QUEEN LATIFAH
Name: Queen Latifah
Born: Dana Elaine Owens
Born: 18 March 1970 Newark, New Jersey
Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), better known by the stage name Queen
Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. Latifah's work in music,
film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, Grammy Award, five
additional Grammy nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Award, an Emmy Award
nomination and an Academy Award nomination.
Latifah was born in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of Rita, a schoolteacher
who worked at Irvington High School, and Lancelot Owens, a policeman.
Her parents divorced when Latifah was ten. Latifah performed the number "Home"
from the musical The Wiz in a high school play. Her stage name, Latifah,
meaning "kind" in Arabic, was given to her when she was eight by her cousin.
Latifah was raised in the Baptist religion, and, while in high school, was a
power forward on her basketball team.
Latifah started her career beatboxing for the rap group Ladies Fresh. Latifah
was one of the members of the original version of the Flavor Unit, which, at
that time, was a crew of emcees grouped around producer DJ Mark the 45 King. In
1988, DJ Mark the 45 King heard a demo version of Latifah's single "Princess of
the Posse" and gave the demo to Fab Five Freddy, who was the host of Yo! MTV
Raps. Freddy helped Latifah sign with Tommy Boy Records, which released Latifah's
first album All Hail the Queen in 1989, when she was nineteen. That year, she
appeared as Referee on the UK label Music of Life album "1989 The Hustlers
Convention (live)". Her debut managed to be both a critical and a commercial
success and was followed by the albums Nature of a Sista and Black Reign, which
contained the Grammy Award winning hit single, U.N.I.T.Y. In 1998, she released
her fourth hip-hop album Order in the Court. In 2004, she released the soul/jazz
standards The Dana Owens Album.
On July 11, 2007, Latifah made her singing debut at the famed Hollywood Bowl in
Los Angeles as the headliner act in a live jazz concert. Before an enthusiastic
crowd of more than 12,400, she was backed by a 10-piece live orchestra and three
backup vocalists, aka The Queen Latifah Orchestra. In the concert, Latifah
performed new arrangements of standards including California Dreaming, first
made popular by '60s icons The Mama's and The Papa's.
In 2007, Latifah released an album entitled Trav'lin' Light. Jill Scott, Erykah
Badu, Joe Sample, George Duke, Christian McBride, Stevie Wonder made guest
appearances on the project. It has been nominated for a Grammy in the "Best
Traditional Pop Vocal Album" category.
Name: Queen Latifah
Born: Dana Elaine Owens
Born: 18 March 1970 Newark, New Jersey
Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), better known by the stage name Queen
Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. Latifah's work in music,
film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, Grammy Award, five
additional Grammy nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Award, an Emmy Award
nomination and an Academy Award nomination.
Latifah was born in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of Rita, a schoolteacher
who worked at Irvington High School, and Lancelot Owens, a policeman.
Her parents divorced when Latifah was ten. Latifah performed the number "Home"
from the musical The Wiz in a high school play. Her stage name, Latifah,
meaning "kind" in Arabic, was given to her when she was eight by her cousin.
Latifah was raised in the Baptist religion, and, while in high school, was a
power forward on her basketball team.
Latifah started her career beatboxing for the rap group Ladies Fresh. Latifah
was one of the members of the original version of the Flavor Unit, which, at
that time, was a crew of emcees grouped around producer DJ Mark the 45 King. In
1988, DJ Mark the 45 King heard a demo version of Latifah's single "Princess of
the Posse" and gave the demo to Fab Five Freddy, who was the host of Yo! MTV
Raps. Freddy helped Latifah sign with Tommy Boy Records, which released Latifah's
first album All Hail the Queen in 1989, when she was nineteen. That year, she
appeared as Referee on the UK label Music of Life album "1989 The Hustlers
Convention (live)". Her debut managed to be both a critical and a commercial
success and was followed by the albums Nature of a Sista and Black Reign, which
contained the Grammy Award winning hit single, U.N.I.T.Y. In 1998, she released
her fourth hip-hop album Order in the Court. In 2004, she released the soul/jazz
standards The Dana Owens Album.
On July 11, 2007, Latifah made her singing debut at the famed Hollywood Bowl in
Los Angeles as the headliner act in a live jazz concert. Before an enthusiastic
crowd of more than 12,400, she was backed by a 10-piece live orchestra and three
backup vocalists, aka The Queen Latifah Orchestra. In the concert, Latifah
performed new arrangements of standards including California Dreaming, first
made popular by '60s icons The Mama's and The Papa's.
In 2007, Latifah released an album entitled Trav'lin' Light. Jill Scott, Erykah
Badu, Joe Sample, George Duke, Christian McBride, Stevie Wonder made guest
appearances on the project. It has been nominated for a Grammy in the "Best
Traditional Pop Vocal Album" category.