In a recent interview with Vogue Taraji P Henson revealed female Hip hop from past eras was the inspiration behind her breakout character Cookie Lyon, on Fox's Empire. The style, the grit and the sass, says Taraji, is dubbed from Lil Kim.
“Kim is everything! Today it’s Nicki Minaj, but Nicki Minaj got everything from Kim. Kim came on the scene and made everything change for women—she made it feminine and sexy and hardcore. She was a champion, and she’s certainly Cookie’s champion.”