Queen Latifah

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Queen Latifah

Rap singer

Maintains Control in Male-Dominated Business

Queen Latifah, whom Lisa Kennedy of Mother Jones called one of the hottest artists on the burgeoning Tommy Boy label, has worked hard for her success, but not by stepping on fellow rappers on her way to the top. Latifah is known for her refusal to participate in the well-publicized feuds among various factions of rap performers. “I might rebut if somebody challenged me, but I’d make it funny, not nasty,” she said in Rolling Stone. Attesting to her feelings of solidarity with other rappers, she has stated that she would rather present a united artistic front than suggest a clique fractured by infighting and clashing ambitions.

Applauded for her social politics as well as her gift for rhyme, Latifah—from an Arabic word meaning “delicate” or “sensitive”—seems to pursue a well-rounded image, with social commentary in its place, but entertainment firmly in the foreground. “I’d rather throw in a line or two about drugs,” she has said, “just to make you think. I can have fun and still show I’m on the ball.” Her music, according to Interview, borrows freely “from hip-hop, House, jazz, and reggae,” all saturated by Latifah’s sense of self and a pride seemingly untouched by vanity.

While some vocal artists are never quizzed about the message of their music, rappers are often asked to philosophize about fellow musicians and ideas in rap; Latifah holds her own, but will not be made into a spokesperson. Her strength is often misinterpreted as a feminist message. Rolling Stone contributor Alan Light testified that “Latifah bristles at the suggestion that she is part of a ‘women’s movement’ sweeping rap. ‘Me, M.C. Lyte, Roxanne Shante, we got record deals because we’re good,’ she said. ‘We deserve them, not because we happen to be women.’”

Rejects Feminist Label

Like many young women, Latifah dislikes the label “feminist,” believing it carries strident overtones. “I’m not a feminist.… I’m just a proud black woman. I don’t need to be labeled,” she said in Interview. According to Dominique DiPrima in Mother Jones, “‘Ladies First,’ [Latifah’s] duet with British rapper Monie Love, touches female pride without preaching. Her whole style is a feminist statement—she is the Queen, never the victim.” Not surprisingly, several of the cuts on Queen Latifah’s LP All Hail the Queen begin with tongue-in-cheek references to her “royal” status, such as “All hail the queen,” and “Dance for me.”

Related to the debate over feminism in women’s rap is the dominance of men in rap—and all music—production. In her Mother Jones article about women in rap,

For the Record…

Born Dana Owens c. 1970, raised in East Orange, NJ.

Began performing in high school as human beat box in rap group Ladies Fresh. Solo recording artist, 1989—; recorded re-mix of the single “Fame” with David Bowie, 1990. Appeared in film Jungle Fever, Universal, 1991.

Addresses: Record company —Tommy Boy Records, 1747 First Ave., New York, NY 10128

DiPrima described the business and its relationship to gender: “The rap music business, like most other businesses, is controlled by men, making it risky to really speak out. In addition to the business end, many female groups rely on the artistic support of men to write, produce, and advise them.” By way of example, Latifah co-mixed only two of the 15 tracks on her album.

Maintains Control in Male-Dominated Business

DiPrima also pointed out that “popular male rappers make guest appearances on women’s records, feature women on theirs, and plug them on stage and on vinyl.” This is true of All Hail the Queen, which features Daddy-O of Stetsasonic, KRS-One, and members of De La Soul. Latifah, however, seems to find her current level of artistic control sufficient; she firmly calls All Hail the Queen “hers” and discusses the album’s concept as her own. Suggesting that in a live setting one can transcend gender roles, the Queen told Kennedy: “This is a business where you sell off your talent, and to me the proof is usually at the show. There’s no double standard with your fans.”

Queen Latifah, usually clad in what Entertainment Weekly described as “African-print pajama suits, skull caps, and big wooden bracelets and earrings,” is critical of the sexist images of women presented by some male rappers. In a rare moment of universal criticism she stated: “Those women are pretty shallow. They look like skeezers, and that’s the problem. A lot of those females don’t have respect for themselves. Guys are exploiting them.” Dimitri Ehrlich of Interview congratulated Latifah on her positive image: “I think it’s great that the women you chose for your dancers have the kind of image that young people can look up to.” Latifah sees materialism as one cause of the acceptance of male-dependent women, contending that “females don’t respect themselves; they only think materialistically. They want money, but they don’t think, I’m gonna get this money on my own. They think, I’m gonna get money from this guy.”

Latifah’s larger commitment to unity in rap is apparent in her defense of male rappers; she told Entertainment Weekly that the most memorable entertainment-world moment in 1990 was “when the [censorship] controversy over 2 Live Crew pushed their album to double platinum status and when they were cleared of charges.” Although her own lyrics are not considered sexually provocative—as were 2 Live Crew’s—Latifah believes fervently in an artist’s unfettered freedom to express him or herself. In this way she is among the mainstream of her colleagues; where her opinion varies is in her defense of male rappers against charges of hating women.

Outspoken Views on Sexism

She told Interview: “I wouldn’t even say it’s sexist. It’s sexist in the sense that they’re talking about a female, but that’s usually exaggerated for the humor. Others speak the truth. They are not talking about women like me and you; they’re rapping about women who wear dresses halfway up the behind—women who use their bodies, not their minds. I’d say the guys are wrong, because instead of educating women, they’re exploiting them. But I can’t say they’re wrong for what they’re saying. I’ve been on the road and seen girls who don’t know a guy sleep with him in twenty minutes ’cause he’s in a group. That’s the kind of girl they’re talking about….”

DiPrima summed up the importance of Queen Latifah’s success: “Women like Latifah provide role models—models of women in control, speaking their minds and getting their own, without being an accessory to some guy. These role models aren’t just important to young girls but to young men as well who are getting accustomed to the independent women as a peer. Everywhere I go I hear guys listening to Latifah or Lyte, not as FEMALE RAPPERS but simply as def lyricists.”