Queen Latifah

I made decisions that I regret, and I took them as a learning experience…I’m human, not perfect, like anybody else.

New Jersey Born

From the city of Newark New Jersey, Queen Latifah was born to a school teacher and a police officer. She would be raised in a Baptist church although her parents would divorce by the time she was age ten. She was both an athlete as well as a performer in high school where she played a forward on the basketball team as well as performing in a musical called The Wiz. She would begin with a small group playing in a localized manner but would later get her big break when one of her demos was given to the host of Yo MTV Raps by the name of Fab Five Freddy. The single would be called Queen of the Posse and would change her life forever.

Career Start

Starting out as a beat boxer for the group called Ladies Fresh, Latifah would begin her solo career when her music would make it into the hands of the influential producer and host of Yo MTV Raps Fab Five Freddy. Freddy would promote Latifah and help her get signed to Tommy Boy Records in early 1989, which would enable her to release her first full length album called All Hail the Queen near the end of 1989. Queen Latifah was nineteen years old when she released her first record and this would simply be just the beginning for a long career in the performance related industries.

After two more album releases and a secure spot in rap music history, Latifah would go on to release her fourth album in 2004 called Order in the Court. After the release of her fourth rap album, she decided it was time to shift gears and focus more of her attention on singing lyrics in the R&B world and allowing her to create a new genre for herself.

Finding Other Paths

Queen Latifah would begin a new start in the world of music by changing paths and begin singing instead of rapping. She would release her first album in 2004 called The Dana Owens Album, which would gain a warm reception of critical acclaim. She would also sing at the fame Hollywood Bowl and was accompanied by the Queen Latifah Orchestra, which was a ten piece musical ensemble. She would release a few albums as a jazz and R&B singer but later return to her roots in 2008 when she would release her next hip hop album called All Hail the Queen II.

Acting

Latifah would not only find success in the world of music but also find a place in the acting community as well. She has been in many films over the last twenty years as well as acting in the sitcom called Livin’ Single, which was a show in the early 1990’s. Other movies would include Juice, House Party 2, and Jungle Fever. She also held her own show called The Queen Latifah Show for three years during the late ‘90’s up until 2001. Fans can visit her website where they may find free music downloads as well as other information on the artist.

Did you know that...

...it was rumored at one time that Latifah may be a lesbian.
...she has starred in movies with film greats such as Eugene Levy.
...she has been nominated for an Academy Award although she did not win.

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