Empire (2015–…): Season 1, Episode 6 - Out, Damned Spot - full transcript

Previously on
Empire...

You got ALS.

Is there anything
on the horizon?

It's not my area,
but I'm gonna reach out.

I'm going after his empire.
I'm gonna take it.

Now, you're the only one
that could run this company.

What if your
brothers went to war?

They just may kill each other.

Yo, somebody got shot because
you wanted to ruin my session.

You still worrying about singles
when I'm about to be iconic.

You my girl.



You ain't supposed to be
kissing no damn chick.

Look, you got
a sidepiece, too.

Detective Walker,
good to see you again.

We think Bunkie was
shot around 9:30 on the 12th.

Do you recall where
you were at that time?

We were together at his
house watching the fight.

Will you marry me?
Yes.

I gave you an
anniversary present.

Whoa!
Whoa!

Whoa!
Yeah!

Whoa!

Enter the world
of the Playboy pin-up girl

Butt-naked, dressed
in nothing but pearls

You wanna meet me
'cause ya know I'm freaky



And ya wanna... me
'cause ya say I'm sexy

Got a man in Japan
and a dude in Tahiti

Believe me, sweetie I got
enough to feed the needy

No need to be greedy I got
mad friends that's pretty

Chicks by the layers
All different flavors

Mafioso that's how
this thing go Yeah!

Now everybody
come get with the lingo

Shake your body body
Move your body body

This is for my peeps
with the Bentleys

The Hummers, the Benz...

Hey.
Mmm.

Thank you for joining me.

You don't look bad, ole head.

Uh, Lucious?

I'm feeling really nervous
about all of this.

About what?

You left that rose and...

You are a bad boy,
Lucious, you know that?

That rose?

That's not why
I brought you here.

Come on.

We both said some things that
we shouldn't have, all right?

So let's just
squash all of this.

My video about to
drop in a couple weeks.

Dad thinks it's dope.

Well, remind me to get both of
y'all autographs after dinner.

What is she doing here?

Have a seat, please.

Hello, everyone.
Hey, Ma.

Hi, Cookie.

', Pumpkin.

Hey, Cookie.

Ooh, a rose.

Everyone, I'm so glad
that you guys can join us.

Baby, get up for a second.
Mmm-hmm.

We wanted you to
be the first to know

that I have asked Anika
to be my lovely wife.

Barn.

It's an Asscher-cut
Krupp diamond.

It's the same one that Richard
Burton gave Elizabeth Taylor.

It's huge.

It's gorgeous,
isn't it?

To Dad and Anika.
Congratulations.

Thank you, Dre.
Thanks, Dre.

Congratulations.

So, how did he propose?

Tell us the whole story.

Um, last Wednesday, I came
downstairs, he opened the doors.

There's champagne,
ring, everything,

and Anthony Hamilton in our
living room,

singing The Point of It All-
Oh, it was beautiful.

He flew him in from
London just for me.

I love you.
I love you, too.

Damn. Dad doin'
it big.

So, let me get this straight.

Last Wednesday, you come to
my house and give me a rose

after you proposed
to that bitch?

Watch yourself, Cookie.

Watch yourself,
Lucious.

What rose is she talking about?

The rose was a friendly reminder
of where we were yesterday.

That's all it was.

Friendly?

You think I came here dressed like
this for a friendly get-together?

You know what?

Why don't you all enjoy your
friendly little family dinner?

Congratulations.

Oh, and, Anika, this is an ass.

Congrats, Dad.

You got me goin'
Give me my money

This is a monster!

You're gonna change the
game with this one, Jamal.

I know, right?
Isn't it great?

I really want to promote this, though.
Seriously.

Not even your husband
gonna ignore this one.

You mean Anika's husband?

He ain't paying
us no mind anyway.

What?
Ma, you a mess.

Why you gonna
walk up in there,

practically
butt-ass naked

underneath that sable,
in front of all of us?

Was I giving you body?

I need your head
completely in the game right now,

so let's hit this song.

I'm getting this song on the charts
with or without Lucious Lyon.

Hey, Cookie?
Yeah?

Have you noticed any
changes in Jamal lately?

Yeah, he's toughening up.

He's becoming a top.

That's what you got to do
to make it to the top.

Do you think, um...

You need to start
preparing yourself.

Fame changes people.

What should I do?

Try not to be all up in
his business, you know?

Make sure you got
your own thing going on.

Well, I do.

I'm at the Culinary Institute,
studying to be a chef.

I hope that cooking school
can keep you plenty busy,

because Jamal is gonna have
less and less time for you.

She do it all night, she do

She goin' hard right
I see you, baby

She love da spotlight

She do She make dat thang go

Drip drop, drip drippity drop

Drip drop

I do my dance like

Drip drop, drip drippity drop

Drip drop, drip drippity drop

Funny how the time flies...

I saw that cop
going through my trash.

So if Walker was here,
you already a suspect.

Man, that's ridiculous.

You know what I want to do?

I want to have his black
ass thrown off the force.

Yeah, then I start
making those calls,

you gonna look even more guilty.

Are you?

Am I what?

Don't play stupid.

Did you do it?
Did I do what?

Did you kill Bunkie?

Lucious, I cannot help you if
you don't come clean with me.

He showed up at my house 3:00
in the morning,

talking about
"This is an emergency."

He wanted to shake me
down for $3 million.

What...

What am I supposed to...

You're supposed to pay the man!

Pay him for what?
For wasting his life?

He hated you, man, he hated me,

'cause we did something
with ourselves.

30, YOU play God?

No, he played God the
moment he showed up here

and tried to shake me down!

He chose his fate!

He wasn't the Bunkie you
and me grew up with.

He talked about tearing this
down, everything I done built?

Everything that we've built,

he was gonna tear it down!

You should have
come to me sooner.

What am I gonna say to you, V?

"Look, I'm about
to kill Bunkie"?

I shot him!

Now, how are we gonna
fix this, man?

I'll tell you what we gonna do.

First thing we gonna do
is beef up security.

That's first.

I've been talking to a guy

that's supposed to be the
best in the business.

We gonna go to work, we gonna
act like everything is normal.

And that's how we
gonna work this.

Now, you listen to me.

I'm not approving any production
cost overruns this quarter, okay?

Now, the closer we get to this
IPO launch, the more critical...

One second.
The more critical...

Hey, what the...

Tell me the truth.

You knew that
Lucious killed Bunkie,

and you lied to protect
him, didn't you?

You're supposed to have my back.

Right? That's
the deal?

I don't know what
you're talking about.

I sat there and listened
to you give a false alibi.

That's what I do.

I give my father alibis.

What the hell is
wrong with you, Andre?

Ain't nothing wrong with me.
What's wrong with you?

I cover for him, even when I
don't know what I'm covering.

So, I think the next thing
that needs to happen is

we just need to X out
the things that are cheesy.

All of this, girl,
is not working for me.

I actually...

Oh, hold on one second.

Hey, babe. What's up?

I was right about what
happened with Bunkie, Rhonda.

Oh, okay.

Well, um, I'm so happy
to hear that great news.

Can you go
somewhere you can talk?

No, I can't right now, but I'm
really glad to hear the great news.

Okay-

Call me back, okay?

Call me back.

Yeah, but why are you
even listening to Cookie?

She was just being honest.

Michael, what do you
want me to do?

You want me to swear
on a stack of Bibles

that I'm never gonna blow
up and leave you behind?

All right, since when do
you talk to me like that?

Listen, all I want
is to make sure

that we're still
each other's priority.

Is that too much to ask?

No, it's not.
Come here.

No, Jamal... Babe,
come here, come on.

Come on. Let's go
away for the weekend.

Show Cookie how wrong she is.

For real?

You come first.
You know that.

First and second if we're keeping score.

Why don't we go to that bed-and-breakfast
place in the Berkshires?

The one that Kenny and
John told us about.

It's supposed to
be super secluded,

no cell phone, no Internet, no nothing.
Just you and I.

Babe, I can't be off the
grid like that right now.

Come on, don't get mad, there's
a lot happening right now.

All right, all right, all right.
Okay, I'm not mad. I'm cool.

Just as long as we're together.

Let's just hit up Fire Island with R.J.
and Taylor.

Yeah, that sounds cool.

A bad week
just got worse.

Well, sobriety's
a journey, not a destination.

You know, you commit your life
to another man and his mission.

You know, I practically
raised that man's kids.

So, what's changed? Why's
it getting to you now?

A guy we grew up
with got killed.

I mean, he was like
a brother to us.

He lived for Lucious.

Is that a worthy life?

Waking up every day to
serve another man's needs?

If it's time to move
on, maybe it's time.

I don't need it,
you can keep ya money

I don't want it If ya gonna
throw it up in my face

I'm still leavin'
You can keep ya money

Because you ain't worth the time

Can't let it go to waste
Money...

Now, that was hot.

Yeah, he's killing it.

I'm so proud of him.

When can I hear
a finished version, Cookie?

The song's already
finished, Miss Calhoun.

Oh, I assumed it was a demo.

You would, because
you're a hater.

See, this is the problem...
I'm sorry to interrupt.

Just needed to
remind your department

about the new IPO mandate of cutting
fat from the artist roster.

We're on it. Um, we are
dropping Alonzo Hall,

Elle Dallas is going and the
Shadow Brothers as well.

Wait, wait, you're
cutting Elle Dallas?

Yes, we are.

That's the dumbest
thing I've ever heard.

Empire can't cut Elle Dallas.
She is Empire royalty.

Yeah, well, maybe she was,
back in your day, but...

Mom, she's costing
Empire a fortune.

We haven't seen a new revenue
stream from her in years.

And she is difficult.

Yeah, difficult.

I know that word.

You see, y'all like
to toss us to the side

when you can't
control us anymore

because you're lazy and you
don't want to do your job.

Well, just because you don't
know what to do with an A-lister

doesn't mean we toss
her from the label.

No, there is no "we," Cookie.
This is my lane. Mine.

Okay.

You know
the song is good.

You mean the three-and-a-half-minute
piece of crap

that he keeps telling
me to kiss his ass?

Yeah, that song.
It's not funny.

Look, it's going to be a hit.
That's all that matters.

What matters is the fact that
I came down here personally

to introduce you to Elle Dallas,

and all you can do is jam
Jamal down my throat?

Like he said in his song,
"Keep your money."

That's what I'm gonna do.
I'm gonna keep my money.

Yeah, well, the only reason
why you're giving me Elle

is because you feel guilty about
leading me on with the damn rose.

No. No, you
misunderstood the rose.

Oh, man, please.

But I can't wait till
Elle is in your hands,

'cause you gonna have
your hands filled.

Anika thinks she's hopeless.

Elle's music gave me
a reason to stay alive

when everything else was telling
me to just give up and die.

No, she got anger,
you know, that anger

that makes you
just want to fight.

That's...
Well, here she comes.

Oh, my God.

Maybe you can return the favor,

because she needs
the life-saver now.

Elle.
Lucious.

Look at you.

Darling,
good to see you.

Hi, Elle.

I know exactly who you are.

I'm Cookie.
Your biggest fan.

Wait. Cookie.
You're the wife.

Ex-wife.

Darling, don't be shy. We're
all somebody's ex-wife.

I have the
most incredible news.

Cookie has agreed to manage you

and take over the production
of your next album.

Uh-uh, Lucious.
Forget it.

I'm sorry, I only
work with top people.

That's how I sold over
100 million records.

But in the last five
years, it's been none.

That's like maybe the
audience has forgotten you.

Okay, here's what
you will get with me.

Someone who
appreciates your gift

and who knows
what to do with it.

I won't sleep until
you're back on the charts.

I tell you, Cookie
is your best bet.

I mean, she's been
begging to manage you,

she's your biggest
fan and she's hungry.

I need a real producer.
Hit-Boy, Timbaland.

No, no, no.
They're afraid of you.

I mean, I think it's time we
start building new bridges.

You listen to me, darling.

When Empire started out,

it was my record sales that kept
the lights on in that black shack.

My back catalog
alone floated you.

I opened your company up
into a world you never knew.

And now, oh, you've
got this nightclub,

fashion lines, Empire champagne?

And what do I get?

My career handed
over to an ex-con.

Elle...

No, Lucious. No.

That sweet, that nasty
That gushi stuff

But don't...
Mama, gimme that funk

That sweet, that nasty
That gushi stuff

You gotta...
Give it to me

Empire must
be keeping you busy.

I haven't heard
from you in a minute.

Haven't had a job for you
in a minute, Lamont.

But I got one now.

Any of your guys facing a
murder beef they can't beat?

Yeah, how's half my roster?

All right, I need
one, a good one.

Come through on this, got
a pot of gold for you.

Better be, Vernon,
better be a pot of gold.

What are you doing
in this scuzzy motel?

I don't have time for this.

You 'bout to make time.

Get that junkie out of here.

Hey! Party's
over, let's go.

Is this your stuff?
No.

Come on, let's go.

Thanks for coming.
Party's over. Bye-bye.

You need to get clean, Elle.

I've been clean for years.

I know. Mmm-hmm.

The first thing you think
about every morning

is where you're getting
your first hit from.

And if your dealer ain't holding,
you'll get high off anything.

Probably get high
off your cottons.

It was your music, Elle,
that got me through.

When I was locked up,
it was your music.

I had to block out everything
so that I could survive.

You got me through.

I got to the top by myself.

No one helped me, so don't stand
there and try and tell me...

I'm just trying to help.

Just please give me my stuff.
I want to help you, Elle.

Please, just give me my stuff back, man.
No. Elle, this is...

No! Give me my stuff back, bitch!

No!
Give it back!

Give it back,
bitch!

I know.

I know.

The person you are trying
to reach is currently unavailable.

Please leave a message.

Camilla, it's me, Hakeem.

Pick up the phone, Ma.

Yeah, I'll be the one
that they love to mention

I tell them keep on talking
'cause I love the attention

Work your fist, I'm da chick

Work your fist I'm da chick...

Porsha, where's she at?
What?

She said "10 minutes"
30 minutes ago.

Calm down.
She on her way.

Jamal, just relax, have a drink.

No, I'm fine, I'm fine.

There she go right there.

It's me. Hey, baby.

Hold that for me.
Excuse me.

Mama.
Yeah.

Listen, seriously, my
personal life is off-limits.

Mama, listen to me, I'm serious.

What?

For real. I'm gonna
say this one time.

Step off.

I didn't say one thing to
that boy that ain't true.

Now, I like Michael, okay?
But he ain't my son.

You are.

And I hope one day you'll find a
partner that is on your same level.

Somebody that has their own
career, their own ideas.

Somebody that can
bring something

to the table besides
some damn food.

Cooking school.

Now, look, stay focused.

Remember I told you Vince
Boyd was here tonight?

Yeah.

Five million
Twitter followers.

That's what I'm saying.

Get ready.

Go ahead.

Listen

Dollar dollar bill, y'all

Everybody lookin' for somethin'

Can make ya wanna kill, y'all

Ya can't get
somethin' for nothing

Work hard And play even harder

Gotta save up all my
nickels and quarters

Can't ask you for a handout...

Now, stay here and
let me work my magic.

Okay-

You hear that?

That's your song!
Turn it up!

I don't want it If ya gonna
throw it up in my face

I'm still leavin'
You can keep ya money

Because you ain't worth the time

Can't let it go to waste...

How you doing?
They're with me.

Money Makes the world go round

Like to party,
get some drink first...

Vince Boyd.
I'm Cookie Lyon.

One of the founders
of Empire Enterprises.

Sorry, Cookie.
My bad. Sit down.

Thank you.
Thank you, thank you.

I just wanted to congratulate
you on last week's game.

Four touchdowns?
Yeah.

The city is loving you, man.

Thanks.

Let me ask you a question,

what you think about this
song that's playing?

Nickels and dimes
Can't ask you for a handout...

It's dope. It's new?

Very. Empire's next
big artist.

Look, why don't you tweet
something to your followers?

I ain't really doing all that tonight.
You know how it is.

It's amazing what
good music will have

these young girls
doing nowadays.

What, touching on each other?
That's nasty.

Porsha.
Shut your ass up.

It is! Look!
Shut up.

That girl is...

This song is going
to be a monster hit.

Why don't you be the first one
to introduce it to the world?

I'm only doing this because
you two are hilarious.

What's the name of the song?

It says you were awarded the Silver
Star of Excellence for courage

while under fire
stationed in Iraq?

Yes, sir. I was there
for four years

as team leader of a
tactical recovery platoon.

What did you recover?

That's classified, sir.

I have 12 years'
experience as a Navy Seal,

specializing in
close quarter combat,

hostage rescue, recovery,
and antiterrorism.

I've overseen personal security
for figures such as yourself,

executives, religious
leaders, and others

who face high-stakes
security challenges.

You know, my company's in the
middle of an IPO launch.

Yes, sir. It's a great time
to beef up your security.

A lot of friends,

but I got a whole lot of enemies

that would love to see
this IPO not happen.

Well, I've done a thorough
review of both your home,

and your corporate headquarters.

Really?
Yes, sir.

What'd you find?

That this entire building and
your home are one giant breach.

What do you mean?

Your security cams are misplaced

with black holes
about a mile wide.

The northwest gate sensor can be
tripped by anybody with a cell phone.

Hell, no.

And the night security detail looks
more like a donut commercial

than a threat deterrent.

I would start from scratch, sir.

I like how you do your recon.

Let's get you to work, sir.

Thank you,
Mr. Lyon.

Mal. Mal. Vince Boyd just tweeted
a video hyping your song.

There's over 1,000 retweets already.

1,104. 1,159.

I know, right?
Isn't it awesome?

Hey, yo.
Can I get an autograph?

Right here. Somebody
give me a pen.

What's up?

Hakeem, go home.
You're drunk.

So what? I'm drunk
and you brilliant.

You the one with all the
talent in this family.

Hakeem. Are you okay?
How's your video going?

I got a new song. I want you to hear it.
Can you come over?

Sure. We'll both come
over, okay? Let's go.

I didn't invite you!
Shh.

Come on, Jamal.
Please.

I need your help. I can't
get the hook right.

Hakeem, I don't care.

You should have thought
about all that before.

Thought of what?

How long did you think that
I would just sit around

and let you
disrespect our mother,

when all she's trying to
do is help you grow up?

How long did you think that I
would just let you use me?

I don't care.

Ma, I'm gonna leave.

Hon. Thank you, baby.
I love you.

Call you tomorrow.
Okay.

All right, let's go
over this one more time.

I was over by the river.

Which river?

The Hudson. Uptown.
Near West Harlem Piers.

And?

I saw an old drunk.

I decided to rob him.

But he fought me, so I
popped a cap in his ass

and rolled him in the water.

Where'd you get the gun?

Found u.

Look, man, tell me when my
family gettin' their cash.

Soon as you sign the confession.

They'll get a little bit at
a time, so nobody notices.

And who am I
taking the fall for?

Don't you worry about that.

Just make sure you don't
ever deviate from the story.

Easy.

- Babe?
- Yeah, baby?

Keep Your Money is still trending.
Seven hours and counting.

Man, Cookie really
hooked that up.

I swear, that woman
is the ultimate hustler.

Yep-

Hey. Why are people
tweeting about

some satellite radio interview

you're supposed to
have this weekend?

Oh, 'cause I am. Cookie
hooked that up, too.

Were you gonna let me know?
Fire Island was this weekend.

Um, babe, can
I take a rain check?

Wait, Michael, come on now.

The song is just now popping.
I have to push it.

Yeah, what happened to not
caring about fame and money?

Weren't you all about the music?

You really don't get it, do you?

This is about
the music. God.

They gon' learn in a minute
'Cause they all gettin' slayed

I don't trust 'em, man These
broads ain't about nothin'

Don't call me,
don't text, no discussion

They all phony and that's
why I don't trust 'em

Stand too long

Get ya...

What's up?

I mean, it's really nice
for some Girl Scouts.

But this ain't about being nice.

You've got to go hard with this.

Come harder.

All right, let me
hear the beat again.

I got something for you.

Hakeem

Fellas, if you clever,
trust a lady never

Have you thinkin' back You
wishin' that you never met her

See her in that fitted dress
You know it's designer

She fill it out nice
But the devil wears Prada

So no, no, no I will never,
ever trust her, mane

Get out my way, chick
'Cause I already know the game

If you tryin' to talk to me
I'm on my college football

In other words, I'm-a act like
I don't know the dame

'Cause you been known to play
the field like Notre Dame...

Hey-

Oh, hey, Cookie.

How's she doing in there?

Things are going.

Let me hear some.
Sure.

Here, play her last take.

You stole my money
and my cigarettes

I haven't seen
Hide nor hair of them yet

I wanna know...

Wait, stop it. Stop.

Won't you tell me...

Damn. What happened?
She sounds a mess.

What happened to her voice?

I can make it work.

I just need to splice together
five different takes from tonight,

and some from last month and
a session back in March.

Hey, Cookie.

We're ready?

Child, a hot mess. That's
the same thing I said.

I know... Let me call you back.

Hey, girl.

Hey-

You know, I've seen the
way she treats you.

Who?

Don't play dumb, Porsha.

I bet she don't even
pay you right either.

Who, Cookie?
She pay me okay.

That's no reason for her
to call you stupid.

She call everybody stupid, okay?
That's what she do.

You know, Porsha,

what if I knew
a way for you to be

making double
what Cookie pays you?

So, what in the world
can you do for me, Doc?

And I don't want no BS.

I've looked high and low to find
somebody, and you might be the guy.

Well, as you know,
I'm a concierge doc.

That means I'm your
doctor exclusively.

I have no other patients.

My every waking moment will be
devoted to your well-being.

Yeah, well, you can can the
hand-holding and the bedside manner.

I've been told ALS has no cure.

That's why you need me, Lucious.

The FDA puts tighter
restrictions on new medications

than any other
country in the world.

But in Russia,

the ease of regulations has
created a breeding ground

for cutting-edge
treatments.

They're making tremendous
strides in ALS.

Are they?

They have a new drug cocktail,

which has shown a 60%
reduction in symptoms,

and all the people taking
it are still living.

Now, the sample size is small, so
the data is far from conclusive,

but we're cautiously optimistic
that this is a breakthrough.

So how do I get in?

It's not gonna be cheap.

Come on, come on.

The Russian medical community is

as corrupt as
the rest of the country.

It's like the Mob.

Yeah, and like the music business.
I don't care the cost.

Whatever has to happen, I
need you to make that happen.

I want in.

I don't know why

I love you like I do

After all these changes
You put me through

You stole my money
And my cigarettes

I haven't seen hide
nor hair of them yet

I wanna know

Won't you tell me Gotta know

Am I in love to stay...

Tell me

Stop, stop, stop, stop!
Someone came in late.

Someone came in late.

Wait, no. Nobody came in late, E.
Let's just reset.

I know what I heard. One of
these women threw me off.

You know what, please leave.
I'm done.

And, Kevin, get me a cigarette.

Can you call the driver?

Kevin, sit down.

It wasn't them,
Elle. It's you.

You're just not
bringing it, baby.

This song just isn't you.
You gotta be raw.

Fine. You know what the
stupid song needs...

You sing it!

All right.

All right, everybody out.

Everybody out.

Y'all stay.

Give us a minute, sweetheart.
Mmm-hmm.

I do know what the song needs.

It needs for you to stop pretending
to be who you used to be

and be who you are now.

This tantrum you're throwing,
put it in the song.

That's what I've been doing.

No. You're hiding.

You're hiding behind the mix,

behind those fake-ass
samples and reverb,

behind that fur and
all that makeup.

Take it off.

Get out of here, Cookie.
You know what?

I can take care of
this all by myself.

I'm not playing,
Elle. Take it off.

You need to sing about
your pain as the real you,

or it ain't never gonna work.

Take it off.

Do you know who
you're talking to?

I had the highest-selling
debut album

in the history of this company.

I built this place.

But I am fighting for a
comeback, too, Elle.

It is do-or-die
for me, too.

Okay?

Now, let's do this together,
but we gotta do it right.

I'm all you got.

Trust me.
Take it off.

Hmm.

Yes. All of it.

That's right.
Fine.

You happy?

Get rid of those
fake-ass eyelashes.

Okay, come on.
Let's get something.

All right.

All right, uh, let's try
it from the bridge.

All righty, here it comes.

Hold me

Love me

Please me

Tease me

Till I can't

Take no more...

I wanna love you, baby
Gonna kiss and hug you, baby

Make you feel like
it's all all right

Yeah, come on

You got them kicks up on you

Come here,
darlin', give me sugar

Gonna show you
what it feels like

Let's fly

Maybe it's
the way you move, yeah

I'm noticing just
stuck up in the groove

Baby Sure it's the way you shine

Ya got silly fools
Stuck up in the line for you

Yeah Come on

I wanna love you, baby

Gonna kiss and hug you, baby

Make you feel like
it's all all right

Hey,
you got them kicks up on you

Come here,
darlin', give me sugar

Gonna show you what it
feels like Let's fly

Let's fly, let's fly, let's fly

Let's fly, let's fly

Let's fly

And let's fly Let's fly,
let's fly, let's fly

Let's fly, let's fly

Hey, hey

Yeah! Yeah!

Wow. This guy right here, man.
Have a seat, bro.

That's Jamal Lyon,
up-and-coming R&B star.

He just gave you an exclusive
peek of his brand-new joint.

It's called I Wanna Love You.

I know you guys felt it,
because your boy Sway felt it.

And, man, I gotta tell you,
bro, that song is a banger.

Thank you, man. I appreciate that.
Thank you.

Absolutely, man. So-so what's
the deal with you, brah?

You got Keep Your Money is
starting to get traction.

Yeah.

I think I Wanna Love You
is simply gonna explode.

And soon, Jamal Lyon's
gonna be a contender.

So how does your lady
feel about that?

Uh... Um...

I mean, who says I have a lady?

Wait. Wait.
Hold up, man.

You're gonna tell me there's
no special girl in your life?

Honestly, no.
I'm just...

I'm really in love
with my music right now.

No one special.

Wow. Okay, you heard
it here first, ladies.

Jamal's got a lot of talent,

he got that billion...

There you go, big boy.

You wanna take a look at it?

Commissioner Marshall.
Thank you.

I know it doesn't
bring your friend back.

No, but at least justice
is getting served.

I owe you.

How do I pay you back?

So, how you doing, Vernon?

Still thinking about quitting?

Hell no. I tell you now, things
are gonna be a lot different.

All right. You okay?

Yeah, I'm good.

Doctor, how do we know that
this is gonna be safe?

It's already been approved for
phase two trials in Moscow.

Phase one showed
excellent results.

Okay. You're not
answering my question.

I can't give you the
answer that you want.

It's an experimental
drug, but the reality is...

I am dead without it.

What is all of this?

ID, please?

What do you mean, you need to see my ID?
Do you know who I am?

Of course I know
who you are, Ms. Lyon,

but there's new
security protocol.

I don't care about no new security.
I'm sorry, Ms. Lyon.

They're just following the
instructions that I gave them.

I'm Malcolm DeVeaux, Empire's
new head of security.

Oh. Good.
Okay. Hi.

Hi, Mrs. Lyon.

Oh, please, call me Cookie.

Cookie, until the system
is up and running,

we're double-checking IDs of
anyone coming in the building.

It's for your safety.

Okay. Why didn't you say that?
Here, let me get you my ID.

No. Please.

Thank you.
Mmm-hmm.

I feel safer
already, Mr. DeVeaux.

Just so we're clear, I
didn't know what my dad did.

I gave him an alibi because
that's what I've always done.

I guess we're both guilty of putting
ourselves on the line for that man.

My father lied to you.

That is something
I've never done.

You're right. I apologize
for choking you out.

Team Andre.

You wash your hands first.

I know it's a lot
for you to deal with.

It just means we're gonna
move faster on our plan.

One more thing.

You ever put your
hands on me again,

I will slit your throat.

You just make sure you keep
taking those meds, boy.

So, I just heard from two
pretty decent promoters,

but I'm not sure I'm ready
for us to go on tour yet.

I wanna get you
back in that studio

while your creative
juices are flowing,

'cause, boy, you hot right now!
You hot!

Like LeBron did Wade

I ain't trippin' off these
broads, man I'm gon' get paid

What the hell is that?

They gon' learn in a minute
'Cause they all gettin' slayed

I don't trust 'em, man These
broads ain't about nothin'

Don't call me,
don't text, no discussion

They all phony and that's why
I don't trust 'em

They all phony and that's...

Oh, my God! Hakeem,
this is everything.

I want to fast-track it. Put
it out ahead of the album.

Oh, absolutely. It's never
too soon to start a buzz.

Look, I'm not doing no soccer-mom
clean version, either.

I'm going straight
hardcore with this one.

All right, listen, you do you.
Okay? This is your brand.

And the good thing
about this song is

it's gonna generate
enough controversy,

so we won't even need
to promotion spend. Oh!

Y'all forgetting
one thing, though.

You write a song about
how much you hate women,

it makes you look
like a little bitch.

I don't hate no woman who
ain't did me wrong first.

And when
this song drops,

the majority of the people on the
dance floor is gonna be women.

Exactly. Anybody
with common sense

can see that the lyrics
are just metaphors.

Just drop the damn song.

I really hope that when
you become a star,

you can finally let go of
all this childish anger.

Become? I'm already
a star, Cookie.

Y'all wanna meet me in the car?

Okay. We'll wait.

Oh, how sweet. Just one
big happy family, huh?

Nobody's expecting you?

No, nobody's
expecting me.

But it's okay, because if you just
tell them that Olivia is here.

They'll know me. I've known
them forever. Right.

Just wait right
here. I'll...

Okay. Thank you.
Thank you.

Mr. Lyon? Um,
I need to see you.

There's someone over here
claiming to be a relative.

Hi.

- You know her?
- Hi.

- Yeah.
- Hey, everybody.

- Wait, please.
- Hey.

Hi. Hi, everybody.
Hey, wait...

Hello.

Long time no see.

Hey, Jamal.

What's up, Olivia?
What you doing here?

We heard you on the radio.

Your song... They will
not stop playing it.

And Lola knows all the words.
Sing the song.

Dol-dol, dollar bill...

Do-do-dollar bill Everybody
lookin ' for somethin '

She wanted to meet her daddy.