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Empire may owe Jay Z a check? The top-rated FOX show’s co-creator, Danny Strong, hit up Sway In The Morning and revealed that Hova was part of its inspiration. 

Yes, Danny Strong is a Jewish guy (and actor, producer and more), who also wrote The Butler. He spoke candidly about the double-take people do when they realize he’s writing a show about Black people.

Sway asked him about the backlash the show received due to the sometimes negative images of Black people being portrayed; like Terrence Howard being a drug dealer first, then becoming a music mogul. This lead to Strong revealing that Jay Z was the blueprint (no pun intended) for the show’s protagonist, Lucious Lyon.

“I’ve heard that, but there’s certainly some truth in that,” said Strong. “The Jay Z story, which very much inspired Lucious Lyon, certain elements of Lucious Lyon, was that story.”

Strong added, “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, 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.”

He also added that such stories of people with criminal pasts apply to other cultures as well; think Italian and Irish gangster flicks or the Kennedys.

“It’s an American Dream story,” he added. “This is metaphorical of so many people in America, how they rise up to power is through these means… Our goal is to make a great story.”

Are you buying what Strong is selling? Let us know in the comments.

Photo: YouTube