Rapper and TV producer 50 Cent is very vocal about how his TV series "Power" is better than Fox's "Empire."
The first one tells the story of a New York City nightclub owner who is involved in city's drugs business while the other is about a chaotic family lead by a father who is a former drug dealer turned recording company CEO.
"Power" came first but the Fox musical drama's rise somewhat overpowered it and 50 Cent claims the latter just copied their characters.
It is understandable that 50 Cent is very proud his "Power" TV series. It is also natural that he thinks "Empire" TV series has to catch up when it comes to quality. Lead star Omari Hardwick, he does not mind the comparison but insists they are two different shows.
"I'm very blessed. I don't mind the comparison," he said in an interview with The Wrap. "Whenever you have a rags to riches story - both have rags to riches as the backdrop, both have brown people portraying the lead characters - then I think it's a natural comparison. And it's an average comparison. I think if you dig deeper, they're very different."
"Power" cast Hardwick, who plays James "Ghost" St. Patrick, also reacted on people's opinion about him and his "Empire" TV series counterpart Terrence Howard who plays Lucius Lyon. He said he admires the 46-year old actor ever since the hit film "Hustle and Flow" which also co-starred his "Empire" screen ex-wife Taraji P. Henson.
"There's a collective opinion that he's having fun with it," Hardwick said.
"I have a lot of respect for Terrence Howard. Big time actor. When I was coming up, I looked at him and thought he was doing his thing... 'Hustle and Flow' was the thing that really stood out to me. Taraji's already been nominated for an Oscar, I've auditioned for Lee Daniels several times, so it's hard to not support something that's being as highly regarded as that's been regarded, where you have actors who look like me. It's a landscape of not a lot of us working, I would say."
"Power" TV series will air its second season finale on August 15 and is already renewed for a third run. "Empire" season 2 release date is Sept. 23.
