One of the best things about Fox's Empire is that while music mogul Lucious Lyon (played by Terrence Howard) has seen his life change a lot, he doesn't forget where he came from. Once upon a time, he and wife Cookie (the ever-entertaining Taraji P. Henson) were struggling to provide for their family, hoping for a big break in music. Of course, the couple and their kids had plenty of indiscretions, friends, and foes during those days — and all of them certainly still come back to haunt the Lyon family in the present. On Wednesday night, Empire will introduce Angie, played by Mary J. Blige, Lucious' ex who could be one such friend or foe.
While Cookie went to prison, Lucious briefly moved on with Angie and, well, she's back. The hot-headed Cookie's probably not going to take this without spouting some signature one-liners and maybe throwing a shoe or two (gotta love her). But back to Angie, who Blige described to EurWeb as a singer who once wrote/sung a song with Lucious. "I believe they’re reminiscing in the episode by singing a song that they probably wrote together," she said.
Blige was invited to guest star on the show by co-creator Lee Daniels himself. "I saw him at a hotel here in L.A. about six months ago or so, and he was raving about ‘Empire’ and how I had to be on the show," she told EurWeb. "And then my girlfriend Taraji, who plays Cookie, was even telling me about it, and she invited me as well. But Lee Daniels officially invited me."
Much like Angie, Blige is a singer with a long and storied career that has spanned decades. These days, she does a lot of guest appearances on tracks, but here are her biggest hits that you should be familiar with.
"Real Love"
This catchy and very '90s new jack swing tune was Blige's very first Billboard top 10 hit and also topped the R&B charts in 1992. It was the second single from her debut studio album What's the 411? (so '90s), which also featured the singles "You Remind Me" and "Sweet Thing." The album was produced by Puff Daddy, pre-name chages.
"Not Gon' Cry"
This heartbreak song from the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack became a hit on its own in 1996 and reached the No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The certified Platinum track was also nominated for a Grammy in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category.
"Family Affair"
This catchy R&B tune was Blige's first hit of the 2000s. "Family Affair," which is from her 2001 album No More Drama, sat atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six weeks. No bad for a song that came from a jam session between producer Dr. Dre, Mel-Man, Camara Kambon, and Mike Elizondo. The lyrics also include the phrase "Let's get crunk," which would become the "on fleek" of the early aughts. Those were the days, weren't they?
Image: Chuck Hodes/Fox
