Jay-Z Inspiration Behind ‘Empire’ Character Lucious Lyon

Yesterday Danny Strong, the creator of Fox’s hit series show ‘Empire’ conducted an interview with Sway on Shade 45. In the interview he said that there were elements of the lead charachter ‘Lucious Lyon” that were loosely based off of Jay – Z’s life.

“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.”

In the interview Sway also addressed the negative feedback the show has been getting for portraying negative stereo types of black people. To which Donny said “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 [so] 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.”

So what is your opinion on the tv show ‘Empire’ do you like it or think that it is another show that portrays black people in a bad light? Join us in conversation on social media: @HipHopPush