Rap has remained a male-dominated music genre since its beginning. However, women have always dictated the marketability of songs, style and culture. In Fox’s new hip-hop drama, “Empire,” Taraji P. Henson’s character, Cookie, is the female co-star that gives the pilot energy and excitement.
From the onset, viewers will be drawn to Cookie’s passion and willingness to do whatever it takes to be heard.
During a set visit for “Empire” in Chicago, rolling out got an opportunity to speak with Henson, who revealed why she was inspired to play the role of Cookie and how “Empire” will be remembered for years to come.
When you first read the script for “Empire,” what stood out most about the character you portray, Cookie?
I love how Cookie is so brave. There’s no buffer. Don’t ask her opinion if you don’t want to hear the truth. She’s family first. She takes her family very seriously. So much so that she sacrificed 17 years of her life. She didn’t snitch. She could have snitched. They all did dirt together, her and Lucious. But she knew that he was the breadwinner, he was the talent. She was the brains behind the operation. I’m not condoning selling drugs, but I am from the hood. I am from the period where I saw families being destroyed by crack. I lost a lot of friends to the drug game. I understand it. I’m not condoning selling drugs, but Cookie and Lucious were able to break a cycle of families and generations on welfare. Families and generations caught up in that cycle of selling drugs and doing things that most privileged people don’t even have to think about doing. They broke a cycle. Their children will never know the hood. She served her time, it was horrible. She had to do 17 years. She did it, but it was about her family. It was about her family’s survival.
Why was Terrence Howard perfect for the role of Lucious Lyon?
When I first encountered this project, I saw Terrence [Howard] and I. I saw Terrence for several reasons. I saw Terrence because when you say “hip-hop,” people who don’t understand the world of hip-hop will get scared. They believe that this is a subject matter that doesn’t pertain to them. In order for this show to sell to the mainstream, whoever played Lucious had to be someone who was going to class up this thing we call hip-hop. Because Terrence is so not hip-hop. Terrance listens to country music. So he’s so not hip-hop that we won’t get caught up in that. We’ll get caught up in how incredible the acting is. That’s why I thought Terrence was good for the role.
There is a provocative homosexual scene in the pilot episode. How do you think audiences will react to seeing it on network TV?
We’ve never approached homosexuality like that. No one has ever dealt with the issue of being a gay Black gay male in America. No one has touched that in the way that we’re doing it on prime-time network television. Lucious is actually the consciousness of a lot of people that can’t say it because they’ll be nailed be ridiculed for speaking out against it.
How will this show be remembered years from now?
What I love about “Empire” is that it tells the story of what is actually happening in the music industry today. So as long as you have music, you have an empire. There [are] always going to be stories to tell from the music industry. There [are] always going to be a record labels to talk about. Music isn’t going anywhere.
