Queen Latifah Explains 'Persona' Behind First Non-Covers Album In 11 Years
Queen Latifah has one of the most diverse filmographies in Hollywood. She has played the voice of Mammoth Ellie in the animated dinosaur film "Ice Age," the boisterous Matron Mama Morton in the big screen adaptation of the Broadway musical "Chicago," and wise beekeeper extraordinaire August Boatwright in the critically-acclaimed "The Secret Life Of Bees."
There are dozens of acting credits listed on her Yahoo! Movies page.
But the Newark,
New Jersey native who made her Hollywood
debut as a rapper with the release of her 1989 album "All Hail The Queen," has
never lost her passion for the art of rhyme, and has been anxious to make a new
rap album.
Over the years, Latifah made sure her fans did not forget that she could still spit a hot 16 bars, occasionally leaking web exclusive hip-hop tracks and collaborations. She tapped into that energy when making surprise award show performances of late.
Last November, Latifah joined
Alicia Keys and Kathleen Battle on stage at the American Music Awards for a
remix of Key's "Superwoman" that paid homage to Jennifer Hudson, who had
recently suffered the tragic loss of her mother and nephew. This past June, she
was the unannounced featured MC at the BET Awards, assisting Mary Mary on a
never-before-heard version of their crossover gospel hit "God In Me."
But, it has literally been 11
years since the Covergirl, Jenny Craig, and Macy's spokesmodel put out her last
hip-hop record, "Order In The Court."
The two albums that she released since were both easy listening records, "The Dana Owens Album" in 2004, and "Trav'lin Light" in 2007.
Queen Latifah's latest full length, "Persona," released in August on her own Flavor Unit Records, was inspired by her desire to return to her hip-hop roots.
Ironically, once Latifah began recording with producers Cool & Dre, who have made songs for Lil' Wayne, Chris Brown, and Rick Ross, the album took on a different direction.
The razor-edged raps Latifah set out to create materialize on the R&B-friendly "Long A** Week" and "People" featuring Mary J. Blige.
Just as in her eclectic acting career, Latifah's music has never conformed to one particular style. Still, the genres explored on "Persona" are surprising.
We are accustomed to hearing
Latifah perform various styles of hip-hop, R&B, and jazz, but she digs
deeper on "Persona." She captures the essence of '80s R&B party music from
artists like Midnight Star and Cherelle on tracks "My Couch" and "Take Me Away
(With You)" featuring Marsha Ambrosius from Floetry. She even tackles pop rock
on "Cue The Rain" and the album's lead track, "Fast Car" featuring Missy
Elliott. The "Fast Car" video features cameos from Missy, Common, Robin Thicke,
and Paula Patton.
"I set out to make a mostly rap album," Latifah explained via phone. "But Cool & Dre, they are very musical guys. Some of the beats they were giving me, they felt like beats that were more suited for singing, rather than rhyming. So when we were writing it took its own path."
The most difficult part about creating the album was determining how to incorporate all of her influences. In addition to releasing her jazz-oriented records, she has also toured with Erykah Badu and Jill Scott on the Sugar Water Festival. Plus, she also wanted to represent the house music she grew up listening to in Jersey and featured on the song "Come Into My House" on her first album.
It was important to make an album that was true to its "Persona" title. "I had to have something that was represented the things I'm into," Latifah said about the two-in-a-half month recording process. "The Queen Latifah who tries to be a positive rapper had to bring some element of what the world wanted to hear from me. I had to bring it all under one roof. I wanted to bring an updated version of me."
While it took some thought and experimenting to figure out how to best blend all the different musical ideas, it came naturally for the multitalented artist who has never been confined to a stylistic box.
In the beginning of her career, Latifah was fortunate to learn the importance of trying new things. She thanks the Afrocentric hats she once wore for teaching her the invaluable lesson.
"When I first started
rapping, I wanted to look different than everyone else," Latifah explained. "The
African style gear was in, people were wearing these charms. So I wore these
hats called kufis. Once I started to get a little bit of notoriety, I noticed
that when I didn't have that hat on my head, people did not know who I was. I
thought to myself, Am I a hat? And I started taking them off. I thought, I'm
me. I'm not what I'm wearing. I never wanted to be boxed in. Not to look or
sound."
That revelation and Latifah's response to it was pivotal in setting her apart from her hip-hop contemporaries. Many rap artists are so concerned about potentially alienating their base audiences that they rarely step outside of their comfort zones to pursue other interests.
But Queen Latifah is on a
short list of rappers including Will Smith, Ice Cube, and Ice T, whose
contributions to the arts have transcended the hip-hop platforms that got them
their start.
She hopes her risk taking encourages newcomers to do the same.
