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__  ** Queen Latifah By: Hollie Yates **  __



    ** Have you ever read the biography of Queen Latifah? It is an amazing, interesting and informative book written by Amy Ruth. It is filled to the brim with anything you would ever need to know about the talented actress and rapper Queen Latifah. The majority of people already know who Queen Latifah is but this book will tell you some great facts that you probably don’t know about “The Queen”. **

 ** Queen Latifah also known as Dana Owens was born on March 18, 1970 in Newark, NJ. When Dana was eight, her Muslim cousin started calling her Latifah which is an Arabic word that means delicate or sensitive. At a young age, she starred in her high school's production of The Wiz, and began rapping in high school with a group called Ladies Fresh; her main role was beat boxing. In college, she took on the name Queen Latifah and hooked up with Afrika Bambaataa's Native Tongues collective. She recorded a demo that landed her a record deal with Tommy Boy, and released her first single called, "Wrath of My Madness," in 1988. In 1989, Latifah's full-length debut, All Hail the Queen, was released to great reviews, and the single "Ladies First" broke her to the hip-hop audience. In addition to hip-hop, the album also found Latifah experimenting with R&B, reggae, house and a duet with KRS-One and De La Soul. It sold many copies. Latifah quickly started a management company, Flavor Unit Entertainment, and was responsible for discovering Naughty by Nature. Her 1991 sophomore album, the lighter Nature of a Sista, wasn't quite as popular, and when her contract with Tommy Boy ended, the label decided not to re-sign her. Unfortunately, things went downhill from there. She was the victim of a carjacking, and her brother Lance died in a motorcycle accident. Today, she is back to her successful self acting in movies such as Taxi, Beauty Shop, Last Holiday and Hairspray. ** 

 ** Dana Owens is a very talented individual with along history of fame. As a child, she followed her dreams and believed in herself to become the talented actress and singer she is today. To me she is an inspiration because even when it was difficult to keep going, she never gave up.

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