Was ‘Empire’ inspired by these real hip-hop stars?

Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard)

The CEO/ founder — and at one time, biggest artist -— of the Empire label calls to mind Jay Z and Diddy, who transitioned from the stage to the boardroom with their Roc-A-Fella and Bad Boy empires, respectively. But considering how comfortable Lucious is with committing murder and beating up people who try to strong-arm him, he is also reminiscent of former Death Row Records boss Suge Knight, currently charged with murder.

​Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson)

Her prison back story might suggest Lil’ Kim, who served a year for lying to a federal grand jury. But it’s clear Cookie knows a hit when she hears it — like the late Sylvia Robinson, the Sugar Hill Records founder who had an integral role in the success of the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.

Andre Lyon (Trai Byers)

The Wharton-educated numbers man for Empire (and Lucious and Cookie’s oldest son), Andre doesn’t have the musical talent that blesses the rest of his family. He’s like
Damon Dash, who was essentially the brains behind Jay Z’s rise to power, managing the rapper and serving as his business partner at Roc-A-Fella Records. Dash got screwed when Jay sold the label to Def Jam; Andre was just shot down in his bid to one day run Empire.

Hakeem Lyon (Bryshere Gray)

If not for the fact that Hakeem’s girlfriend is a cougar (played by Naomi Campbell), the youngest Lyon would seem a clone of Tyga — the cocky rapper linked to 17-year-old Kylie Jenner. Tyga is an OK rapper whose saving grace is an ear for radio-friendly beats. Hakeem’s finest performance on the show to date, a song called “Drip Drop,” is undeniably catchy.

Jamal Lyon (Jussie Smollett)

The middle Lyon son is a talented singer, songwriter and musician — who just happened to announce his homosexuality via song lyrics while performing publicly. That, plus his silky smooth falsetto, make Jamal a dead ringer for R&B singer Frank Ocean, who publicly came out via a 2012 Tumblr post in which he told a story about a former lover who was a man.

Anika Calhoun (Grace Gealey)

The object of Cookie’s wrath, Anika at first seemed best suited to being Lucious’ arm candy. But the A&R exec refuses to settle, instead capitalizing on the access and privilege that comes with being a record mogul’s gal, like Kimora Lee Simmons did when she married hip-hop businessman Russell Simmons.