Queen Latifah

=== Early Life ===
Queen Latifah, also known as Dana Elaine Owens, was born on March 18, 1970 in Newark, New Jersey. When Dana was 8 years old, her cousin gave her the nickname Latifah, which means "delicate and sensitive" in Arabic. In high school Latifah formed a rap group named Ladies Fresh with her friends, Tangy B and Landy D. Her mother, Rita Owens, was a catalyst and invited Mark James, a local disc jockey known as D.J. Mark the 45 King, to appear at a school dance. Latifah and her friends starting hanging out in Marks parents basement often, which was equipped with electronic and recording equipment. They called themselves the "Flavor Unit".
=== Steps Toward Fame ===
Mark was beginning a career as a producer and recorded a demo of Latifah's rap Princess of the Posse. The demo was given to Fab 5 Freddy, host of Yo! MTV Raps, and captured the attention of Dante Ross, who decided to sign Latifah. Her first single, "Wrath of My Madness" was issued in 1988. From this she got the opportunity to launch a European tour and got to perform at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The year after, Latifah released her first album, All Hail to the Queen, which ended up selling more than 1 million copies. With her new money, Latifah invested in a video store and with her new love of business found an opening in record production. In 1991, Latifah became the chief executive officer of the Flavor Unit Records and Management company. With in 2 years the company had already signed 17 rappers. Latifah continued to record songs herself, the single "U.N.I.T.Y." in 1995 earned her first Grammy Award.
==== Top Songs: ====
# U.N.I.T.Y. -Queen Latifah
# Paper -Queen Latifah featuring Apache
# Just Another Day -Queen Latifah
# Weekend Love -Queen Latifah
# Need Your Love -Big Bub featuring Queen Latifah and Heavy D
# It's Alright -Queen Latifah
# You Can't Stop the Beat -Cast of Hairspray
=== Acting ===
In the 1990s, Queen Latifah started getting into acting. She appeared in many different movies and TV shows being casted mostly in comedic or dramatic roles. She also took part in the musical Chicago, earning an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress(Although lost to co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones).
==== Sources: ====
https://www.biography.com/people/queen-latifah-9542419
https://www.billboard.com/music/queen-latifah/chart-history/hot-100