An 'Inside' Look At The Success of 'Empire'

"Empire" co-creator Lee Daniels (right, with stars Taraji P. Henson
and Terrence Howard at a recent press event) gave a sneak peek of the show when he appeared at my alma mater, Ohio State, in February 2014.

I'm proud to say that I'm one of the first people who got a sneak peek of the runaway hit show "Empire" before it went on the air this winter and broke all kinds of records.

No, I'm not a confidant of "Empire" co-creator Lee Daniels, but I did happen to attend a speech he gave at my alma mater, Ohio State, in February 2014. During his appearance at OSU during Black History Month last year, Daniels talked about his career, beginning with a job as a production assistant on the movie "Purple Rain" (of special interest to me as a lifelong Prince fan). And he also mentioned a new TV show he was developing for the Fox network.

Having had this preview, I couldn't help but be curious about "Empire" when it hit the airwaves in January. And after it became a breakout hit, I had to find out what all the fuss was about.

So on President's Day in February when I was off from work and yet another snowstorm kept me from going anywhere, I binge-watched the first few episodes and continued to follow the saga of Lucious (Terrence Howard), Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) and their children up through the highly-anticipated March 18 season finale .

Here are my impressions of "Empire":

It's really cool that Daniels and co-creator Danny Strong were able to enlist Henson and Howard to basically play a decade-older version of their characters from the 2005 movie Hustle & Flow, which also explored life in the crazy world of hip-hop. It's as if DJay and Shug from Hustle & Flow got married, had kids and found success - fast-forward 10 years and this is where they are.

The diversity on the show is great. It's wonderful that Gabourey Sidibe plays Lucious' assistant Becky, and no mention is made that she's a large woman. People of all different shapes, sizes and backgrounds need to see themselves represented in pop culture.

It's equally wonderful that the show featured a Latino character (played by Rafael de La Fuente) who was featured in the first few episodes as the lover of Cookie and Lucious' gay son, Jamal (Jussie Smollett).  Jamal is a talented rapper and has to battle bigotry not only from the hyper-masculine hip-hop community, but from his own father.

It's courageous of "Empire" to directly address homosexuality, since it's often a taboo subject in the Black community. However, the show isn't the first to portray a gay rapper.

There was a similar plot on a short-lived CW series called "The L.A. Complex," a summer replacement series reminiscent of "Melrose Place" that aired in the summer of 2012, but unfortunately never caught on. (Read my 2013 blog post about the cancellation of "The L.A. Complex" by clicking this link.)

It's great that "Empire" is grounded in reality. But as an African American, I have mixed emotions that the power couple played by Howard and Henson built their empire on drug money. Why must this stereotype of African Americans be perpetuated?

Another observation: Howard and Henson look too young to have grown, 20-something children. But since both are in their mid-40s, I guess they're chronologically old enough to have been teen parents. Maybe that's the point: they lived the ghetto life and overcame it.

When I first saw the previews for "Empire," I initially thought this was set in the '70s. Daniels and the other creators of the show seemed to be going for that retro look in the first few episodes, with a hybrid of contemporary hip-hop culture and the vibe of the '70s Blaxploitation flicks like "Superfly."

Overall, I'm a fan of "Empire" and would describe it as a marriage of a '90s 'hood movie like "Menace II Society" and a nighttime soap like "Dallas." In fact, Lucious is like the hip-hop, 21st century version of J.R. Ewing.

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

Why Do Authors Give Such Bad Advice?

Just because I know my way around doesn't mean
 I can give you directions.

I once approached a best-selling author at a book signing and asked what her advice was for aspiring authors like myself.  

Her pearls of wisdom?

"Write a good book."

Duh! Why didn't I think of that?!

Why is it that successful people often either can't or won't give good advice?

The phrase "those who can do and those who can't teach" seems like a put-down to teachers. But maybe that axiom is more of an indictment of those who have mastered a craft - that many are unable to impart what they've learned to others.

To cite a well-worn example, we've all met that tech-savvy person who thinks like an engineer: they're able to solve equations and make gadgets work, but they can't put their expertise in plain language to help others do the same.

And we've all seen platinum-selling singers who can't give one piece of useful advice when they serve as talent-show judges.

Here are a few of my theories as to why those who can do can't always teach:

Mastering a craft doesn't necessarily make you articulate. Just because you can write well, play a musical instrument or launch a successful business doesn't mean you know how to explain how to do it. I might know to get somewhere, but that doesn't mean I can give you directions.
 
Successful people don't have time to reflect. Sometimes successful people are so caught up in maintaining their own careers, they haven't stopped to think about where they've been and how they got there. They don't yet have the perspective to impart any lessons. They can't see the forest for the trees. 

Sometimes success is the result of blind luck, of being in the right place at right time. One lucky break leads to another; one job results in a referral to the next, and so on.  The way success unfolds for one person won't necessarily happen to you in the exact same way.

Everybody's path is different...

'80s Ladies Could Learn From Today's Business-Savvy Starlets

Starlet: A singer, dancer and/or actress known primarily for her beauty, and whose genuine talent is sometimes underestimated because of it.

This is not a definition from a dusty, old dictionary or even a hip new one like the online Urban Dictionary. This definition for "starlet" is one I made up.

Recently, some coworkers and I engaged in a water-cooler discussion about starlets who rose to fame in the late '90s and '00s. These "baby divas" are no longer topping the charts, but have managed to remain in the spotlight and make money through various marketing endeavors. 

It struck me that the vamps of the 1980s could learn a lot from the enterprising young starlets of today.

The term "famous for being famous" has been around for a long time, but it's taken on a whole new meaning in the 21st century. Now more than ever, it's possible to become famous for being marginally talented or having no discernible talent other than being good-looking and having an insatiable lust for the limelight. 

Back in the '80s when I was growing up, options were relatively limited for "starlets." Guest appearances on TV shows, starring in B movies and make the rounds of the talk-show circuit were pretty much it. But now, there's a wide variety of tools available to extend your 15 minutes of fame. 

Two of my teen crushes, who got their start with Prince, were unfairly labeled as starlets: Vanity (Denise Matthews) and Prince's "Purple Rain" costar Apollonia (Patty Kotero). I've had the pleasure of meeting both of these women and they're very nice, accessible people.

Vanity

Both women shot to fame as the sexy lead singers of the scantily-clad female trio that Prince formed.  Each made only one album under Prince's guidance before leaving his camp for solo careers.

Could Vanity or Apollonia belt it out like Aretha Franklin? No, but they could carry a tune, dance and work a stage - just like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson and some of the other pop divas who continue to appear on magazine covers and garner attention.

Apollonia

What if Vanity, Apollonia and some of the other vamps from the '80s had some of the tools of modern-day starlets at their disposal back then? Here's what the '80s ladies might have done to prolong their careers and boost their bank accounts:

Be a talent show judge. Like Paula Abdul, J.Lo, Pussycat Dolls lead singer Nicole Scherzinger and "Scary Spice" Melanie Brown, Vanity and Apollonia could have served a stint as a judge on singing  contest like "The Voice," "American Idol" or the now-defunct American version of "The X Factor." To be a judge on one of these shows, what matters most isn't necessarily vocal prowess but an ability to succeed in many different aspects of show business and be an all-around entertainer.

Write a juicy tell-all. Like '90s and '00s video vamp Karrine Steffans, Vanity and Apollonia could have written juicy tell-all memoirs detailing their relationships with Prince and other famous men in the vein of Steffan's best-seller "Confessions of a Video Vixen."

Vanity did go on to write a memoir, "Blame It on Vanity," in the late 1990s after she became a born-again Christian.

Star in a reality show. Of course, to be famous these days, one must have their own reality show. Taking a cue from Prince's ex-wife, Mayte Garcia, who appeared in VH-1's "Rock Star Wives," Vanity and Apollonia could have had reality shows with cameras following them as they got back in the dating game after being with Prince. It would have been interesting to see how Vanity's relationship with Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx played out and see if there was any real-life chemistry between Apollonia and her "Falcon Crest" co-star Lorenzo Lamas.

Do a striptease workout DVD. Taking a cue from another Prince alum, Carmen Electra, Vanity or Apollonia could have released a striptease exercise video featuring some of the sexy moves they performed onstage and in music videos.

Endorse products. Many singers and actresses today make their money not off music or movies, but on pitching products that bear their name. Vanity and Apollonia really missed out on money-making opportunities in this arena.

How about a line of cosmetics like Kim Kardashian? A shoe line featuring sexy high heels like Jessica Simpson? A line of wigs and extensions like Nicki Minaj?

Like Britney Spears, Apollonia could have had her own celebrity scent. Apollonia's perfume could have been coyly titled "Purple Passion," an allusion to her onscreen relationship with Prince in "Purple Rain." And, of course, both Vanity and Apollonia should have launched their own lingerie lines. After all, they became famous for performing in camisoles!

If an Oscar winner like Halle Berry can hawk her own lingerie line and still be taken seriously, then Vanity and Apollonia certainly could have done the same back in the '80s.

Language Learning Tools: Spanish Immersion Thursdays

The Oscar-nominated movie "Amores Perros"
is one of the movies I've discovered on my
Spanish Immersion Thursdays.

Productivity and time-management experts often emphasize the need to focus on what's important vs. what's urgent. 

For me, learning Spanish is important. Not only do I have a natural interest in Spanish language and Latin culture, I believe learning another language will make me a more well-rounded citizen of the world.

Not to mention, being bilingual can give you a competitive edge in a global, multicultural marketplace in which Spanish is increasingly becoming the dominant language in certain areas of the country. 

But since I'm an African American who lives in Columbus, Ohio, where English is still very much the primary language, learning Spanish isn't urgent. There's no pressing need for me to immediately become bilingual. 

Language learning can often take a backseat to so-called "urgent" day-to-day tasks like returning calls, replying to emails and performing mundane chores like grocery shopping, house cleaning, getting my car serviced, etc.

I find that if I schedule regular appointments to do something important like language learning, I'm more likely to do it consistently. If I simply wait until I "have time" to do important things, all the urgent things will take over and constantly sidetrack me from getting around to my real prioities.

In addition to language learning, music is really important to me. For the past several years, I've scolded myself that I don't spend enough time listening to various local radio stations and keeping current on music.

So I decided to make myself a "Radio Listening Guide" in which I listen to terrestrial radio stations and my favorite Pandora stations on a rotating basis each day. The guide helps me to get a little sampling of different types of music on a regular basis. 

In making my "Radio Listening Guide," I decided to set aside one day a week as a "Spanish Immersion Day" to help me pick up the language. On this day, I listen only to music by Latin artists, or music by non-Latin artists that have Spanish lyrics or a Latin flavor. 

I tune into the local Spanish radio station as well as my vast library of Latin music that I previously hardly ever got around to listening to. I also listen to radio shows geared toward audiences with an interest in Latin culture, such as NPR's excellent "Latino USA" and "Alt Latino" and Public Radio International's thought-provoking "Radio Ambulante." 

 

While working out in the morning, I watch movies and TV shows in Spanish or that prominently feature Latin characters/actors. On recent Spanish Immersion Thursdays, I've discovered movies such as "Chico & Rita," which won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and "Amores Perros," which was directed by Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu,  who just won the Best Director Oscar for "Birdman."

I've also discovered television shows such as the Emmy-winning CW series "Jane the Virgin," the telenovela "Passion of the Heart," and various shows on the Latin network Fusion. 

 

One of the shows I discovered on Fusion was comedian Al Madrigal's "Half Like Me," a hilarious exploration of his experiences of growing up with a Mexican father and a white mother in San Francisco. Al's lighthearted descriptions of how he's accused by some Latinos of being too assimilated into mainstream culture reminds me of how some African Americans are criticized for not being "black" enough. 

 

For example, Latinos who are perceived as being too "crossed over" into white culture are sometimes labeled as pochos or coconuts - brown on the outside, white on the inside. Similarly, African Americans who are perceived as being "sellouts" are called "oreos" - black on the outside, white on the inside.

 

Learning about and appreciating different cultures is definitely something I consider important. And my Spanish Immersion Thursdays help me to place this goal at the top of my to-do list. 

Writing Tip: The Devil Is In The Details

A recent experience I had with an assignment for a newspaper I freelance for illustrates that there's a lot of truth to the old adage, "The devil is in the details."

An organizer of an upcoming fundraiser sent me a news release that included her phone number. After skimming the release, I emailed the source to set up a phone interview about the event.

I thought I was being extra careful when I emailed the source by asking if the number listed in the news release was the best one to reach her at and even wrote out the number in my email. Let's just say the number was "555-5555" - or so I thought.

The source responded that yes, indeed, that was the best number to reach her at.

So imagine my confusion when I called her number at the appointed time but was intercepted by a man's voice telling me I had the wrong number.

I tried calling the number a couple of other times, but got the same erroneous result. So I emailed the source again, who responded with a message that clarified my mistake: When I originally emailed her, I didn't include the area code when I wrote out the number she'd listed in the news release and asked if that was the best number to reach her at.

I'd assumed her number was the 614 area code of my city, Columbus, Ohio. But her number was just one digit off and actually has the 612 area code of Minneapolis, from where she'd recently relocated. My eyes had glazed over that important detail when I'd read the news release she sent me.

After a couple of emails back and forth and failed attempts at playing phone tag, the source and I did finally connect and I was able to get the story written and turned in to my editor.

Moral of the story? Yes, little details do make a big difference.