Last night FOX premiered Empire, its hotly anticipated new Dynasty meets Hustle & Flow series from executive producers Lee Daniels and Danny Strong (i.e., the team that brought you The Butler). The show stars Terrence Howard as an A-list rapper turned record-label mogul with three sons vying for the chance to be his worthy successor (he's been secretly diagnosed with ALS) and Taraji P. Henson (effortlessly stealing the show) as his scheming ex-wife fresh off of a 17-year jail stint.
While general TV fans awaited what could potentially be the next great network melodrama, pop culture enthusiasts with a firm foot in the rap world treated the impending premiere with trepidation. Would a broadcast network and a creative team with zero rap credibility (save music consultant/contributor Timbaland) do right by the hip-hop world? Or would the show be yet another mainstream hit that nevertheless presented a Grammy voter's knowledge of The Game™? During the premiere last night we kept an eye on several Rap Twitter mainstays as they live-tweeted through the pilot, and their reactions were nothing short of hilarious. Peep the best comments on Terrence Howard's hair and scarf game, cringeworthy lines about the music biz, and soapy storylines like The Misunderstood Gay Son below.
