Empire: Discussion Thread

[Cheap21]

I thought it was so corny when it first came on but now Im hooked on it. People were clowning it, but its really nothing you couldnt hear on the radio from Soulja Boy or something

[NothinButAttitude]

Soulja Boy wishes he could put something out like this.

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

Jamal's body is hot and he's got a good voice. He's def not as bad as half the people I hear on the morning drive to work.

[MoTheGreat]

I like Hakeem raps because he's rapping about sexual stuff. Did ya'll notice all his raps is sexual? I hope he does rap about that incident with Jamal, a meaningful song.

Edited February 7, 2015 by MoTheGreat

[Juliajms]

I think in some ways it would have made more sense for Hakeem to be one of the older brothers. Both Andre and Jamal sound like they are well educated. Strange that Hakeem doesn't sound like he went to some fancy private high school as well. Even if they had him putting on the rap persona, while having that privileged upbringing underneath it would seem more realistic to me. I suspect they wanted to give the youngest child the mommy issues and that wouldn't work with making him gay too? Then from that it follows that the youngest would have to be the rapper who has Lucious approval, while Jamal is more on the R&B side and needing Cookie more. I don't know.

Anyway, I'm a little more team Jamal than team Hakeem, but I can like them both. It's just that I'm a little too old to really relate to Hakeem as anything other than a child. He really does remind me of Justin Bieber, in a way. All I see is a baby, while all these women are draped over him and I'm like really? Eww! Not because he isn't cute, but because he's so young.

[Eric83]

Drip Drop is my song! I was twerking to it in my car on the way to work this morning.

"She make that thing go drip drop drip drippity drop"

[DramatistDreamer]

About the interesting idea that Juliajms brought up about why Hakeem seems to talk differently from his older brothers:

I think that Andre and Jamal are old enough to remember when the family was not wealthy so perhaps education was considered more important for the kids back then. Also, Cookie went to prison when Hakeem was an infant. Perhaps she was the one who insisted on the education and since she wasn't around...and perhaps Lucious didn't really think it was necessary for Hakeem, knowing he had already built a fortune and that Hakeem would be a rapper? JMO

Maybe it's like the Hilton Sisters. They knew their fortunes were already made so they didn't really continue on with their education after secondary school. You'd be surprised at what a short amount of formal education they have. During the recession, I've even heard people claim that college is overrated. Not everyone prizes a formal education.

Edited February 7, 2015 by DramatistDreamer

[Juliajms]

You have a point there, but I wasn't referring to college, so much as a swanky private high school. I suppose I figured that anyone with the kind of money Lucious has would stash their kids away in that kind of place. Maybe not though.

[ReddFoxx]

I agree with this. Hakeem didn't grow up around Cookie's influence and the way she hit him for disrespecting her, I'd say that she was more focused on them having values and goals. Lucious is the prototype for the parent that believes that providing monetarily is all a parent needs to do.

[DeeeDee]

Not speaking "The Queen's English" doesn't make one "uneducated".

Hakeem is a classic underachiever who isn't motivated because he doesn't have to be which (a trait he & Jamal shared until very recently).

The reason he speaks different than his brothers (but not unlike his parents & Uncle Vernon) is because they're in situations where they are expected to code switch & he isn't.

[ChitHappens]

How in the sam hell does a music video shoot go OB a million dollars?!

[All My Shadows]

Catching up, and yes, even though I think Hakeem is fugly, his raps are so sensual and he kinda turns me on. Drip Drop is my jam.

[ajsp35801]

I don't see any difference in how either brother speaks. All their subjects/verbs and pronouns/antecedents agree. They all use the correct tenses.

I must say that I'm somewhat offended by the phrase "sound well educated". I won't get into why because I am not in the mood to have a discussion about dialect and race today. And yes, I'm southern.

Edited February 7, 2015 by ajsp35801

[ajsp35801]

See my other response

[ajsp35801]

This. But am I the only one that didn't notice a difference in how these 3 speak?