All Hail the Queen

A classic debut containing a bonafide anthem in Ladies First. Some say this was the pinnacle of Latifah's career. Those people have obviously not seen Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade.

No album is more 1989. It's frozen in a block of 100% pure 1989. It's produced by George H.W. Bush on the deck of the Exxon Valdez. So yes, it's all dated to buggery, but that is not that bad in itself; listening to this has some of the joys of archaeology. However, it's also very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very repetitititititititititititive. All the house beats sound exactly the same. All the raps sound the same, with the sole theme that of Queen Latifah being a good rapper. That makes one good song, but this is meant to be a bloody album. A second listen proves more appealing than the first, but it's still one fine song done 12 times. Yes, one fine song done 12 times. Indeed, one fine song done 12 times. Truly, one fine song done 12 times. In frankness, one fine song done...

I think a lot of folks get down on this album for being dated, which it is, but so is a lot of the music on this list. I don't think that dated hip-hop is any worse inherently than dated rock or dated jazz. What's more, this album comes from a singular moment in hip-hop when sampling was wide open and DJs had the equipment to take large samples from popular music. Not all of the rapping on this album has aged well, but Queen Latifah has unquestionable skill on the mike, and its on full display here. The early synthesis of rap with house music is also really cool. This is certainly not the best rap album I've gotten on this list, but it has a case as the most underrated rap album that I've gotten. 4/5

Shit

What's that? You're all out of Neneh Cherry? How am I going to relive the salad days of 1989? Oh, you have some Queen Latifah? Well that will substitute nicely.

I really wanted to like this more than I did.

So I’m guessing this is on the 1,001 list related to Queen Latifah being one of the first female rappers – so I get that, and I also think it’s impressive for a 19-year old female in the male dominated hip hop world… That said, just how many songs do you need to have on an album where you reference how “dope” your rhymes are, talk about how you can out-rap anyone, and mention your name – along with DJ Mark The 45 King? A couple of songs? Perhaps half the album? Nope – apparently EVERY SINGLE God-damn track needs to make some reference to the “Queen & King”… Absolutely wore me out… Additionally, the sound on this album seems incredibly dated to me (i.e. and it didn’t age well either…) – as I guess a lot of hip-hop back then tended to sound like this – and then of course the lyrical content of 80%+ of the songs was about what a great rhymer she was, and how she could take on anybody… Sure, 1 or 2 songs like that would have been fine – but just about every song on the album – well shit got pretty dull, pretty quickly IMO – but I guess when it came out, it sounded different… The only lyrical content that was along the lines of what I expected was “Evil That Men Do” – after of course the obligatory first few minutes of rapping about what a great rhymer she was – the rest of it was interesting, and would have preferred more of her perspectives like that… Also liked the reggae feel of “Princess Of The Posse” – just had to put up with all the lyrics about how great she was – though the chorus by the back-up singers was fine… Giving this a 2 for historical significance, and the inaugural work of a 19-year old female in a male dominated genre, but at the end of the day – the quality of the songs throughout an album HAVE to mean something, and the endless repetition on this one was just insufferable…

When she's on, she's on, but there are too many tracks that don't work. This did not age well at all. Best track: Dance for Me

09/15/2022 I’ll probably say this hundreds of times throughout this project, but I am not an 80s girl, and late 80s/early 90s dance hall/house music is one of the genres that I hate the MOST, so this album was really tough to get through. So much so that I didn’t even do it. No disrespect or anything, but this album is not for me whatsoever. — Today sucked fat ass, I cried on the phone to Luke about how I hate school and I want to quit 🤣🤣🤣 I’m trying to force myself to stick with it and not give up so easily, but holy fuck is it easy to get discouraged. I fucking hate computers, ever since I was a child I’ve longed for a time other than this one, yet I have to be stuck in this hellhole of a world that just keeps driving itself further and further toward a bottomless pit of despair. I find it really hard to find a will to live sometimes.

It was awful.

i mean i see the appeal but felt a little cringe at times, i don’t feel as though i need to revisit low 2.5

19 years old when she released this, but 1989 hip hop doesn't age well.

Une couverture piégeuse… Si j'avais voulu un album d'Ice Cube dissimulé sous une perruque et un turban, j'aurais directement demandé à Robert (je le connais personnellement). Non, non et non.

After NWA’s misogynistic lyrics two days ago, this felt good!

The only reason this doesn't get five stars is because it not timeless. The beats and delivery style absolutely peg this as a rap album from the late 80s-early 90s. But, for the time, this album is absolutely head of the class. The lyrics are so sharp they draw blood just brushing against them. It's rare for a debut album to be such a great indication of an artist's legacy but, with "All Hail the Queen" Latifa made it clear that she was here to stay and ready to rumble. And she has. Her impact on music (and film) in America is undeniable. And it's all on display here. Great album.

Fair play to her breaking into the male dominated hip-hop world. Some good production and flow - surprisingly sounds less dated than some of her contemporaries. Best Track: Dance For Me; Mama Gave Birth To The Soul Children; Wrath of My Madness

Very good 80s rap that again loses a point for length

Really disappointed, bland, lyrically kinda dull

Lyrics are pretty weak for a rap album

Ik ga ook een album maken dat van A tot Z over mezelf gaat.

No no god no. Put it back in the ark of the covenant and open it again in 30 years. Let the future deal with it. Just get it out of my sight.

Beautiful and soulful throughout. Really easy to just listen and vibe to.

Ha, nice. This came up immediately after De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising on my list. Just like that one, I thought that this was an excellent product of the hip-hop golden age. This had a bit of everything - reggae, dub, house, jazz, soul. Overall it was just a fun, energetic album with excellent flow, a lot of great collabs, and several genres being channeled brilliantly. Favourite: Come into My House

4.5/5. Essential early hip hop. Nothing else to say.

Slut 80’er hiphop, den gamle lyd, skarp lyrik, indflydelsesrigt

wow this album is a masterpiece. flows and rhymes are absolutely impeccable and the beats are so catchy and creative. love the hook on wrath of my madness especially. the voice change rap was cute haha. saxophone on ladie’s first was cool af. track for track such a great album.

I knew Queen Latifah was a rapper, but not sure I'd heard anything really and knew her mainly for film roles. This was quality! Proper hip hop, there was also a bit of dub and reggae sounding stuff in there too. Much better than I expected. Becoming clear to me that I definitely prefer the east coast sound. Some of this sounded like DJ format, or rather format sounds like this. Particularly the track with de la soul and wrath of my madness. Thought the guest artist songs kept it interesting too and it flew by. Listened a second time and it has to be a 5. I'll be back!

Crazy that she was 18/19 recording this. Required listening for hip hop fans. Fantastic.

Punk fucking rock

Absolutely mint, no idea she was this good. Better than, or at least as good as, a lot of the greatsnfrom this era, Tribe, De La Soul, etc. Easy a 4 maybe a 5

Amazing HiP-Hop debut.

It has been a very long time since I last listened to this album. The hip-hop of the late 80s feels good to me!

This is a joy, art, musical, inventive.

FUN producers did a SIIICK job on this i really really love this. 4.7/5

Wow! This was a great weekend of music. Just as with yesterday's PJ Harvey, as soon as I finished All Hail the Queen I just started it over again. Fantastic!

No topaba esto. Uno de los mejores discos de hip hop de todos los tiempos.

didn't think I was a fan of Queen latifah - until listening to this! boppin, funky, she is a great lyricist / rapper.

This album is great from start to finish.

you wouldn't have Beyonce without Queen Latifah. and this debut is jazzy, funky, groovy, and with a flow that is sterling. Ladies First is a killer song.

I just snagged the vinyl last week to finally bring this album in to my collection, so this gave me a perfect excuse to break it in. Start to finish a banger, and an absolute classic.

A perfect album a seriously enjoyable listen les go

favourite songs: mama gave birth to the soul children, the pros, evil that men do, inside out no least favourites, absolutely loved this and knew that i would as soon as de la soul appeared. fantastic album. started listening again as soon as it was done.

All hail the queen is right!

i loved this shit

стильно, модно, вкусно

Timeless beats, effortless flows, excellent production, excellent features, an undeniable classic of New York rap

like it

Good stuff, positive vibes, great beats, good message. Don't know what more you want.

stupid good. 5 stars.

What a talent

Yes.

Great stuff. I enjoyed the trumpets alot, they really added to the jazzyness of the boom bap beats.

This album was actually excellent. A little dated but still strong. Inside Out was my favorite song

SLAY QUEEN

This is good. Queen Latifah. Fantastic rapping over some top tunes, (Queen Latifah) with more jazz than I was anticipating. Queen Latifah. But you're never far away from being reminded who the artist is. It's Queen Latifah. Best song, Ladies First, a duet with Monie Love. And Queen Latifah.

Crazy confidence, style, and presence, especially considering her age at the time. Just solid hip hop.

Good stuff

Great old scholl hiphop, feels a bit lacking regarding the actual contents but fun flows and good beats.

From the era of spinning records to sample music. Rump shaking tunes for sure.

So fun! I remember hearing Queen Latifah when she first hit the radio and her flows really stood out. The production on this album is awesome, with contributions from names like KRS-One and Prince Paul.

Pretty good

The sound is of a time, both production and flow. But there's a sense of play throughout, with the music, features, and words. The wordplay will be more appreciated by fans of this era of hip-hop, and I'm not really one. However, the parts add up to something more than their sum, and the LP grows not just forward but backward.

It's good but not great. In an era where hip hop was leaping forwards, this album feels kind of still. I mean, it still has Ladies First and a whole mess of fun tunes, and Latifah, Love, Shanté and others pushed women forward in hip hop, so this album is capital I Important, it's not an all time musical album.

Late 80s/early 90s hip hop/rap is surprising one dimensional, but I have strong preference for it vs. anything post 2k. I find it much more groovy and funky.

This record still bangs. Besides the great lyrical content I'm really digging the old school beats.

Good pick from the Golden era of hip-hop. Favorites: Come into My House, Ladies First, Princess of the Posse

queen latifah

Good classic hip hop. I forgot how great Queen Latifah was as an MC. 3.5/5

Dope! Empowerment!!!

Old school hip hop from the Queen.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this album. This is the energetic classic hip hop that I like over the slower, darker stuff.

Old school hip hop. Very fun. Different to hear a woman hip hop artist.

Pretty good

Great beats, great lyrics and wordplay. She is the Queen for a reason.

3rd August 2021 Listened on my phone in the morning and on the way to meet Andy for bowling before he leaves for China. Really enjoyed this, 90s hip hop is brill

Wow, I wasn't expecting All Hail The Queen to sound like it did. OK I wasn't sure what to expect but it certainly wasn't a mix of house and soul and the best of the Native Tongues collective. I had heard a few tracks off this before I just that were Queen Latifah guesting with others not out the front. I have to give this some more listens

This sounds dated in the same way that pretty much all 80s hip-hop sounds dated now, but Latifah is on fire throughout the whole album, constantly changing her flow and just floating over the beats in a really engaging way. The opener and Ladies First are the highlights but it’s a really solid record

I enjoyed this album, I like hip hop/rap from the 80s and 90s so this fit the bill.

An album with some nice classic hip hop sounds mixed with soulful jazz instrumentals makes this album thoroughly enjoyable for the most part, paired with Queen Latifah’s rhyme schemes and confident lyricism this really displays hip hop at its roots. I particularly enjoy how well the collaborating artists on this project pair with Queen Latifah, there’s some real chemistry throughout and makes those particular songs a great listen. The only thing letting this album down I’d say is the last 2 songs, they’re not bad by any means but the instrumentals are a bit plain and Latifah isn’t being as much energy as in the rest of the project

Tunes and bops

Some cool beats on here. 7/10

Great album, she took what was good about hiphop in the 80's and 90's and added to it.

The QUEEN. She absolutely nails her debut, but the album does suffer from a lot of the cheesy 80s tropes when it comes to rap.

It's a very good album. One of the classics from the old school era.

the bars have not aged super well and there are some garbage features, but she gets it right on some of the songs and I really like the beats. 7/10

Kinda vibey

4/5. A fun and energetic rap album from a creative artist. Crazy that she’s 18 years old here. Some misses but gosh darn are there some bangers on here.

Really good! She deserves to be a rap legend. How is this a debut album from 1989?? Outshines many others from this time period of rap.

Just a fun little nugget of information: when I was very young (think 6-7 years old), I used to think that Queen Latifah was the queen of Africa. I know there is a fair bit to unpack there, but thankfully I’m ever so slightly smarter now than I was back then. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Princess of the Possee, Ladies First I’ve said it before in other reviews, but I miss this era of rap music. Plenty of content in the lyrics and rhymes rather than mumbling about some nonsense, or otherwise just trying to cram in as many words as possible. This was a simpler era of hip hop, so just sounded so much better to my ears. I’d very happily listen to this before modern rap. Overall, quite enjoyable.

Very impressive to see that her work goes as far back as 1989, considering our generation knows her more for her acting. Great album of non-vulgar boasting, good flow, strong production from legends. I enjoyed the fact that she sings and raps. A bit lengthy, but overall a good album.

Another golden age of rap/ hip hop record, and another I haven't heard before. Nice.

Better than I thought.... some good tunes and worth a revisit!

Put off listening to this, but it’s great. Proper 80s, New York hip hop vibes. Upbeat, nicely produced, and topics that are even more relevant today. Particularly Ladies First - fighting the fight at a time when it was a lot harder to do so than today. Legend. I didnt even realise Queen Latifah was a musician first, always just knew her as an actress. I’m probably just ignorant towards this genre compared to others, but it definitely feels like this gets overlooked in discussions about great hip hop. I’m bought in now though, will return. 4.5

was ok enough

fire

Great fun. Not heard most of these tracks before. Such a contrast to all the misogynistic shite coming out of hip hop/rap at the time. Up there with De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest.

Yes! All hail the queen

I like this old-school hip-hop; emphasis on aggressive and rhythmic vocals, with some great samples (e.g. Sly and the Family Stone right off the bat) before copyright law caught up with the new artform :) Some of it sounds a little dated at this point ("Princess of the Possee" [but *huge* props for the "Barney Miller" bassline in the remix on the extended version!] or "Come Into My House" where the drums sound like wet paper and are distracting) but a. i'll still prefer it over the dull/uncreative "modern" trap beats and b. for every sound that's meh she comes back with tracks like "Latifah's Law" and "Ladies First" which are too great to ignore. It's a great document of the golden age of hip-hop when women especially were seen as more of a novelty instead of a force like Queen Latifah is here. 8/10 4 stars

really enjoyed! made pasta whilst listening

Before she was commanding audiences and scenes on the silver screen, Queen Latifah was commanding the microphone and audiences on wax. Her appropriately apt All Hail the Queen is the most perfect document of a time period where women were beginning to experience their rocky ascent up the rap ladder after years of stop/start trajectories. Queen Latifah more than holds her own, this is her album after all, weaving back and forth between rap, house and dub reggae with the likes of De La Soul, Daddy-O from Stetsasonic and Monie Love; a very worthy addition to the rap canon. Favorites: Dance for Me, Come Into My House, Latifah's Law, Wrath of My Madness, The Pros, Ladies First, A King and Queen Creation, Inside Out.