Deep Album Cuts Vol. 409: Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah is being inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year under the Musical Influences category -- Salt-N-Pepa were inducted in the same category last year, while Missy Elliott is so far the only female rapper in the Hall proper. I'm sometimes annoyed at the 'consolation prize' vibe of the side categories, but I think it's good to get some early female rap stars in there, I hope MC Lyte gets in next.
2. Evil That Men Do f/ KRS-One
3. Latifah's Law
4. The Pros f/ Daddy-O
5. A King and Queen Creation f/ The 45 King
6. if You Don't Know
7. Bad As A Mutha
8. Nuff' of the Ruff Stuff
9. One Mo' Time
10. No Work
11. Bring The Flavor
12. Coochie Bang...
13. Mood Is Right
14. Winki's Theme
15. Jersey
16. Greetings From The Queen
17. Court Is In Session
18. Gone Away
19. Long Ass Week
Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 from All Hail the Queen (1989)
Tracks 6, 7, 8, and 9 from Nature of a Sista' (1991)
Tracks 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 from Black Reign (1993)
Track 15 from New Jersey Drive, Vol. 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1995)
Track 16 from Queen Latifah and the Original Flavor Unit (1996)
Track 17 from Order in the Court (1998)
Track 18 from Trav'lin' Light (2007)
Track 19 from Persona (2009)
Queen Latifah made her best rap records before hip hop peaked commercially and has arguably had more pop culture impact as an actress, so her catalog really didn't sell as much as you might think, or as much as it should have. Black Reign was her first gold album and its lead single "U.N.I.T.Y." was her only Top 40 hit and won her only Grammy, and those came out after she'd already become a primetime star on "Living Single." Great record, though, I think it's very deservingly her legacy track, I was 11 when it came out and I've always loved it. "Winki's Theme" is a beautiful song in remembrance of Latifah's brother Lancelot H. Owens, who died in a motorcycle crash in 1992, and she was photographed next to his grave on Black Reign's back cover.
DJ Mark The 45 King, who was in the Flavor Unit with Latifah, was one of the main musical driving forces of her early career. He produced or co-produced a lot of Latifah's debut and of course rapped on "A King and Queen Creation." Some of her very best songs were self-produced, though, including "Jersey" from the New Jersey Drive soundtrack, I love that beat. 6 of Latifah's 7 albums are on streaming services, and the exception is 2004's The Dana Owens Album, which was her pivot to singing standards and her second gold album. She's an excellent singer but none of the songs on it are really deep cuts so I'm okay with not being able to include it. She also sang covers on her next album Trav'lin' Light, including a great rendition of "Gone Away," the Impressions song covered by Roberta Flack that was sampled on T.I.'s "What You Know."
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