Empire Adds More Star Power To Second Season

FOX co-chairs Dana Walden and Gary Newman announced some big changes are in store for season two of Empire. For starters the songwriting team will get some new additions to include Ne-Yo and Timbaland. We know Neyo has some acting skills, but at least for now he'll remain behind the scenes. In the meantime him and Tim are going to bring the noise on the hit shows soundtrack.

During season one, the Empire cast included Snoop Dogg, Gladys Knight and Mary J. Blige. Keeping that tradition going Entertainment Weekly reports season two will continue the star power guest stars with Chris Rock, Alicia Keys and Lenny Kravitz. By the way Common, Oprah Winfrey and Denzel's names have also been thrown around. So, don't be surprised if spot any of them in the highly anticipated second season.

Speaking of which, Empire fans can expect season two will be split in half. The first portion will air in the Fall and pick-up in the Spring with a short hiatus between the 18 episodes. The producers of the hit FOX show are also looking to shake things up, ending the Fall series with a cliff-hanger. AllHipHop reports a fourth Lyon son, played by Zac Efron is gonna come into the picture. The plot is gonna be HOT for season two!

Finally, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar have a lot to smile about these days. Both rap superstars were honored Monday (May 11) but not for their musical success.

BET reports Kendrick was awarded with the Generational Icon Award by the California State Senate. Why? Because he's been giving back to his community in a major why, giving huge amounts of money to help fund music programs in the Compton Unified School District. Not to mention his sizable donations to non-profit organizations like Habitat for Humanity.

Radio.com reports K Dot was awarded on the Senate floor, by Senator Isadore Hall who said of the rapper: “In less than ten years as a professional artist, Mr. Lamar has gone from a local Compton young boy to become a multi-platinum, Billboard chart-topping, two-time Grammy award-winning musician.”

In response to his award, check out the video below to see what Kendrick said:

TheBoomBox reports is was a big day for Kanye West as well. One things for sure he's not a college dropout anymore. Yeezy received an honorary doctorate of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

He looked a little nervous for a change, and said receiving an honorary doctorate has legitimized him as an artist. He gave a rather brief speech and for more details peep what he had to say below:

Congrats to them both! For more on Tha Wire LISTEN LIVE on The Peoples Station 107 Jamz. Plus find out what celebs are celebrating birthdays today.