Follow the journey of how a little girl from the projects of Newark, New Jersey became a Queen in Hip Hop, jazz and on the silver screen. She has worked with the likes of Denzel Washington, Steve Martin, Danny Devito, Ice Cube, Will Smith, and LLCool J. See how Queen Latifah also known as Dana Owens has built an entertainment empire amidst adversity. Although she struggles everyday to get over her brothers death, she still maintains her reign and is well on her way to making an even bigger name for herself in the entertainment industry. You will see how the inspiration of Hip Hop created one of the most talented African American females in History.
00:00In 1998, the Queen released her fourth album, Order in the Court.
00:05While it didn't match the sales of earlier albums, it was still critically well-received.
00:10It was also the first of her albums to be released on her own label, Flavor Union.
00:15Queen Latifah's business of managing other artists led her to the releasing of albums of LL Cool J and others.
00:22It was this year that her acting jumped to a whole new level.
00:26She was in several movies, but stole the show in Living Out Loud, where she played Liz Bailey, a jazz singer.
00:33Not only was her dramatic acting a revelation, but her performance of complicated jazz standards blew critics away and scored the Queen a whole new fan base.
00:42In 1999, she came out with her book, Ladies First, Revelations of a Strong Woman.
00:49Part memoir, part self-help book, she offers her own life and mistakes as the basis for others to live a good life.
00:57Queenliness, she says, is an attitude that starts on the inside and works its way out.
01:04With her large company, burgeoning film roles, successful book and multiple albums, Queen Latifah was more successful than ever, playing to a wider audience.
01:15Still, she spent significant time in New Jersey with her mother, who was running Flavor Union's real estate business to develop low-income housing options for families.
01:24Queen Latifah started negotiations for her own talk show in 1998.
01:29The show debuted in 1999 and ran for three years.
01:33Interviewing the likes of Al Gore, Whoopi Goldberg, the show also included ordinary people, often teens, talking about real problems.
01:42It was important to Queen Latifah that her show provide real solutions for people.
01:46In a time when many talk shows were attempted and failed, Queen Latifah was very successful.
01:51In the late 90s, as her popularity increased, she has had her lyrics studied at Harvard and Cambridge Universities.
