Monday, July 16, 2012

Ahead of the Curve: Queen Latifah

How many queens do you know that can beat box?

Some queens inherit their title.  Other queens are given their title by the media (She's the "Queen of this, or the Queen of that...).  But some queens earn their title by staying on the grind.  Queen Latifah is one of those queens.

Born in Jersey with a Baptist Church and Catholic school upbringing, Queen bucked the conventional stereotypes of woman and hip hop artist.  She released her first few albums by the time she was 22-all edgy anthems of unity and respect and empowerment for women--and was no doubt a pioneer in the male-dominated genre.

Since the then, she hasn't stopped pushing and stretching to new territories.  She released a jazz album in 2004, her own perfume called "Queen" a few years ago, and has starred in more sit coms and movies than most professionally trained actors.

But, it is her revolutionary attitude toward fashion that sets her apart from the rest.  She has redefined beauty...literally.  With her own line of cosmetics for Cover Girl and her own clothing line, she has illustrated that beauty comes in all sizes, shapes, colors and packages.  She has also lead the charge of throwing out the term "plus-size" in fashion. 

She's an actor, a singer, a hip hop artist, a designer, an entrepreneur and a queen.  And she's way ahead of the curve.

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