Empire

Previously on "Empire"... Music streaming will make Empire

the dominant player in the music industry.

Swiftstream. It's ready for a merger.

"Cookie's Cookout." In Harlem.

That's in Big Heavy's territory.

I'm not doing business with him,

not after what he did to my son.

So who you calling a little bitch now, huh?!

Pull the trigger, you gonna force me to step in front of the bullet.

I'm handling it. You need to be handling

business, not booty.

Fall back.

I would be honored to submit a song.

Congratulations, Jamal.

I'm dropping my last name.

From here on out, I go by Hakeem.

Think I'm in love,

but we still homies, right?

I still think you dope.

So what did you have to tell me?

Nothing.

Rhonda's pregnant.

I've always wanted a grandson.

Babies are like kryptonite for Lucious. Really?

Where to?

Loretha! Our sister Carol is on a bender,

saying this was all Cookie and Jermel's fault.

We gotta go to Philly.

Yo!

Loretha!

What?

Slow down, before I break my damn heel!

Yeah, made in Hong Kong, I'm sure.

Girl, get to steppin'! I gotta get back to New York.

Look, I am not leaving Philadelphia

till I find Carol, and neither are you!

Look, Candace, we been looking for Carol for two days.

And...? We ain't found her.

And I need to get back to my Cookout,

because I worked really hard on it

and it's very important to me.

Well, maybe it's time

for other things to be important to you.

Like Carol.

Shut your dumb ass up.

Why is it every time Carol gets missing,

the world stops turning?

Because she's our sister, stupid.

Yeah, well, ain't nobody send no search party for me

when I was locked up all them 17 years.

Maybe because we knew where you were.

Yeah, I can count on one hand

how many times your bougie ass came to visit me.

Well, you can keep on counting, Cookie,

'cause I don't do prisons.

Bitch.

I want this whole city plastered with these posters!

Or you fired.

I'm dead serious.

That's my mom?

Yo, Ma, where you been at?

I been trying to get at you all day. Where you at?

Boy, didn't I tell you I was

out of town handling some business?

Yeah, well, you need to start taking care

of some business here. You need to come back here now.

Hakeem, I ain't got time for this, boy.

What you want?

We gettin' crazy shine off me winning the battle.

Plus, your Cookout sold out this morning,

and Rock Steady Park wants us to add a second show.

Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes!

Okay, you tell Laz to book the venue right now.

Make sure Laura and those girls

are rehearsing around the clock.

They gotta build up their stamina

to open two nights. Okay?

I'm counting on you to call all the shots

while I'm stuck up here.

Look...

I want you to know I'm very proud of you, okay?

And I love you so much.

All right, I love you, too, Ma.

Hey! Get your drink off my mixing board...

You know, that Lucious

was always a smooth-talkin', low-down, dirty dog,

but it seems like he did right with them boys.

Yeah, he did all right.

Sometimes bad dudes make decent fathers.

Sometimes.

How is, uh... Brittany...

Brianna, right? Yeah, Brianna.

And Franklin. She's an honor student.

Champion figure skater.

And my Franklin?

President of the debate team.

Mmm, well.

Do they know they half black?

Oh, damn. What?

Uh, Candace...

remember where Carol used to hang out

when she first started gettin' high?

Oh, hell to the no!

We gotta go there. No, no, no, no.

Loretha, I don't do prisons,

I'm definitely not doing a crack house.

Would you stop acting like Diahann Carroll, heffa?

You ain't been living in the suburbs

with that white man all your life.

(door creaks open, rap music plays in distance)

You know Carol? Nah.

(people coughing in distance)

Carol?

Hey. Excuse me.

You know Carol?

Huh? Get outta here, man.

Carol?

Candace...

Carol?

(people murmuring, grumbling)

Carol?

It's not her.

Oh, thank God.

Where the hell is she?

(fast-tempo intro playing, photographers clamoring)

I was thinking about the commercial.

The theme of it should be, like, legacy.

Yeah? Where'd you come up with that?

This is epic.

I mean, a young prince paying homage

to his father? Very Shakespearean.

Dad, I don't know if that's the way

that Pepsi's going with it, but we'll see.

It's cool, though.

Thank you guys so much for being here today.

Today my son, Jamal Lyon, heads into the studio

to start recording on his next masterpiece.

It's called The Black and White Album,

and for the very first track,

we have the incomparable Skye Summers on it.

We got time for just a few questions, so...

Brenda, you go first.

Uh, my question is for Ms. Summers. Oh.

Skye, does this mean you'll be signing with Empire?

Uh...

We are so happy with our label.

But we couldn't be more excited to be working with Jamal

and the legendary Lucious Lyon.

Now, hold on, hold on.

What's up with this "legendary" stuff?

You makin' me sound Neolithic or something.

Trust me, I got a few good decades left in me.

But for the record, Empire would be thrilled

to have Skye Summers on its roster.

And, Jamal, how excited are you

to be working with a multi-platinum-selling

artist like Skye Summers?

Oh, my goodness.

How excited am I?

I'm crazy excited. Are you kidding me?

Skye, I don't want to embarrass you too much,

but, y'all, I'm sorry.

I am the O.G. Skye Summers fan.

And-and her first CD was the very first CD I ever bought.

You know, I scratched it up

till it couldn't play anymore.

And I love her.

I'm in love with Skye Summers.

Y'all can print that.

: I'm not really feeling this thing.

Let's hit the studio.

You know I came to play.

I am so down. Come on, now.