Timbaland is taking his beats to TV. The producer/rapper and friend of JT has been tapped to be the songwriter and music producer on "Empire," a pilot from the writing/directing team behind "The Butler."

The Fox drama set in the world of hip-hop will star Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, who also appeared together in the 2005 rap drama "Hustle & Flow." The show is being written by "Butler" director Lee Daniels and that film's writer, Danny Strong, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The pilot will feature some original music mixed in with current songs as it tells the story of a family that runs a hip-hop empire. Daniels will help write the script with Strong in what will be Daniels' TV directing debut. Strong cut his teeth in TV, writing the scripts for the HBO political movies "Recount" and "Game Change."

Not much else was known about the hour-long show's cast or plot at press time.