Queen Latifah has done it all. She’s one of the first female rap stars of the 1980s. The Newark, New Jersey product signed with Tommy Boy records in 1989. She has flipped that early mic hustle into an empire as a performer, record producer, businesswoman, actress, singer, and iconic spokesmodel. Her positive, potent and enlightening contributions to Black music, TV, and film are legendary.
Today, the living icon turns 54 years young.
The Queen was serenaded with a full-crowd rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” at the recent NAACP Image Awards on Saturday.
Actor Erika Alexander told her: “You taught us how to be a Queen”
Queen Latifah Is Legendary
Her debut album All Hail to the Queen went platinum and later, her single “U.N.I.T.Y.” earned Latifah her first Grammy Award.
She has also garnered acclaim on the big screen and appeared in a number of high-profile films, earning her first Oscar nomination (best supporting actress) for her performance in the 2002 blockbuster musical Chicago.
As a member of the cast for the classic and groundbreaking sitcom “Living Single,” Latifah was part of a Black woman revolution that saw the portrayal of the everyday Black Queen — in all her imperfections and glory — finally presented to the world.
Her performance in HBO’s Bessie Smith was classic and showed the depth of her strength, versatility, and adaptability as an actor.
The Comeup
Latifah was born Dana Elaine Owens on March 18, 1970, in Newark, New Jersey. Hip-Hop was her ticket to freedom of expression, female empowerment and evening out the field in the male-dominated music industry.
Her value to our culture has withstood the test of time. She has personally endured heartache, a few run-ins with the law, brief drug addiction and the tragic loss of her older brother on a motorcycle that she purchased for him. Latifah is the epitome of strength, talent, the complexities of humanity and the multi-faceted greatness of the Black woman.
Her music always uplifted her people and reflected positively on the realism of rough urban conditions.
To celebrate a trailblazer and groundbreaker like The Queen is a no-brainer. Especially when the 5-foot-10 Latifah was a former high school basketball power forward. Her vivacious spirit and edgy yet feminine rap personality was influenced by her days on the hardwood, balling with girls and guys and putting in that work.
From Hoops To Hip-Hop
One of her classic moments that affirms her athletic gangster is when she ripped Shawn Kemp in a celebrity game and went coast for the layup.
When she had The Queen Latifah Show some years back, she had a “Hoop There It Is” segment where she played mini-hoops against celebrities.
From hoops to Hip-Hop to Hollywood to the heavens, Queen Latifah is a soul survivor and entertainment provider worthy of praise during Women’s History Month.
Social Activist, LGBTQ Leader, Hip Hop Pioneer
Who can forget the 2016 VH1’s Hip Hop Honors event, where the 46-year-old rapper threw her profound voice into the national conversation being dominated by issues of police brutality, racism and Colin Kaepernick’s freedom battle with the NFL. Latifah said it was imperative we changed deeply entrenched racist attitudes within society.
And despite the meteoric rise, the Jersey shorty-turned-Queen L-AT-I-F-A-H in command still rocks the mic.
Queen Collective Allows Women To Tell Their Own Stories Through Film
As more women begin to assert themselves and rise to fame in the rap game: Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, etc, they all should thank Queen Latifah because she pioneered this women’s rap thing like nobody else and she did it with dignity, grace, and strength and truth.
She continues to expand her influence and impact on the community with ‘Queen Collective,” where she is allowing women of color to tell their stories through film from ideas to distribution.
