Language-External Context

Early Life

Queen Latifah, nicknamed “Hip Hop’s First Lady”, was born Dana Elaine Owens on March 18, 1970 in Newark, New Jersey. She grew up in East Orange, New Jersey with her older brother and parents. She is a rapper/singer, actor, music producer, and social activist. (According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of East Orange, NJ is 88% African American). Queen Latifah’s speech community helped shape her language use.

Queen Latifah began her singing career at a young age in her church, then sang as Dorothy in a school production of “The Wizard of Oz”. When she was 8 she was given the moniker, “Latifah”, Arabic for “delicate and sensitive” by her cousin. By her freshman year of high school, she was singing and rapping in locker rooms and restrooms. In 11^th grade, she and her friends, Tangy B and Landy D, started a rap group, Ladies Fresh. They began performing soon after formation.

Music career

After her mother introduced Latifah to Mark James, a local disc jockey, aka D.J. Mark the 45 King, to a school dance, she became immersed in music making and recording. Mark’s parent’s basement became their makeshift studio and they named themselves “Flavor Unit”.

With her friend Mark working as a producer for her first demo, she caught the attention of Tommy Boy Music and was signed immediately. She released a single, “Wrath of My Madness” in 1988 and the next year released her first album, “All Hail the Queen”, which sold over 1 million copies.

As a Business Woman

With the profits from her album, Latifah began investing in properties and small businesses. She realized the potential for owning her own record production company. In 1991, she had become the CEO of her own company, Flavor Unit Records and Management Company in Jersey City, NJ. In only two years, she signed on 17 raps groups, including Naughty by Nature. That same year, she released her second album, “Black Reign” (a definite indexing of her Blackness and ethnic pride). While that album didn’t have the success of her first, she won her first Grammy Award in 1995 for her single, “U.N.I.T.Y”. (Biography.com)

Her first role in a film was in 1991’s “Jungle Fever”. She has since been in dozens of television shows and films. (imdb.com)

Musical Influences 

This album was jazz / reggae influenced. The single ‘U.N.I.T.Y’ was a huge hit. The song was about her story of reigning over tough times in personal life and about black people reigning over their oppressors. This song established her as one the best female rappers in the world and also fetched her, her first Grammy award.