Queen Latifah was the first hip hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
No one can box you into a category if you don't allow it.
Queen Latifah can be described as many things: a hip-hop artist, a singer, an actor, a producer, an entrepreneur, and more. What she can't be described as is one-dimensional. When you have the talent that Latifah, born Dana Elaine Owens, has, there are so many ways to showcase it to the world.
In 1989, she released her debut album, All Hail The Queen, which features her hit single "Ladies First." Two years later, her sophomore album, Nature of a Sista, followed up. However, her third album, Black Reign, set things off. (get it? She starred in the movie Set It Off with Jada Pinkett, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise)
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Queen Latifah's third album was a game-changer. It was the first album by a solo female rapper to receive a gold certification, and the hit single "U.N.I.T.Y" won a Grammy. Her music career was just the beginning. She conquered the film and TV industry, starring in iconic roles like Khadijah James on Living Single (1993) and Cleo in the classic Black film Set It Off (1996).
She also had her own talk show. In a world where "star" is thrown around so loosely, Latifah deserves that status, and her making history again in 2006 was really just the icing on the cake. The Living Single star was the first hip-hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—not the first woman hip-hop artist, but the first overall.
Latifah is a trailblazer, paving the way for Black women in many careers, and we can't wait to see what she achieves next.
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