
By
Alex Titus. "
Empire," the hip-hop music fueled soap opera is drawing millions of viewers, and topping the
Billboard Charts. With
130,000 copies sold, the "
Empire Season 1" soundtrack sits atop the
Billboard Top 200 Album chart, besting
Madonna's "Rebel Heart." This marks the first time in
5 years that a television soundtrack has achieved this stat. "
Glee" was the last show to pull this off in
2010.
Fans geared up for the show's
2-hour finale last night with an all star musical line-up featuring living legend
Patti LaBelle, rap icon
Snoop Dogg and pop singer
Rita Ora. Executive producer
Lee Daniels has introduced a diverse landscape to prime-time television and much of the show's power lies within the music, at
James Washington's direction.
James Washington, who also goes by
Jim Beanz has collaborated and written hits for everyone in the music industry from
Whitney Houston and
Gwen Stefani, to
Chris Brown and
Diddy. If you're one of the dedicated
15 million "
Cookie Monsters" who find yourself glued to the tv screen every Wednesday jamming to
The Lyons' catchy anthems, you would agree that his work is the driving force behind this pop culture phenomenon.
Beanz, originally from
Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania started out in R&B group "
Tresan," under the guidance of
Jazz from '
90s quartet "
Dru Hill." If you're not familiar with
Beanz, we got you covered.
NBCBLK contributor
Alex Titus recently spoke with
Beanz to learn more bout the pen that built the
Empire dynasty.
*nbcnews.com