Washed. Dated. Irrelevant. Retired. When it comes to hip-hop, you’d be an absolute fool to think those words are definitive. From Eminem to Gucci Mane, we’ve witnessed countless radical reinventions and career resurrections that could give even Vanilla Ice hope (okay, maybe not). The point is: it’s never too late to start fresh and build—or reclaim—an empire.
Speaking of which, TV power couple Cookie and Lucious Lyon are plotting a comeback of their own as season five of FOX’s hit series, Empire, is set to return Wednesday, Sept. 26th. The Lyon clan has been through a lot—jail, death, betrayal, and hostile takeovers—but if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Cookie and Lucious over the past few seasons is that no matter how many times they get knocked down you can always count on them getting back up. Before the show’s explosive season five premiere, find some inspiration with our list of the best comeback stories in hip-hop.