Photo: WENN.com

First there was the announcement of Q-Tip's Native Tongue series, then Baz Luhrmann's show on the birth of hip hop, and now director Lee Daniels has announced he too is directing a hip hop drama series.

Titled 'Empire', the series is based in the world of a hip-hop empire, and will be produced by 24's Brian Grazer. It's also set to feature both original and current music.

Daniels, known for films such as Monster's Ball and Precious, is taking his first shot at TV directing with the drama. The director's most recent film, The Butler, stars Forest Whitaker and centres around an African American butler who serves for 34 years in the White House. A far cry from the world of hip hop.

Empire will be written by Danny Strong, with whom Daniels previously collaborated on The Butler.

US TV network Fox has ordered a pilot episode of the show, after a reportedly ferocious bidding war, but no airing date has been scheduled yet.