Previously on Empire...
Andre is grown, Cookie.
You can't talk to him like he's a child.
A 360-degree sensory experience... "House Empire."
The Empire streaming numbers will rocket
into the stratosphere.
The Lyon family coerced Eddie's resignation.
I need Eddie Barker back. So does Empire.
It was Shine. He had Giuliana killed
to cover his tracks.
I was always better than you.
- You do not get to be my mother now. - Listen.
- I don't ever want to see you again. - Loretha.
Hey, Mama.
Oh.
Just c-come in.
Do you need a kidney?
This is probably a mistake.
Lolo.
I have missed you, pumpkin.
Oh. Want some tea?
- Mm-hmm, sure. - I'll make you some tea.
Okay.
You got anything stronger?
Look, we need to distribute the body parts throughout
the four boroughs. And do me a favor.
Put his head in Staten Island.
- Shiny Boots would hate that. - Yo, this ain't what you
promised us when you said you were going legit with Lucious.
Okay, first of all, the only thing I promised you
was to get your sister in rehab, remember that?
And secondly, Lucious helped keep
men like me from ending up men like him.
What other fixers you know with a 401K plan?
All right? Shut up and get your ungrateful ass back to work.
- All right. - All right.
♪ Come get what you wanted ♪
♪ Don't you stop before you start it ♪
♪ I'll give you every reason not to stop after we started ♪
♪ Come get what you wanted ♪
♪ Don't you stop before you start it ♪
♪ I'll give you every reason ♪
♪ Not to stop after we started, come get ♪
♪ What you wanted, don't you stop before you start it... ♪
Yo, why don't you pass the Cheetos, bro?
I got you.
♪ Not to stop after you start it ♪
- Here you go. All right. - Cheeto police.
Yo, we need to be done, and we're uploading this damn
- song right now. I'm sorry. Yes. - Word? - Shut up.
- About time. - Let's go.
Well, we better do it before
- we change our minds. - Literally. All right.
- So... - Let's go. Come on.
- Come on... - Yo, shut up. Damn. - Go.
All right. No publicity, no money.
- No money. - Upload, upload, upload, upload.
Upload, and...
- uh, done. - Yeah!
Ain't no turning back now, yo.
So Poundcake died, and Maya broke down.
I mean, she was grieving really hard,
crying big tears,
even though she didn't know her.
When your mama goes, it leaves a hole in your spirit.
Didn't matter that she didn't know her.
Been living with that hole inside of me
most of my life.
That hole...
that hole goes both ways.
I should not be smoking around your heart.
Candace told me.
Yeah.
Just like my daddy.
I'm hungry. You hungry?
Okay, let me see.
I've been juicing.
- Oh. - I haven't been to the market.
I don't know what I've got.
Hmm.
These pictures are really nice.
Very professional.
Yeah. I teach, too.
I can make you some toast.
A lot of toast.
You still take it with the...
with the crust cut off the ends?
This is a picture of me, Candace and Carol
when we started that new school.
How did you get... these pictures?
You weren't there.
Uh, I mean, I remember this. I-I remember this.
I remember when we lived here.
How did you get this?
I have seen you all.
After your daddy put his hit out,
the only way that I could get close to you was with a Leica
telescopic lens. I didn't make every event,
but when... when I could,
I'd just find a little hidey-hole to shoot from.
It was the best I could do.
Lolo?
No one calls me that, you know.
I've been calling you that since you were two.
I've been walking around all my life...
with this idea of who you were
in my head, you know?
But I don't know you at all.
I remember every step you took up until second grade.
And what your nosy sisters been telling me recently.
Well...
Carol is a mess, I'm sure you know that by now.
And Candace is...
well, she's as...
she's tight as a padlocked Bible.
And I'm on parole.
So do you still think, um,
I'm the one that's most like you?
I would like to find out, grown girl.
Woman.
Come here.
We cannot fix this quick.
Hell, maybe never.
That's a lot of lost time.
- Yeah. - Loretha, if...
if there's any chance that...
we could just have something, anything...
I want to try.
- Me, too. - Yeah?
Yeah.
Oh.
Hmm.
Oh.
My girl.
So they scattered what was left
of Little Big Man all over,
wider than the A-train can track.
And the murder weapon beyond that.
That sounds like a really good movie, man.
I hope it ends well.
It was fantastic. I mean, it had everything.
It'd make you laugh, make...
I've been calling you all night.
Yeah, well, unfortunately,
I've been a little bit busy tonight.
Anika's been meeting
with Empire's most powerful board members.
God, she's like some reoccurring infection
that just pops up at the worst time.
She's convincing them to reject Eddie's resignation,
and they're listening, Pop.
We need to shore up our support
right now, or Eddie will be back, he will be untouchable.
If he sticks around, he's gonna push
the Patel deal through, take Empire.
That's right. Now, I did a quick tally,
and we should be safe, so long as we have Shine's backing.
Now, that's gonna be a problem.
Shine has decided to take a permanent vacation.
And I think you know why.
Do me a favor, son.
When you enter into my room, please shut the door.
You didn't have to do that...
I made sure he wasn't a threat anymore.
Really?
Look, Andre, you got one of the best minds around,
and I know that Ivy League education
got you overconfident about how you plan things out,
but the school that me and Shine came from,
you don't start nothing unless you plan to finish it...
otherwise it will come back and it will finish you.
So... ne's vote,
are we safe with him abstaining?
It's as good as a vote against us.
The board seat will stay within Shine's Nice-T division.
His replacement now controls the swing vote.
Well, in that case, we just have to control that replacement.
We-we can't control anything
until Shine is declared dead, Pop.
Kidding me.
Um...
Thirst, um...
about that movie... was there any way
that they were able to put
Humpty Dumpty back together again?
Subtitle sync and corrections by awaqeded for www.addic7ed.com.
No, Ma, I haven't read that one.
Uh, "Black Women and Heart Attacks."
Okay, why don't you send it to me.
- Car's ready. - Oh. Ma, we got to go.
Bye. I'll see you tomorrow. What?
Why does Candace and Carol have to c...
Okay. I'll see you tomorrow at lunch.
Okay, bye-bye.
- Which one? - I already took
the ACE inhibitor... give me the aspirin.
You know what I find really cute?
The fact that you and your mama barely talked
in over a quarter of a century, and now y'all are on the phone
- every five minutes. - Mm.
You know, you can call your mother, too.
They have phones in the crazy house.
That ain't even funny.
Come on, let's go.
Are we okay, Lucious?
The police still have Shine's body.
Look, we're headed to his memorial.
The police, they don't even know where to start,
'cause he had so many doggone enemies.
I mean, I promise you our hands, my hands,
are categorically... clean.
Hmm. Well, that last song
y'all did together makes you seem like you're buddy-buddy.
That was genius, I'll give you that.
Thank you. Oh, don't forget,
you've got to buddy up with, uh, Tiffany.
That's his baby mama, the one that he married.
Um, that way, we will have a vote against Eddie.
Right. Then we got enough votes to bury
any kind of reinstatement of his ass,
- that's right? - Yes, indeed.
Great. I know the plan, Lucious.
I helped make it.
Good. Well, come on.
Mm.
Come on, let's go.
♪ Oh, oh ♪
♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
I'm so sorry.
Thank you.
He would have loved this.
♪ Mm, mm, mm, mm ♪
♪ I'll keep my head up high ♪
♪ Dry off these weeping eyes ♪
- ♪ 'Cause I know ♪ - Nessa was Shine's favorite.
- ♪ You're way up high ♪ - He loved her voice.
♪ Perfection... ♪
- Hey, sweetheart. - Hey.
This is Tiffany, the love of his life.
Oh, hi.
- I'm so sorry for your loss. - Thank you.
Those are his baby mamas over there.
He took care of all of 'em.
- He was good like that. - Hmm.
♪ Lord knows we need ♪
♪ Some shine ♪
♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪
♪ But you've got your ♪
♪ Freedom ♪
♪ Love was emergency ♪
♪ Now, love is eternity ♪
♪ But you've got your ♪
♪ Freedom... ♪
Poor Nessa.
♪ But you're just the first to see... ♪
So how's it feel to be the Lone Ranger?
What does that mean?
Anonymous my ass.
Becky, you better not snitch.
You know I'm not gonna snitch. This is a vault, but...
it's just a matter of time until
Cookie and Lucious find out, and you know that.
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ Freedom ♪
♪ Ooh... ♪
I love you, Shine.
This was beautiful.
Uh, are we supposed to clap at a memorial?
I mean, she was really good.
I don't know.
She better turn her big-head ass around.
I can't stand that heifer.
You made that relatively clear when you rearranged her face.
- Mm. She deserved it. - Mm-hmm.
I don't know if y'all knew this, but, um,
Shine was my oldest living friend.
He was my colleague,
a partner at Empire,
and a genius at spotting new talent.
- That's right. - For real.
To everybody else, Blake...
was a crazy little white boy with a bad haircut.
But he saw the diamond in the rough,
and he polished that diamond with his last drop of blood.
He made his last record with that diamond.
I was proud of his genius, and I'm gonna miss my friend.
- Rest in peace. - We love you.
And can you imagine just how wonderful
Tiana's been doing? Honestly,
I was the one that did discover and sign her, but Eddie...
Wow, he instinctively knew what to do next.
♪ If I had to play God for a day ♪
♪ I would open up the gates, let the world see my face... ♪
I really should've let Shine hit it when I had the chance to.
I should've just let him have it.
♪ A safe place... ♪
Okay.
♪ I'd let their mamas know that they okay ♪
♪ And when y'all pray, I'll respond so that ♪
♪ You all can see a sign ♪
♪ And answer every prayer one at a time ♪
♪ If I'm God, huh ♪
♪ All the stabbings, all the war would come to cease... ♪
Dre, I can't imagine how you feel, man. I...
I know you and Shine, y'all worked together.
Y'all were friends.
It was something like that.
♪ Screams of people being smoked ♪
♪ No more dope, you don't need it... ♪
All death is bad news
to somebody, somewhere, man, you know?
I wondered if Rhonda's death would ever get... easier.
♪ Laughed at the picture... ♪
It doesn't.
We weren't there for you, were we?
♪ Who pulls the strings of the world as we struggle today... ♪
Dre, I miss you.
♪ I don't want to wait, wait, wait till I die... ♪
Love you, Dre.
♪ Wait, wait, wait for my eyes... ♪
I love you, too, man.
♪ Smile on your child so he knows... ♪
I love you, too.
♪ God has a face ♪
♪ Just imagine if the devil had a day ♪
♪ And God had took a break and walked away... ♪
- Hey, Keem. - Another one.
I know that this might be a really hard time,
but I actually have some good news for you.
What's up?
So, there's this movie, Down By Day,
it's shooting downtown.
And Big Fade... he had, like,
a small but really important role in it.
And, as you know, he got his ass locked up again.
So the producers reached out to me
so that I can reach out to you
to see if you want to take over the role for him.
Mm'kay. Did I mention that
Haven Wynn is starring in it?
The chick from Star Worlds?
Yeah, and number three on my girl-crush list.
Tell 'em hell yeah, I'm in.
All right, great.
Uh, just want to make sure,
because they need you this week,
and you have House Empire, and so it's a lot.
I can do both.
You're in. All right.
Let me get another one.
Thank you for having Shine's memorial here.
It means a lot.
I know the two of you got into it sometimes, but...
Yeah, but we were brothers, and like brothers,
sometimes we disagreed, but there was nothing
I wouldn't do for him or for you and your family.
- How are you all? - We're doing all right.
You know Shine took care of me.
It's these other baby mamas I'm worried about.
Now they all got their hands out, looking to get paid.
I'm really sorry for your loss.
Oh, thank you.
I'm Eddie Barker.
I worked with your husband.
He was a real force of nature around here at Empire.
I appreciate that.
And I think that there's an emergency fund
that we can dip into to help calm those ladies down
during their hours of grief.
Only one of us represents Empire, and that's me.
I'll take care of that if need be.
I'm offering to help.
Tiffany, we need you.
Jade and Sierra are ramping up
about their kids, and it's, it's about to get ugly.
- I'll be right back. - Mm-hmm.
It's not too late to fix this thing.
Let's just say we take the Kelly Patel deal,
and then we can all go off and chill in Turks and Caicos.
My family and I trusted you,
and still you're trying to sell our company
like it's a slave at an auction.
There's no slave at an auction that's worth
hundreds of millions of dollars, my man.
Stay away fr... If I see you at House Empire...
Look, you mean the little show to celebrate the 20 For 20
that you wouldn't have if it wasn't for me?
I'm sorry about that.
Oh, no problem. I'll talk to you later and see
if I can work those things out for you.
Thank you.
Forgive me
for this moment, I know it must seem rude,
but we got to talk about business.
We need to discuss you filling Shine's seat at the board.
Me? Oh, no, uh, business ain't my thing.
Shine always said that if anything ever happened to him,
that his board seat and all of his business
be taken over by Nessa.
Nessa?
Check it, I'm telling you. They gave me my own P.A.
They treatin' me right. I got my own trailer...
Uh, this is the director, Mr. Lyon.
- I got to go. - Oh, keep it, sir.
It's my job.
Mr. Lyon, welcome. I'm Beekman Poser.
I'm the director of this picture,
and we're very glad that you are in it.
Thanks so much for responding on such short notice.
Of course, you know our star, Haven?
And, oh, listen, Hakeesh...
- It's Hakeem. - You two get acquainted.
We're shooting a love scene later today.
It's all about chemistry, right?
I seen your last movie. It was a'ight.
A'ight? Thanks a lot.
Look, I was just trying to...
Trying to be friendly?
You're here for one day.
We're not gonna be friends.
Cool.
Oh, and as for the love scene,
no tongue whatsoever,
and keep your hands in the PG zones.
I'm not one of your video hos. A'ight?
It was lovely to meet you.
All my life, I've-I've had to compartmentalize.
It was the only way to survive the swings in my mind.
When I see Anika... when I see her-her face,
everything goes out the window.
All I feel is pure hatred.
I want to be well.
I feel like my hate for her is gonna destroy me.
The only thing I know more powerful than hate
is the power to forgive.
She doesn't deserve it.
Forgiveness is about the forgiver, Andre.
Your brother forgave you, didn't he?
Hmm?
Did you deserve it?
You have the power to forgive.
It's in you.
You know what, let's just go ahead and run this
while the crew sets up.
Hakeem, you enter, gun drawn, to find Haven
tied up in the warehouse.
- All right. - Okay? Start over there.
- Let's do it. - Ready?
Brandi, we got to get out of here.
Thank God. There's a bomb.
- Yeah, we got to go. Come on. - Cut!
I had two more lines.
Yes, yes.
Um... Hey, Hakeem, have you ever acted before?
Not really.
Okay. Well, relax.
Make it sound natural. You know?
Like, say the lines like you would in real life.
Let's try it again.
Damn. We got to get out of here. Come on, Brandi. Let's go!
Cut!
What, Beekman? You want me more scared or less scared?
That just wasn't natural.
The character is a rapper.
I need you to sound like a rapper. Okay?
- I am a rapper. - Mm, uh,
mess up some of the words.
Slur a few of them, like you're probably high on something.
Also, the Glock.
Turn it on its side, pinkie up,
like a rapper does, you know?
Uh-huh.
Don't nobody do that.
Who cares? Just do what he says.
I don't want to be here all night.
Great. Let's try it again.
- Can we get this room, please? - Mm-hmm.
Well, this ought to be good.
You know why we're here.
Yes, Anika reached out already.
And, apparently, everybody needs a piece of my vote,
and she was very convincing.
And she didn't lay hands on me.
Well, that's because she lacks follow-through,
and you should be concerned about that.
Okay. What-what is it?
You need an apology?
No, I don't.
So you can save your breath
for your concession speech to the board.
Look, N-Nessa, I'm the one
that should be apologizing, okay?
I was a mess while we were together.
I wanted so badly to be ready to move on after Rhonda's death
that I never took the time to actually grieve it.
And you suffered for that.
You didn't deserve it.
I'm sorry.
Don't make my family suffer for what I did. Please.
Because you need me now.
Don't you think you're a little too late for this speech?
Huh, Dre?
All right, all right.
Nessa, listen.
We didn't do right by you,
none of us did.
But I can fix that, right now.
We'll extend your contract for two more albums,
plus a huge signing bonus.
All you have to say is yes.
And how do I know you all are gonna
put anything behind me this time?
- Tell her. - Because we're going to offer you
the final spot in our House Empire showcase.
Wait, that's Jamal's spot.
Yeah, well, Jamal is not here right now.
I mean, is that enough of a commitment for you?
I-It's something that'll make the entire industry
sit up and take notice.
Nessa, I've known Shine my entire life.
But when I watched him walk inside that booth,
and release all those years of emotion
and pent up anger,
it was like meeting him for the very first time, and...
...it was beautiful.
And what devastated me was the thought that maybe I'm...
I'm never gonna see that again.
But I know I can, with you.
Do you know who killed Shine, Lucious?
My brother had a whole lot of enemies.
But I promise you,
I will use every resource I have
to find out who hurt him,
and I will make them pay, the way Shine would.
I hope so.
All right, I will help you,
because I feel like that's what Shine would want me to do.
Thank you.
We're gonna make this right, I promise you.
I'm gonna make this right.
- Thanks, Regina. - Mm-hmm.
May I help you?
Hi. Can I have moo shu chicken fried rice?
They got the best egg rolls in town.
I can't believe she listened to his lying ass.
We are screwed without Nessa.
A coup is not a coup without a majority.
Why are we plotting a bloodless coup under cover of darkness?
The key is to wage war out in the daylight.
Yeah, but see, there's so much dirt out in public
on the Lyons already,
that the press doesn't get shocked anymore.
Not with the artists.
I want you to find me
the sins committed by every single 20 For 20 artist.
The Lyons' House Empire?
I'm gonna destroy that.
Hey, yo.
I told you I'd be back.
Cut! Cut.
What I do wrong?
It's-it's not, uh, about doing,
it's about acting.
And being bold enough
to share that ugly essence with the world.
Let's see your walk. Can we see your walk?
Just back up, right there.
Let's see your walk.
Great. Mm-hmm.
And... yes, yeah. Right.
But more. More, more passion,
more rage.
Bring all your black into it.
Let your guard down, H.
Look, I know you've been taught to keep the beast in check,
but on my set, Black Lives Matter.
- What? - Do what I do, okay?
You know, hang a hand down low,
just slide right in there, knees bent,
and just bounce like you got Snoop Dogg playing in your head.
- Snoop Dogg? - Mm-hmm.
- Cut. - You cut?
No. You don't cut. I'm the director.
I don't care who you are, I'm not doing that.
Don't no black man act like that except for inside your head.
Well, there's no need to get hostile, Hakkum.
It's Hakeem. Get it right.
Um, would you please escort Mr. Lyon to his trailer?
I know where it is.
Uh, Hikkeem Lyon?
You are fired.
Let's see if we can get Jaden Smith.
These rappers.
I just want to make sure
that you girls know you got to be
in charge of your own money...
- Mm-hmm. - ...and your own orgasms.
Ooh! Oh!
You bad, you bad.
- Mom, you are crazy. - You are.
Ah, this is heaven.
This is heaven, being here with... with my girls.
You pretty girls, together again.
- Amen. - Ah.
Amen, Mama.
- And this food is so delicious. - Mmm!
And healthy.
Yeah, Juanita wasn't having it when Lucious brought
all those chefs up in here, cooking all these vegan meals
all up in her kitchen.
And you know it.
You know, this food reminds me of that restaurant
that we went to, in Charleston?
- Lowcountry. - When you had your photo exhibit.
Oh, those photos of the Gullah islands, amazing.
- Thank you. - Mm-hmm.
You-you had an exhibit?
- Mm-hmm. - And y'all went?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Next time, we'll all go,
- since we're all talking. - Yes, we will.
However, now I am focused mainly on my teaching.
Oh. But you'll still travel, won't you, Mom?
I wouldn't give that part up.
Right. How many more countries you got on your list, Mama?
I don't know, but I'm-I'm pretty well into my second passport.
Ooh, well, la-dee-da.
I tried to see you. I tried to stay in your lives.
You tried? You tried really hard.
Your daddy, your daddy wouldn't
- let me see you. - You tried?
You chose high yellow trash over your boys.
Shut up!
So you think what you did was hard,
and you think this is easy?
I guess being away from us...
...gave you a lot of freedom, huh?
Being kept from the three of you
gave me a lot of alone time.
Mm-hmm.
I discovered life should be lived.
Apparently.
I remember when you were six... I don't know if you do...
you had this big map of the world on the wall,
above your bed, and she used to stick pins in it
to all the places that she was gonna go, when you got a bike.
- Oh. - I remember that.
And I guess, the only places I went
was from cell block to cell block.
Huh? Is that your point?
No. That's not the point.
That's not what she meant, Loretha.
Why don't you hush up, Cook?
Ease up a little bit.
- All right? - Why do you have to...?
Hey.
You and Lucious should take a grand tour.
- I could help you plan something. - That's an excellent idea, Mom.
Excellent idea. And I think
you should come along as the in-house photographer. Yeah?
I have real work to do.
Why don't y'all finish up?
Mom, I'm sorry.
That's okay. Don't worry.
- I'll be back, I'll be back. - I'm sorry, Mom.
Hey. Hey, hussy.
You getting hot for nothing, Lolo.
Stop calling me that.
And since when did you know or care
about what I get mad about?
Huh? All you care about is Carol, Candace,
taking pictures and traveling.
The hell is so funny?
You been on a tear since you were five years old.
My dear, jealous heart.
You said, that day in prison, that you wouldn't give up on me.
Well, you lied.
I did not.
That was your choice.
I was in prison. Okay?
Daddy was dead, Carol was on drugs
and Candace, well, Candace is just a bitch!
A-And you, you just took off globetrotting.
I came to you.
You said no.
You left a hole in my heart.
I found something to fill it.
You don't get to blame me for that.
I'm here.
I'm here right now, Loretha,
wanting to know you.
I-I'm willing to step
on a few landmines, if that's what it takes.
But I need to know that you are in this with me.
Maybe I'm tired of stepping on landmines.
I just told y'all to back off, man.
- I need some time. - Can I come up?
Why?
So you can laugh at me up close?
Steal my snacks?
Here, take them.
You know, it was brave, what you did back there.
- Yeah, whatever. - No, seriously.
I meet directors like Poser all of the time.
They're just whitesplaining this and that, and after a point,
I just tune them out, get the job done, get paid.
But you didn't sell out.
And I admire that.
I've been fired a lot lately.
Fired by Poser,
fired by my girl.
I wouldn't fire you.
Well, if you like what you've seen today,
come see what I really do.
I might like that.
When I first announced 20 For 20,
a lot people, uh, doubted the possibility.
Yeah, it was a big risk, but I had to.
And, um, I did it without Lucious standing beside me.
- To the Empire. - To the Empire.
I believed then, just like I believe now,
that Empire's legacy is-is worth that kind of celebration.
You know, it's a legacy
that could have only been built by the blood, sweat
and a hell of a lot of tears of a strong family.
Hmm. So how did we do?
Well, you've got to keep in mind that Empire has managed
to avoid all of the downward industry trends.
- You know, over 20 albums? - Hmm.
And, uh, to celebrate it all under one roof,
we are launching one huge, spectacular event.
It's the culmination of our 20 For 20,
and it's a signature Lyon creation:
House Empire.
So you're tying this event
specifically to the Lyon family?
Well... well, I mean,
without the Lyon family, there is no Empire.
But Jamal's not listed as having a room.
Where's his 20 For 20 album?
Well, Jamal had one hell of a year...
...so, he's, uh...
taking a break.
You know, at Empire,
the artist's... and certainly, my child's... health comes first.
Yep. But in his absence and with his blessing,
we are using this opportunity to, uh,
introduce the next generation of talent
into the world.
Well,
at House Empire, you're going to be able to experience that
in a way that no one's ever experienced music before.
That's great. Give me a minute.
- We just need to change the battery. - Okay.
This is gonna work, right?
Yeah. You're doing great, babe.
♪ Empire, we came from the bottom on to the top! ♪
♪ You can call me Mr. Great ♪
♪ It's on a whole 'nother level... ♪
Uh, no. Your entrance is that way.
Beat it. Bye.
Are you serious? We're supposed to be on the list.
Look, it's Cookie and Lucious!
Hey, everybody. Don't worry.
You will get pictures on the inside.
Love you, Lucious!
Y'all, this is amazing.
- I'm so proud of you. - What would be amazing is if you were
participating in this thing.
Look, we ain't got time for that drama in here.
- It's all right. - Hello. Welcome to House Empire.
Uh, little advice: be careful of those lions.
You know, they bite.
- Really hard. - All right, y'all,
Tiana's room is about to go live.
♪ Ah, ah ♪
♪ Can't you look at me and see that I love ya ♪
♪ Ah ♪
♪ And I'll do anything for ya ♪
♪ Jump into the mouth of a volcano ♪
♪ Race into the wind beside an eagle ♪
- You the man, Hakeem! - Yeah! You already know!
We love you, Haven!
Hey, Haven Wynn! What's up, girl?
♪ Without a rope, dive into the Bermuda ♪
♪ Without a boat ♪
Welcome to my world, baby.
It looks a lot like mine.
Is that the girlfriend who fired you?
♪ Can't you see that I love ya ♪
♪ Look at me and see that I love ya ♪
Maybe.
♪ And lightning ♪
♪ We were meant to be ♪
"Maybe" my ass.
Look at the way you're watching her.
♪ Where I belong ♪
You're hooked.
♪ Lightning ♪
♪ You're a part of me ♪
♪ Wrapped up inside your arms ♪
♪ That's right where I belong ♪
♪ And I ain't goin' nowhere ♪
♪ Said I ain't goin' nowhere ♪
- ♪ 'Cause I'm-a be right here ♪ - ♪ Right here ♪
♪ Right here, right here, right here ♪
♪ Right here, right here, right here, hey ♪
♪ Can't you look at me and see that I love ya ♪
- What is this? - Oh!
♪ The king of the jungle ♪
♪ Anything for my baby, that's how I roll ♪
♪ Can't you see that I need ya ♪
♪ Ooh, do anything to please ya ♪
Don't worry about them, boo.
Show him what he missing, girl. Show him what he missing.
Yes, give me Janet, honey, give me Janet.
♪ No, oh, oh, oh ♪
♪ No joke, oh, oh, oh ♪
♪ Oh, oh ♪
♪ Can't you see that I love ya ♪
♪ Look at me and see that I love ya ♪
♪ Like thunder and lightning ♪
♪ We were meant to be... ♪
But what you're wearing is better.
It's very Peter Max
- and kind of Pucci. - Who is that?
- What's your name? - Who? Porsha, I'm Porsha.
It's okay. It's fake.
Now, what you need to be worried about is the people around here.
Speaking of, hey, girl, here's Cookie now. Good luck.
I need you to go get those papers for me. Okay.
You, with me.
Hey.
Thanks for inviting me.
Well, I figured if you wanted to get to know me,
this would be a good place to start.
Oh, that'd be wonderful.
Okay, follow me.
You see this?
You hear this? You feel this?
This is all me... every note, every song
is Cookie Lyon.
You always had fire, Lolo.
Yeah, well, Lolo put the pins in the map,
but it was Cookie's blood, sweat and tears
that built this.
Yeah, me and Lucious.
♪ I just want you to... ♪
You know, I always thought I was who I was
in spite of the fact that you weren't there,
but now I think it's the opposite.
I'm strong...
smart, successful,
fierce.
I love hard, and I'm hungry.
And that hunger came from not having a mother.
But that hunger...
kept me alive.
So I should thank you,
because this...
This...
is how I fill the hole you left in my heart.
♪ Why do I even bother ♪
Oh. Boys.
Come here and meet your G-ma.
♪ You call yourself... ♪
I am so proud of you...
Cookie.
Well, why y'all standing there looking stupid?
Come over here, introduce yourselves.
I got work to do.
My name is Renee.
♪ You're so... ♪
Thank you for being here.
What you all need to understand is,
after the attack on my life,
I thought that I would never be able to appreciate
or... no, no, no, let them through, please...
appreciate music again.
Keem will be performing later.
And then we have Tiana.
It all disappeared, and it was just a...
cornucopia of chaos to me.
- Oh, my gosh, this is really gorgeous. - Yeah, it's kind of amazing.
I had no idea that synesthesia...
It's amazing, right?
...would open up an opportunity for me to create
a world brand-new, and that's what I want to show everybody.
I mean, for everyone, for everything...
So, we've been trending ever since we launched.
This is very impressive, Cookie.
Okay, look, I know why you were caught up with Eddie.
You know, he's a charmer,
and he can speechify with the best of them, but, see,
the core of Empire comes from the artists.
That's where the soul lies.
And that's what we're gonna show you tonight.
That's the company I love.
Oh, snap, look!
- Blake a Nazi?! For real? - Look!
- What's that? - Uh, they must be piggybacking
off the hashtag.
It'll disappear soon. Don't-don't worry.
Do you know about this?
Is that Blake?
I have no idea, that's who.
Is this some kind of sick joke?
That's the future of Empire?
Wait, wait. No, no. I have never seen this before
- in my life. - It's a computer glitch.
That photo is not what you think.
You telling me
that's not your face on the screen?
- Nah, man, it is me, but... - Look, can you just...
- chill. - Thank you.
- Thank you for hearing me out. - I don't hear nothin'
but banjo music, colonizer.
I'm just trying to make sure
that you don't make my A&R nightmare worse.
Listen, man...
my father forced me to take that photo.
And I hardly ever saw him in my whole life,
so I just did what he asked, man.
I was, like, ten years old.
I didn't know what I was doing.
Trust me, bro, you're like a brother to me.
Don't "brother" me!
Get out.
- You serious? - Get out!
Yeah, you should go.
♪
- Look, this is Eddie's doing. - There's always an excuse.
How could you allow this to happen?
You assured us that everything in this event
- would go off without a hitch. - "Always an excuse"?
Who do you think you're talking to?
Y'all need to calm down.
You think I meant for that to happen over there?
Look, Blake is history for now.
I'm gonna talk to him and work this thing out.
But the rest of this glorious night can go on
without a hitch.
All we have to do is get the rest of our artists
to distract the press, and we can get through
- the rest of this opening. - You're not gonna use this artist.
Excuse me?
I can't afford to get caught up in all of this mess.
Word is out that Empire is making bank
off of a racist artist.
Listen, little lady,
I don't know what kind of big ideas
Eddie's been filling up in your little-biddy head,
but ain't nobody here that's not replaceable.
Well, you can't replace us all, Lucious.
Your artists are united.
And we're not performing until y'all fix this.
Can I help?
Help? You did this.
You know, I'm sure you got it all under control.
Eddie, please don't go.
In my opinion...
We don't want your opinion.
Actually, Cookie, we do.
Everyone. Everyone, we're about to get started.
Where's Lucious?
And what is he gonna do about Blake?
I'm gonna be speaking for all of Empire.
The views captured in that image are highly offensive,
in direct opposition to the...
principles of inclusion
and respect which Empire embraces.
So effective immediately,
I am banning Blake Sterling
from any association with Empire Entertainment.
His contract...
is now null and void.
And I'm grateful
to Empire's board
for granting me the...
the... the power
to be able to make sure that...
that this never happens again.
This is who you are.
This is all you will ever be.
Lucious Lyon, everybody.
Lucious, did you approve this?
Lucious, is Blake officially off the roster?
Comment over here!
Care to comment, sir?
Yo, what's going on at Empire?
Subtitle sync and corrections by awaqeded for www.addic7ed.com.