Reviews (page 6 of 7)
I really wanted to like this more than I did.
she's better off acting, but the music isnt trash 2.5 rounded down
didn't think I was a fan of Queen latifah - until listening to this! boppin, funky, she is a great lyricist / rapper.
Very good 80s rap that again loses a point for length
It was awful.
No es mi estilo pero es muy clásico y si vale la pena
Slay. 4
All hail the Queen
Pretty darned good!
Can't deny how important this record was for female MCs but it is sadly filled with songs that have many parts to them that annoy me (like the dumb sounding "kid" voices on Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children). Some great lines and flow but sagged by some lackluster songs, too many to look past regardless of the great ones on here. Still not a 2 star record, but close
Have to admit this is a banger. Female rapper from the 80s litteraly checks NO boxes, but queen comes thru. The beats are on fire and her flow remains interesting, something the fellas couldn't even accomplish back then
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.
Bufff! No more rap, please!
I like Queen Latifah but this is some weak sauce
Its really bad...between 1-2 stars, but I'm feeling generous and elect to round up to 2.
Just not my jam.
Le style est ok, mais les paroles viennent pas me chercher. Je savais même pas qu'elle chantait.
A little dated now - rap style changes fast. But she’s definitely the queen.
A good album, not the usual style listen to and I can be really hit and miss with rap music but I really enjoyed it. I liked Come Into My House, The Pros and my favourite was Princess of the Posse.
19 years old when she released this, but 1989 hip hop doesn't age well.
This felt a little dated to me.
I enjoyed this ! 3*
It was alright but quite forgettable.
I love to see that Latifah was active in 1989, and certainly kicking ass. This album is exactly the vibe of late 80's early 90's Hip Hop. She captured that moment and had some really great raps while doing it. I kept Dance for Me and Wrath of My Madness but I also really enjoyed Latifah's Law and Evil that Men Do. Long Live Latifah!
Pretty good! I feel like I always forget that Queen Latifah was a rapper before being an actress, so this is a good reminder. Also I might have this one on vinyl? Will have to double check, but I may have gotten it as part of an album club. I've heard it before though, and it's pretty good. Her style of rapping reminds me so much of Ice Cube, and that makes it funnier that she played his husband in 22 Jump Street (not sure where else that may have occurred). Unfortunately this one does strike me as a bit dated, hard not too since it's 1989, but it's still quite good. An enjoyable listen to be sure. Favorite tracks: Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children, Latifah's Law, The Pros. Album art: The Queen striking a regal pose. Amid all the current conspiracies with the royal family in England, this becomes a tad bit funnier to me. But it's a solid picture, and here the white space adds power. The logo is great too. 3.5/5
What do people think who first met Ice-T on Law and Order? Then they go back and listen to songs like 'Black 'n' Decker' or 'Cop Killer'. Maybe it's just as weird as me, a guy who was a 12 year old listening to The Iceberg and then seeing Ice-T on a network police procedural. Anyway, Trugoy! Trugoy's here! Is that all of De La Soul? Hey look - I didn't walk away with a favorite here but this thing has a lot of life in it.
Pretty good late 1980s hip hop with some fun guest spots. A couple of samples that made my lip curl - and was that a little reference to Patra on 'Queen of the Posse'?
I keep on expect Will Smith to break in and start with the themes from Fresh Prince. That's not a complement. And this isn't as good as that. It's almost - almost - saved by Evil that men do, which is the only tune I'd ever want to listen to again from this. But ultimately it's so dated and just a bit too crap. So it's one star. This is more hippity-hoppity than hip-hop.
This has some entertaining bits, but quite a few songs sounded pretty similar to me. Not bad and I didn't hate it, anyway.
She really said Queen a lot huh
In my humble opinion, very mid
3.7
A couple of bangers mixed in between a bunch of okay songs. But props to Queen Latifah for helping pave the way for women in hip-hop and R&B! Standouts are Dance for Me and Princess of the Possee.
Two dimensional, musdically and creatively poor. Very dull.
Awesome - love Queen Latifah now!!
inevitably sounds dated, but still quality and a good listen.
I mean, not bad... but it all sounds pretty much the same to me after a while.
i’m fond of this pre-gangsta era of hip hop but i’m not that fond of this record
HL: "Dance for Me", ”Latifah’s Law”, “Wrath of My Madness”, “Ladies First” (track 1) unexpected Sly and the Family Stone (Track 2) unexpected De La Soul feature Kind of like Ice Cube, I primarily knew Queen Latifah as an actor, not a musician. This is pretty good! I found the forays into reggae/dancehall cheesy at first, but it’s growing on me even as I type this. Also, the best songs are pretty early on in the record, but it has a smooth finish with “Inside Out”, and “Irie say in the fire you will burn” 3.5
Cool
Didn't know she rapped Best Song: The other parts of Mama gave birth to the children of soul Worst Song: the weird alien child voice in Mama gave birth to the children of soul
Missy Elliott 2 P.S. Missy Elliott album felt like homework.
I always thought I liked hip hop. This project has made me think otherwise. I’m apparently veryyyy picky about hip hop and this was not for me. It did nothing for me sorry Queen Latifah
This was definitely a trip back in the Time Machine. It was refreshing in the way it displays hip hop with a fun loving and party type vibe. She was a trailblazer for sure and I recognize the significance of the work for the time. Not sure I will be revisiting this one though. 2.5/5 rounded up due to the artist’s staying power and evolution into television, film and icon status.
Ah now
Okay.
Snore
I have always liked the Queen Latifah persona, but man, this album is pretty boring, isn't it, even the album art. Listen to any random two songs and you've pretty much got it. Latifah's Law and Ladies first were my (marginal) faves.
Síðníundi svo sömplin eru ekki alveg eins þurr og maður kannski óttast. Ansi hresst en ekki ýkja eftirminnilegt eftir eina hlustun, en ég get bara ekki meira þegar ég er að reyna einbeita mér við vinnu.
Solider Hip-Hop
Enjoyed without feeling like I'd listen again
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.
I’m old enough to remember that Queen Latifa was a legit rapper before she become an accomplished actress. This is a solid album.
Let me start this review by saying that my love affair with rap/hip-hop goes back to even before this album was released in 1989. With that said, in a relatively new(er) genre that evolved very quickly, some phases just don’t age well. I found this to be the musical equivalent of watching “dude, where’s my car?” now…should’ve just left it as a fond memory of a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.
Ignoring the obvious 80s style and production here, I actually found myself enjoying this one. Clever use of some samples and sounds. But damn, I don’t need to be told that you are the Q-U-E-E-N on every song. I get it. Still, it’s a nice statement record and it clearly opened the door for future female rap artists.
I really tried to get into this and just couldn’t make it happen. Props to her for being a trailblazer with this (I think? Honestly I don’t know). But I just didn’t enjoy it. If this was considered good at the time, the rap game has come a LONG way
Gotta love that 80s / early 90s rap beat and some of the simple / expected rhymes. Surprisingly caught myself head bobbing to this more than I thought. My rating is between a 2 and 3 and rounding up for the groove factor.
This album oozes late 80's/early 90's style (read: corniness). It was a pretty enjoyable listen and props to Queen Latifah for blazing a trail for female MC's. That said, not sure I will be revisiting this album and can't rate higher than "average." 2.5/5
Another album that makes me wonder who made this list. It seems like this was included just because the author owned it and wanted to justify it. It's not a bad record but it's not a genre classic either.
Questioning whose album this really is - Latifah has the most airtime, but there are so many features and guest MCs it feels more like a revolving door of who’s who than her own statement LP. Too many bits where she just lets the beat ride without any vox on top as well - the magic of hip-hop is hearing the words and beat meld into something greater than their part, and I definitely felt like I was missing that here
It’s not what I generally listen to, but respect for the trail blazing and the empowerment of women.
Holy shit, what a discovery! Great production! Excellent samples, really cool energy. I didn’t know what to expect out of Latifah’s music, but this is one of my favorite surprises so far! 4/5
Lots of great beats. Not a rap fan but ripping some short ring tunes might happen!
Not for me.
Extremely dated, and yeah, so are so many other albums on the list but this one is above and beyond. Rap/Hip-Hop wouldn't be the same without this, but we don't really need to recall it. That and it's pretty boring. The same loops/beats and rhyming meter.
Early works by Queen Latifah....catchy and upbeat. I prefer later music and her acting career! Fun to watch the videos from the 90's.
Ok ok! This one is dedicated to Dana ☝🏼 I listened to a few songs …. Feels dated but it’s fun tho
I find this genre boring
Quantity over quality.
Voimakas! 3/5
Ei ehkä kaikkein ajattomin klassikko, mutta moni biisi sai vielä tanssijalan vipattamaan.
Samasta liian pitkästä CD-levyongelmasta kärsii tämäkin, monen muun aikalaisensa tavoin. siistejä hetkiä kyllä levyllä. 3/5
i don’t really like rap but i like her words
great fun. lovely slice of early hip hop i hadn't heard before
Anfangs Spaßig. Danach keine Hits und nervig.
Queen Latifa - All Hall The Queen Debut album for Latifa. Ladies First is the feminist song that was needed at the time and is still one of her signature songs. These early hip hop albums are always interesting to listen to as the beats samples are minimalistic and give more focus on the verses. The MC are the focus while the beats/music take a back seat. Latifa was one of the first female solo artists and she opened the door for women in hip hop. 4/5
(3 alto, casi 4)
What an absolute legend and trailblazer! Really enjoyed this album, QL is indeed a Queen!
A perfect album a seriously enjoyable listen les go
5.5/10 Highlights: Wrath of my Madness Princess of the Possee The Pros
Dated and corny. I'm sure it has a good message but I suspect it's not aimed at me.
not my kind of music
I always forget that Queen Latifah started as a singer, now that she is more famous as an actress. That album cover is so 80s it hurts. She really was the queen, dropping bars like nobody's business, this album would have done a lot for female rappers at the time, and so much so it's been inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry, based on its "cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage". Best: Dance With Me Worst: A King and Queen Creation 3.5 stars
Angry and boring
Props to Queen Latifah. Easy listening to a rap sound beginning.
After NWA’s misogynistic lyrics two days ago, this felt good!
Technically fine. Just wasn't into it.
De La Soul on track 2! This is pretty good. Probably a 3.4. Probably pretty noteworthy but not top 1001.
I feel like I’m watching In Living Color. Not bad. But certainly not my bag.
Queen Latifah made music? I must be too young that I only knew her as an actress. Dance for me is a fun start, girl can rap! A fun album, very 80s hip hop. Mama gave birth has some weird chipmunk shit, fuck that. Also enjoyed Ladies First. Overall 3*, fun album.
Rap/ disco , eller rnb er ikke helt sikker sykt Nice hører at d er sent 80tallet
I know the Queen as a pretty good comic actress, not a musician. She has a great voice and is a skilled singer, but as rap/hip-hop goes, this is a lot more Fresh Prince than Public Enemy. Pablum for the most part. If there were such a thing as "Pop" hip-hop, this would be it.
Ookay Queen! I’ve never heard this album. Wondering how it’s gonna stack up to her later roles as a cop and Ursula the octopus witch. Dance For Me - it’s that old school rap sound. Was this New Jack Swing? I don’t quite remember. Fun, but suuuuper dated. 2/5 Mama Gave Birth To The Soul Children - Hello Queen Latifah nice to meet you. I wonder where this fits in the history of rap. Did this album break new ground? No idea. Bizarre kid Alvin & the Chipmunks voice, which should be annoying. It’s not though. 2/5 Come Into My House - Definitely booty-shaking music. This is nothing short of consistent so far. 2/5 Latifah’s Law - this song turns me into car dash bobble head. Let see 80s rap card bingo: hyped, mack, check yo. This is definitely my favorite one so far, but is it really significantly better than the others? 2/5 Wrath of My Madness - I’m buggin’! That’s going on rap card bingo. Even though this is one is probably not my favorite, it’s once again not really better or worse. 2/5 The Pros - this album is testing the limits of the 5 star rating system. How many gradations of 2 can you do? I think I might give this a 1/5 cause it’s slightly worse than the last one. But it’s not actively awful. Love the bra strap line. 2/5 Ladies First - slightly higher production value. This might be the single. “holler & scream” - rap card bingo. Have I heard this before? The replay value is slightly higher than the rest. Oooh scratching. Finally 3/5. A King and Queen Creation - I don’t really have anything pithy to say here. It’s starting to wear thin now, but is it bad? No. 2/5 Queen of Royal Badness - rap card bingo - “grab the mic!” “The knowledge!” Step up from the last one. That makes it, wait for it, 2/5 Evil That Men Do - honestly this is starting to get in the filler category. A bit dull. Repetitive. Weren’t most of these albums like that then? Is it 1/5? I dunno 2/5 Princess of the Possee - this is definitely a point for the title. Jamaican rapping? A bit better than the last one. 2/5. Inside Out - Rap card bingo! “Get ill!” Ends on an up note. I like Jamaican patois better on this one than the last one. Is this one a 3/5? Hmm. Close but, no. 2/5 I don’t normally review the remixes but they have a chance to bump these up. Dance with Me remix - I mean this is a solid 3/5 now. Wrath of my Madness remix - is it really a question of production? Maybe. I would definitely play this over the original mix. 3/5 Princess of the Possee - Definitely better but not a whole point. Still a 2/5. I’m a rock guy, so I don’t really have the context for this album. I mean, I definitely see the throughline from this to Salt’n’Pepa to Missy Elliot to Megan Thee Stallion. I just don’t know if there’s a something more going on. Maybe the first one to introduce the Jamaican rapping? Wasn’t that more a mid-to-late 90s thing? It’s remarkable consistent, pretty fun album. It just doesn’t really rise above its era. 2/5
Not much to say other than this is the golden era of hip-hop/rap when profundities and intelligent rhymes were given precedence over profanity and the glorification of crime. If this is a hot take, this reviewer does not care. Rap music used to be so much more diverse in its intellect, messaging, and music. The modern mainstream of 2020's amplifies the importance and critical excellence of rap's golden era, and makes that generation as they get older, significant treasures. This album hits all of the bases of that golden era, unapologetically supportive of its positions, light-hearted and fun where it was intended to be, but more importantly accessible to anyone that cares, not dares, to listen.
Beautiful and soulful throughout. Really easy to just listen and vibe to.
Liked it a lot. My fave kind of 90s rap/dance combo. Love Come into my House.
1.5
Not my thing
Pretty solid 90s hip hop. Not my favorite genre though so middling review.
Given the fact that this was her debut album and she was 19 at the time, this is pretty decent. Much as I generally like old skool hip-hop and rap, Queen Latifah isn't really my cup of tea, but I can respect it.
All songs sound the same..not good
I actually enjoyed this album. I have never heard it before, however the beats and lyrics were much better than I expected.
Meh. Not the worst or anything, feels like a 2.5 though.
Hip Hop?! Wer es mag, dann ist das wirklich gut.
It ain't hitting the right notes for me. It was a a definite breakthrough for a female rapper in 1989, but it's pretty monotone.
Good 80’s hip hop album, but really does just feel dated now, has not lasted the test of time well, but was clearly influential. So probably earns its place on the list to get a 3 star rating.
Meh, it's ok. didn't really do much for me though
The sound of this album is definitely a product of its time. That certainly doesn't mean it's a bad album though. I was enjoying it at the start but after a while the songs all started to blend together. It lacks a bit of variety to push it higher in my estimation.
Old-school hip-hop. Pretty decent at times, but fairly annoying at others.
2/5. I feel like this era of hip-hop is not aging well. The album was repetitive and not musically interesting.
Really freaking good. never really got into her before but this bangs
2.5
Excellent stuff, well delivered
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.
My first experience with Queen Latifah was watching "Bringing Down the House" as a child. Didn't know she was a well-known rapper until much later, and hadn't really checked her out even then. The beats are a little stale, but Latifah genuinely hits on this one. Her flows are solid, she mixes stuff up, and the whole thing has good pacing. Solid overall. Favorite tracks: "Come Into My House", "A King and Queen Creation"
Not my typical genre but a fun listen, well crafted tunes. Knew Latifah had this pedigree but never sat through a whole album of hers.
Mon dieu, c'est juste une pâle copie de bien meilleur rapport. C'est plus que nulle tant qu'à moi. 1
This album is Queen Latifah’s debut. It is a confident album that puts Queen Latifah’s blackness and femininity at the forefront. Musically, this record is from the golden age of hip hop and features fairly simple beats and samples. It’s pretty enjoyable for the most part though it’s a bit dated. Queen Latifah has a great flow and delivery.
This album is not bad but it lacks a bit of variety.
Pretty tight, though must of the beats and music sounds pretty similar. I think she's a better actress than rapper - although she was instrumental to music, Not my style
I was completely surprised by this. Feminist hip-hop ... we need more of it.
Interessante não sabia que era rapper, mas nada de mais
Zanimljivo ali nije "my cup of tea"
albumi kuulostaa kun se olisi 80-luvulta, sen takia se on huono. jos albumi ei kuulostaisi että se olisi 80-luvulta, niin albumi olisi hyvä. tämä on objektiivinen ja järkeenkäyvä kritisismi.... ehkä näyttöaikaa vähän liikaa... katsoppa vaihteeksi näitä elämän pikseleitä, kaikkialla niitä on dance for me
Tulee vähän Will Smith mieleen biiteistä ja ehkä räppäämisestäkin vähän. On kuitenkin hyvät biitit ja letkeetä hiphoppia. Alkupää levystä parempi
Take me back to the 80s! A fun album. Don’t want to listen to it all day. A product of its time and overall enjoyable.
Some cool features, enjoyed a few tracks especially
An interesting look at 80's hiphop, only a few tracks hit the spot for me but a fun time.
A mixed bag from the Queen, I'm afraid. This was quite good fun musically and a few of the songs are lyrically strong. The pick of the bunch is probably Evil That Men Do, which is heavily political and very powerful. There's also an undercurrent of railing against the male dominated world of rap. Sadly, the song most obviously on that theme (Ladies First) is both musically one dimensional and lyrically is about one step above 'My name is Latifah and I'm here to say' amateurism. Like I say, some bright spots let down too often, so a pretty low score I'm afraid.
I had a thought about 3 in the morning last night, and had to go check my history because it was scratching my brain so badly. I have had 85 albums generated so far, not including the John Zorn album I couldn’t find anywhere, and generously, only 10 of them have been female lead. I say generously, because I’m including The xx, My Bloody Valentine and The Velvet Underground for having female members who sung at least one song on their respective albums. Not including those it’s down to seven. All Hail The Queen’s thesis is essentially to prove that women can do this shit just as well as men do, and in that respect it succeeds spectacularly. The beat work is fantastic, and Queen Latifah comes across as this commanding presence on the mic. She flows with the best of them, her rhymes are tight, she’s damn charismatic. And she does it all while giving props to other women and other women of colour, doing her best to create a space for more female POC voices within a very male dominated field. Despite this, I’ve had a casual look at the rest of the list, and I don’t remember seeing much more female driven Hip-Hop, which I think is a shame. The issue that many other top rated reviews seem to espouse is that Latifah has one topic, how great she is, and she sticks exclusively to that throughout the album. To which I say, have you listened to any other Golden Age Hip-Hop? That’s exactly what Run-DMC did, and I’ve never heard anyone complain about it. And like 50% of all rap is boasting anyway. It’s such a stupid thing to get mad at. And, for it being her one topic, Latifah approaches it in a variety of different ways, which helps to keep the album interesting
Pretty goodn
a little too old school for my taste. Classic hip hop origins
Queen Latifah! ooo I love De La Soul this is very old fashioned hahah The little baby voices on the second song are so creepy and robotic Enjoying this alot more than i thought i would based on reviews, its repetitive but not as much as i assumed I listened to the whole thing and really enjoyed it! The house music was cool and I would definitely listen to more from this time, this does seem like a debut album.
not bad
Skárra en margt.
Bit samey, but that same was good.
Fun songs. Kind of amazing how completely formed her persona was with a debut album at age 19 - it's so clearly the Queen Latifah we all know.
A true pioneer, with an all star crew of beatmakers behind her.
I can see the influential and noteworthiness of it, but generally I'm not super into it. It's fine.
File under : the good hip hop. I wish these albums were a tight 40 minutes though they’re always an hour and change and it’s just a little too long
Gets a liiiiitle repetitive but otherwise I Stan a queen (the queen!)
I do not like rap. It has one good track on it.
as she said in her own words “it’s a new thing i’m doing hip hop house jazz and pizazz”
i loved this shit
Not my thing.
This is her debut album and it feels like it. Not just for her, but for rap as a genre. The lyrics are mostly great, but the flow is so incredibly slow that it’s almost comical. Production and samples are great as well, but there isn’t anything to really get excited for. High highs and low lows for me. 3/5
It was fine. Not my typical jam. Kind of fun but just didn't vibe with it.
Enjoyed it
I know this is a seminal album that paved the way for women in hip hop, but it’s not my thing. I love the message, not a fan of the delivery. Similar to LL, the delivery of the rhyme is just so so. 3/5.
It's certainly limited and showing its age, but I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. It's rather one-dimensional with its lyrical content, but the beats are catchy and it has a charm.
good shit!
40 Based on this scale: 1 - 0 to 19 2 - 20 to 39 3 - 40 to 59 4 - 60 to 79 5 - 80 to 100 Decent. I disliked this kind of music at the time, but today, I can see that this is a decent album.
Een boel gebabbel onder een steeds saaier wordend jarentachtig-hiphopbedje. Ik val erbij in slaap.
Als in Nederland over de grote hiphop-namen wordt gesproken, worden vooral de mannen aangehaald. Toch mag Queen niet in het lijstjes ontbreken. Het is dan ook weer heerlijk sample-spotten. Dit album is redelijk gevarieerd. Nummers benaderen soms het rauwe Public Enemy en soms het meer soulvolle Jungle Brothers. Al hoor je de hele plaat wel de jaren ’80 handtekening. In vergelijking met haar mannelijke collega’s weet ze veel beter haar boodschap over te brengen. Omdat ze te verstaan blijft, ook als de teksten wat complexer en sneller worden. En omdat ze haar (feministische) boodschap niet door de strot duwt, zodat ook mensen met andere ideeën blijven luisteren. Weinig onnodig gescheld en gevloek, en vooral de muziek die boven de boodschap wordt gesteld. Ook mensen die het niet gelijk met haar eens zijn, kunnen dit prima nog eens aanzetten. Ze zal wat dat betreft best een inspiratiebron voor bijvoorbeeld een Beyoncé geweest zijn. 3,5 ster
Typisch van die ouderwetse hiphop, uit de golden age of hip hop. Wist niet eens dat dat de jaren 80 waren, maar ik kan me dat helemaal voorstellen. Ik ben niet zo'n hip hop liefhebber, maar hetgene wat ik af en toe nog wel ok vind om te luisteren, is wel vaker het oudere werk. Het is vrij kaal, maar de beatjes zijn het leukste. Op dit album is dat ook weer. Toch is het vrij afwisselend nog, met af en toe wat ska en reggae invloeden, en gelukkig wordt er niet gesmeten met allerlei krachttermen. Prima albumpje, stukken beter dan Missy Elliott.
I hate hip hop. This album is just an automated drum machine overlaid with self-aggrandizing angry rants.
I’m too young to have been listening when this was fresh, and now it sounds every bit of thirty-something, and I mean that as a compliment. Queen is a hell of a rapper, and the Golden Age sound here before everything became gangsta is very nice indeed. Feminism good beats great raps nothing to dislike. An hour doesn’t feel too long.
I really enjoyed bits of this album, other points I could go without. The jazz infused beats, for example Latifahs Law, are the highlights of the record for me personally. While I did really enjoy this album, I also would say it ain’t all too memorable for me. I would only give it a 3, but a high 3.
A little too nineties, I'm sorry Queen you're a queen. It is not my scene
Love a debut! Hoping this means Black Reign is also on this list, which has more depth, she had something to say post death of her brother, and charted higher too. These tracks are pretty fun but dont blow me away, most lyrics follow the same general idea of "respect me, I'm legit!" which is fair, a lot of the genre is posturing, but knowing she's capable of more, a little underwhelming? Her flow is great. Cool to hear some De la soul. Ladies First has an awesome sample, gotta be the highlight. Liked the sample of Queen of Royal Badness too. Evil that men do had some substance! The lyrics are hilariously wrong on Inside Out on spotify
I forgot Queen Latifah did this. But it was good! Obviously dated but a lot of the rapping was pretty strong and it covered a lot of ground. Cool beats too.
Solid rap album. Definitely a fun throw back. Great rapping and cool samples- some from the Meters I think? Obviously nice to hear a woman rapping and even just to hear a rap album free of all the violence and stuff we’re so accustomed to. A bit repetitive in theme sometimes but fun beats and great flow
Good to hear a rap album free of the violence and misogyny that typically dominate the lyrics. Not my preferred genre, but I found the lyrics clever and I enjoyed the guest artist contributions.
This was very good and honestly doesn’t get a 5 because it suffers from the same problems that other rap albums from this period do. I just don’t think it sonically aged that well. The sampling was really good here and Queen Latifah is a great rapper. Ladies First is obviously a super important song in hip hop. A high 4 but I wouldn’t listen again.
Redundant
Feels so 90's. Reminds me of listening to an MC Hammer cassette in my walkman as a kid. Didn't hate it, don't think I will ever listen to it again.
I was stunned by the breadth of hip-hop styles on this one disc. It was also lovely to hear the Daisy Collective - De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, Monie Love. I found it poignant that this would be my album a mere week after the passing of The 45 King who played such a pivotal role here. It’s a damn good album, yo.
Fresh sounding 80s hip hop, decent listen, and one track going on rotation - The Pros
I liked the one with De la Soul and Ladies First the best
This is pretty easy to like as one can't much argue with the quality, musically and production-wise. It does feel the slightest bit forced and she sounds so very young, but good on her for being a groundbreaker. Best cut is one with De La boys.
This was the golden age of hip hop. The Queen made a positive contribution to the genre.
This was pretty ground breaking at the time. Queen L sounds like she’s the female equivalent to Chuck E of Public Enemy. A nice blend of samples and live instrumentation, funky rhythms & soul, even a House number. Queen L has a great delivery and the guests provide contrast. A great debut.
This feels so of its time, and not in a good way. I can see its influence, but listening on its own terms I didn't enjoy this at all. It's not even that fun in a throwback way. It's also very possible that her rap voice is too close to her acting voice, and I've seen too many Queen Latifah movies / shows to take this seriously.
Decent. Some good samples and rhythms. Some songs were annoying though which made it a bit uneven but there's enough good stuff to give it a passing grade.
I really rate Queen Latifah, but I thought she started in gospel and had no idea she debut'd with a hip-hop album?? Either way I'm impressed!
Just ok
What a treat!
It’s ok.
Enjoyable. But not blown away, as I expected to be.
3 - This was definitely one of my preferred listens when it comes to this era of hip hop. The beats were interesting enough to keep my attention. It's a bit bloated, though, and loses me towards the end. Still, not bad.
It's pretty decent but two things strike me (1) she rates herself a bit doesn't she? (2) not very African is it?
So I had never heard any of Queen Latifah’s music, dispute knowing that she was an artist before actor and maybe seeing one or two of her music videos. As an actor she is great anytime she pops up in anything. This though was great. Totally my vibe of hip hop.
I heard Ladies First back in the day, but not familiar with anything else of hers. It wasn't bad. Yeah, the rapping delivery sounds outdated, and the lyrics were a bit corny, but that's just how rap was back then, so I can't fault it too much for that. There was a lot of saying her name, spelling her name, spelling other words, complaining about other rappers copying her, etc. Pretty fun stuff until it fizzled a bit in the end. I can see why she stood out among female rappers of the time.
Nah!
Fine!
Good debut, especially for it being in '89.
this album defies all my logic it has such cool beats and such a good rapper but i guess it must be the songwriting that makes it feel so boring to me. that or it's because it was made during the 1980s which automatically makes the sound worse.
I didn't have high expectations but this album was pretty impressive. The blend of hip hop, R&B and reggae all fits in the right places and keeps the content interesting. The empowering feminist lyrics are particularly striking for 80s. Appearances by De La Soul, KRS One and Prince Paul were added bonuses.
4+/5
Definitely not a fan of rap, so 3 stars is high for a rap album for me. She's definitely good at what she's doing in the instrumentation and samples are good enough to not be annoying. Of course the whole "I'm the best, come battle me" shtick is really dumb, but the feminist twist gives it some welcome flavor.
Not a fan of Queen Latifah. But this pretty good. Standouts: Wrath of My Madness, Dance With Me, Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children, Ladies First, A King and Queen Creation. Princess of the Posse.
стильно, модно, вкусно
Йоу, женский рэпчик! Если мне не изменяет память, она же вообще в принципе одна из первых женщин-рэперов? Anyway, качает будь здоров. И рэгги, и джазик, и фанк, и хаус биты. Всё сразу. Там пока с текстами так... не очень глубоко. Понял, что не нравятся в рэпе тексты от первого лица. Хз почему, такой вот я.
Ehhhh. Not my favorite type of hip hop. The beats sound very dated and I thought the whole thing dragged on for too long. Definitely not the worst album ever made though.
Pointless.
- Not my vibe at all but I respect it - Some of the beats were hard and fun to listen to - Nothing I'd go back to, sorry Queen
- lots of reggae beats - sounds like early90s rap
The highs were high and the lows were low. Overall enjoyable experience though.
At least she makes me appreciate MC Lyte, Rah Digga, Apani B, Lady of Rage, Bahamadia etc etc
Really good appropriately old fashioned hip hop
Fun, old-school hip-hop with an impressive mix of styles including house music and reggae. Some cool jazzy samples too. The production is excellent although the style sounds dated now. I’m glad I listened to this though. I’d never actually heard Queen Latifah’s music before today. She’s a very good performer and a good lyricist. (Some lyrics were a little repetitive; I heard a few lines on more than one track.)
Fun, groovy, new jack swing type hip hop. I always thought Queen Latifah was a cool act and it's nice to see her pop up on this list. The downside to this album is that it's not dimensional enough. I think while listening I keep thinking "I want more", "I want something different". It's all mid tempo / or mid to high up tempo hip hop. I counted about 8 out of 15 that are specifically around 130-150bpm, and then the remaining tracks are all around 100bpm. So it does those two tempo "windows" and doesn't deviate too much from there... and when it does, it's not big stylistic changes, although when it did deviate I appreciated it a lot, like the awesome sax/reed sound on "Latifah's Law". Overall it's a 3/5 for me.
All Hail the Queen indeed, what a great album. Not really knowing what to expect Dance for Me really kicked it into Gear and the craziness of Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children makes it my favourite track along with Inside Out.
This was much more tolerable than a lot of hip-hop from the same period. Queen Latifah's flows are a little more complex than a lot of what was going on, and have aged a little better as a result. It also doesn't hurt that her songs aren't drenched in homophobia and machismo. Fave track - "Come Into My House", maybe, or "Ladies First". Also liked the reggae accents of "The Pros"
stupid good. 5 stars.
Not a bad sound. Standouts include Dance With Me, Latifah's Law, and Wrath Of The People.
A solid, fun album. Great beats and grooves. Definitely will keep around for functions.
um gostinho datado, mas eh bom
It's just not for me.
Tof rap-album. Duidelijke boodschap, en niet al te agressief.
When I was a kid, I watched an episode of Fresh Prince of Bel Air, where Will works for Queen Latifa. Since then I've never sympathized with her, my monkey brain could not understand that she was an actress playing an awful person on TV, I thought she was like that in real life. Anyway, her album is much better than expected and I'm sure she's a nice person...
Not my cup of tea really. No hooks or anything in my opinion. Not totally rock bottom, but still very uninteresting to me.
I only knew Queen Latifah from her acting career and had no clue she was a rapper. I have heard her sing though in "Chicago" where she did a real good job. Anyway, this album was ok but nothing more. I didn't find any song that really hooked me but the flow was nice and I think she is a good rapper. Maybe with some better beats this would have been more interesting.
Man, finding flow this fucking good from 80s rap doesn't feel like an easy task
Hi-hat, some occasional synth "booop" or "ping" with hip-hop lyrics not about killing someone that you have beef with. Aged 19 AND female, I can see why this would be worthy of inclusion. Whilst not being entirely my bag.
Listened at the gym and waiting for the Euro Hurdles so it kind of became background music at points. That being said, the beats were really fun, they had lot of similarities so that probably didn’t help with the background music effect. I think the actual lyricism and rapping is definitely dated as well, some of the off beat stuff didn’t help with the freestyle-vibe that the songs gave off at points. Got to give the Queen her props for the impact she had on the scene especially as a female during that time period. Even if the album is dated it’s on the list for a good reason.
most of the beats are very similar. I'm sure I'm not the first to ask, but how many rappers have gone into acting and decided to go back to rapping?
This is not the mix of rap and hip-hop that i like. The hip-hop muddy electronic beatbox sounds very late 80's, is distracting, and takes a layer of seriousness out of the lyrics. This is particularly evident on Evil That Men Do, that could really be a lot more serious sounding and hard. I will give a nod to The Pros, but nearly everything else is too muddy processed beats.
Some decent tracks here, some utterly terrible production choices. Who on earth in that studio on that day thought "Yeah, let's pitch-shift and pretend that it's a child's voice. That's a great idea and people will enjoy listening to it!". Big up to her for doing what she did, and her flow is great, but it is important as a historical piece - an archeological find - rather than a going concern that will continue to find new audiences.
The first famous MC during the golden age, and she's not afraid to show this, taking pride in her work and rapping about feminism and Afrocentrism. Just like other Native Tongues of the time, it's chill and fun with simple, recognizable samples, with many disco tracks to dance to. "Mama Gave Birth" is a wacky collab with De La Soul, certainly my highlight but has an annoying repetitive ending. First side is pretty strong, but dropped a bit in the second half. I don't know why we needed two reggae tracks, but they're chill. Favorites: Mama Gave Birth, Come Into My House, Ladies First
8/10 some pretty good stuff here! hard to get over the corny lines, but I still generally liked it
Yea it’s fine, standard rating. Very of it’s time
Fun late eighties rap with it’s share of goofy musical choices
Rätt tråkigt tbh
Simpatico.
Me ha gustado como todo el rap de esos años, pero no lo veo como un disco especial. La única canción que me he guardado ha sido "Mama gave birth to the soul children"
The Soul Children still weird me out.
busy equalising
Latifah is utterly charming throughout, a really engaging performer dropping decent rhymes. The album absolutely pulses whenever DJ Mark the 45 King and Prince Paul are on the boards, dropping classic samples and beats. The drawbacks - inclusion of fashionable house track (a thankfully short lived phase in hip hop), some sub par guest lyricists in Quasar, Daddy-O and DJ Mark (no rapper, he). Overall, more good than bad and a noteworthy album.
This is quite a standard BoomBap Hip-Hop album. Nothing Crazy about it but I enjoyed it. Favorite Tracks : Ladies First Rating : 3.25 / 5
Definitely a fire hip hop album, love the listening and discovery from start to finish. I did not know it was her debut album and I love the ego in it, even though sometimes might get repetitive between songs. SOLID 3.5/5
Not for me.
5/10 Bien commencer, mais devient répétitif et générique. The Pros est clairement le highlight
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
Proper Hip-Hop, bit samey
I struggled to get past hearing this as a novelty music or something very dated.
Basic
Queen of royal badness
Things I want to say to queen latifah after listening to this: 1. Your name is queen latifah 2. You know how to spell 3. You like to make rhymes and are good at it and people should tell you that so you don't have to as much.
Sounds very dated now and very samey. I admire her for smashing down a few boundaries and a glass ceiling or two. Good melding of samples, hip hop, house and jazz. But it did all just blur into one repetitive jam for me. It would be a 2.5 but more power to her elbow for breaking a few conventions and blazing a trail for female rappers.
Solid.
This album had lots of promise — beats were flying, Queen Latifah was flexing, sounding confident and excited. And she exudes confidence, but this album had one single theme throughout — how hard she's gonna flow — and that sums up the entire album. Big on attitude, but I only heard one idea. The 45 King produced it. They'll tell you all about it, just listen to tracks 1, and 2, and 3, and 4...
I loved this. Her energy and attitude are fantastic and the groves are fun. Yes, it's old school rap, so the sampling isn't terribly inventive and her bars aren't all that sophisticated, but whatever. I just dug her whole vibe the way I dig early rock n roll. I had this playing at a BBQ and it worked just great. Maybe not quite 5-star worthy, but an easy 4 for sure.
I found rap I enjoy! All hail!
like it
It can be a bit of a struggle for me to rate stuff like this, because to me, it sounds pretty dated. There are some really good beats on this, for sure. I really liked the more reggae tinged numbers.
high energy hip hop. samples ahoy. she was a girl boss before that was a thing. unapologetically black and unapologetically female. solid effort. highlights: “latifa’s law”, “wrath of my madness”, “evil that men do”.
There was an awful lot of introducing herself for being a Queen. The kids song was weird. Not my jam.
I’ll be honest, once the babies made an appearance during the second song(!) I was out. What little I heard wasn’t terrible, though.
It's a little tame for my liking. Many of the beats are excellent even though they feel dated. It doesn't feel timeless like NWA's Straight Outta Compton for example.
An important figure for early hip hop, Queen Latifah is a skilled artist who can bring a lot of power and emotion to her flow (as objectively "dated" as said flow is on this debut album). So I'm not surprised to see her in this list. Plus, the feminist themes in most of these cuts can't hurt. When I was a teenager, in the early nineties, I was exposed to a lot of rap albums, but not to this one. I suspect misogyny played a part in this. And I'm glad this mistake is corrected now. Lyrically, Latifah's assets lie more in her earnestness and sincerity than in her witticisms (although there are some of them here and there). But it's her strong delivery that sells the whole deal. Her tremulous vocal inflexion on the word "dance" in "Dance For Me", for instance, deserves a whole paragraph by itself. It suggests a rage that's channeled to convey positive energy, oddly enough, and rarely has a single syllable been so moving and effective in a song. Being a queen, Latifah is a commanding presence for her audience. And this is the story this perfect opener tells us. Musically, "All Hail The Queen" has all the earmarks of the late eighties, though. And as a consequence, the line between greatness and clear missteps that don't hold their own today is rather clear in it. The pun in the title of "Come Into My House" is as bad as said House music displayed throughout this overlong track, for example. Likewise, the lengthy "The Pros" and "Princess Of The Possee", are basically bad reggae/ragga. And there's the amorphous "Inside Out", a weird closer with a strangely atonal vocal hook for its chorus... Everything else goes from good to great, fortunately. "Ladies First" (featuring Monie Love) is a nice hit, but it's not even the best of the bunch. Knowing a little about hip hop history, I had certain expectations about how the music from this LP would sound, and I have to say that a lot of those productions by DJ Mark, Prince Paul and others actually *exceeded* my expectations. So I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of the jazzy samples of horn sections are one-of-a-kind, with original flourishes here and there ("Latifah's Law", "A King And Queen Creation"...), and some of the rhythm patterns bring their lot of surprises that make them still sound fresh decades after they were produced (see "Dance With Me", once again). "Wrath Of My Madness" is also pretty good--with a short ragga hook that makes sense this time. But the absolute gem in this LP is found in the middle of the patchier side two. It's "Evil That Men Do", a track produced by KRS One (with a short vocal cameo from him). Sampling are kept to a strict minimum in this one, and most of the power of that awesome cut comes from the addition of Latifah's voice to a drum pattern whose snare is so distorted that it sounds like a far more recent production. Interesting and visionary. 3.5/5 is my overall grade for this LP, but I'm gonna push it to a 4/5 mark. Not sure I'll have enough room in my own list to include this hip hop record clearly indebted to its original time and place. But I would sure be happy if I have said room for it. As another reviewer rightly said here, it's not because something is "dated" that it can't bring interesting perspectives about current issues--and the empowerment of women is still a very current issue indeed! Besides, and even more than this, it's not because something is dated that it can't bring you fresh emotions. What's acceptable for rock should also be acceptable for rap. Number of albums left to review: 525 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 227 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 110 (including this one) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 139
3.6 - I agree with the gripes that this record is long and somewhat repetitive but I ended up liking this much more than I expected. In particular, the broad array of samples from jazz, R&B, television, film and other sources, give a meticulous sheen to the production. I also appreciate Queen Latifah's charismatic and confident persona that gives the overall project a strong backbone. Standouts: "Ladies First", "Evil that Men Do", "Come into My House."
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
Didn't mind this, reminded me a lot of Run DMC, similar flow but with slightly better lyrics. Preferred the songs with latifah only, tended to have better beats and strayed less into r and b territory. Suffers from the same thing as many rap albums of this era, constant bragging with almost no other content. Overall it was okay.
Not sure about this. I really only disliked Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children, mainly because of the high-pitched voice. The better songs, Latifah's Law, Princess of the Possee, Ladies First, were pretty good - but I'm not going back.
This album definitely sounds like it's from the 80s/90s which makes it feel quite dated. I thought it was okay as she is quite a good rapper but I wouldn't listen to it again. Highlights: Dance for Me Latifah's Law Ladies First
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! Updating to 4 as I find myself skipping these tracks when they appear on my playlist
its a decent record but one that also helped shape a chunk of hiphop
While I like Queen Latifah's vibes and give her major props for breaking into this male dominated genre, the music itself just didn't grab my attention - the beats seemed repetitive and the lyrics clunky
Good beats but it felt really unpolished. Ladies First was the highlight for sure. It felt like a more complete song than others on the album.
I prefer Motormouth Maybelle from Hairspray Queen Latifah but this is certainly a fun beat.
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
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.
From the era of spinning records to sample music. Rump shaking tunes for sure.
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.
Slut 80’er hiphop, den gamle lyd, skarp lyrik, indflydelsesrigt
If I hear about the 45 king one more time i'm gonna lose it. Mostly basic rapping and beats. I'll be honest I really don't think her rapping is anywhere near good, but it does have a certain charm to it. De la Soul is featured on the 2nd song and it would be good, but instead it's fucking trashed on by an insanely long outro with someone pretending to be a baby with an ungodly outdated voice filter that sounds like complete shit. It's just not worth listening to today, it's really not. So much music outclasses this. I do appreciate the forward thinking lyrics and some of it is pretty fun and charming but it's aged decently poorly. Score: 40 Art: 60
Old school and upbeat hip hop for the ladies. She is a talented queen and raps her name about 5000 times. L-A-T-I-F-A-H
Of its time but interesting to see the more traditional feminism in the lyrics of its era
AJ: I’d never heard this boss rap! Great music. Cool as hell. Dance to the music.
Hip hop old school de la ma d'una de les primeres badass del génere, que va obrir portes a moltes formacions femenines la década posterior. Més enllà del sexe de l'intèrpret i de les seves rimes feministes, el disc sona com un potent representant d'aquella generació de discos rap de finals dels '80. Un dels millors de la fornada. I temes com 'The Pros' i 'Wrath of My Madness' sonen igual de bé ara que aleshores
Listened to the version with different mixes at the end. It was fine, but not really my cup of tea. + Come Into My House
Mandatory comment about not liking the genre, followed by an appreciative note about how smooth the Queen is.
This is only enjoyable in small dozes. She's definitely fire, but only for a quick listen.
It’s ok but not for me
A solid debut from Queen Latifah. A bunch of guest producers and performers (DJ Mark The 45 King, De La Soul, Prince Paul, KRS-One, Monie Love, Daddy-O and more) are also along for the ride, and between them all, they keep things interesting. Samples are nice, and raps are also generally good. This was a lot of fun if a bit slight overall.
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.
at first i was like no... but then it sounded ok after a while.
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.
Amazing HiP-Hop debut.
Ladies is a top tune, but mostly a repetitive album
This woman spent 45 minutes telling us a) She’s a Queen (but sometimes a Princess of the Posse?) and B) Her name be Latifah! 2 stars
There are some really fun highlights in here. Some very, very funky beats that had me locked in (Come Into my House, Latifah's Law), but everything after Ladies First pretty much all ran together for me. Favorite track: Come Into My House
Crazy confidence, style, and presence, especially considering her age at the time. Just solid hip hop.
She's better than the Digital Undergrounds and Salt-n-Pepas of the world, but that's what I associate this sound with. And that's a bad thing. Favorite song: Wrath of my madness
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.
the evil that men do 👌🏻 2.5
Dope! Empowerment!!!
Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: Yes, she has an effortless flow that’s so enjoyable Favourite song: Track 1 - Dance For Me
queen latifah
1989! Sound more modern for 1989. Nice Jazzy and Funky version of the more rebellious old school rap like NWA, PE, Ice Cube. And sometimes was thinking of Neneh Cherry's cheerful stuff. Am more into the heavier stuff, so 3 stars only, but was good to get to know this Royal Highness
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.
Pas passionnant, pas nul non plus. J'aurai peut être du éviter les paroles mais je savais déjà écrire son nom qu'elle épele à tout bout de champ. Hip hop très old school, un peu répétitif et basique
Diametrically opposite to me. Doesn't make it bad, in fact it's pretty good for what it is. Clean 80's rap. I'm not sure just how derivative it is but it was what it was at the time.
Crazy that she was 18/19 recording this. Required listening for hip hop fans. Fantastic.
I wanted to love this, because Queen Latifah! Women in hip hop! Her message in this album and in life is great and I love her as a person. But I just couldn't get past how dated the sound of this late 80s rap album is. I think I liked it at the time? Now I can't get into it. Very much a product of its time. But I can see its importance and the ways it moved hip hop forward. 3.5-4 for importance, 2 for actual sound, so I'm settling on 3/5.
Old school hip hop from the Queen.
Bars aren’t bad but production was tacky af
Pretty dated golden age hip-hop. Ladies First is a classic, but Black Reign is the better album.
was ok enough