson’s character, in addition to, as he suggested, the fact that she knows how to use a soundboard, Twitter, and smart tablets so easily after spending nearly two decades in jail.
What “Empire” does get right, according to Branch, is the crime and violence.
“The street aspect is real. It’s really real,” he said in reference to the show’s recent Billy Baretti/gangster subplot. Vulture noted a long-standing rumor that Sugar Hill Records had mob ties.
Despite the believability gaps, “Empire” has proven popular among black households, as evidenced 62 percent of the show’s 18-to-49 audience being black. Overall, the success of “Empire” reflects the ability of hip-hop culture to strike a chord among all viewers.
“Black music has always been for connoisseurs of culture,” says Reid. “Never was it intended for only black people. [Empire] really says something about the staying power of urban culture in the mainstream.”
Despite it playing up the soap opera aspect, Branch believes that the way “Empire” plays into the public’s lurid fascination with the music business is “smart,” and there’s another layer beyond the music angle that captivates: “It’s a depiction of the urban community, and the savviness it takes to be a black executive.”
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