The Producer

Marlon Williams (born in Queens, New York City), better known as Marley Marl, is considered one of the most important and influential hip-hop producers in the History of hip hop. Pete Rock as well as DJ Premier cite him as their main influence.

Marley Marl was the house producer of the Juice Crew, known for The Bridge Wars, a feud with Boogie Down Productions seen as the first hip hop beef. The Juice Crew included Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie, Roxanne Shanté, Kool G Rap, MC Shan (his cousin) and Masta Ace, and produced songs for outside artists including King Tee and LL Cool J. He was also an important figure in the careers of Eric B. & Rakim, producing their first hits "My Melody" and "Eric B Is President", mixing James Brown samples and synthetic beats in a fashion previously unheard of. Marley Marl was one of the pioneers of sampling in hip hop. He debuted as an electro producer, but his records became more sample heavy, as can be seen by comparing the MC Shan LPs Down By Law (1987) and Born to be Wild (1988). The rhythms became less electronic, with drum machines becoming more prominent. Marl started his career working for Tuff City records. He debuted with his own track called "DJ Cuttin" in 1985, released under the pseudonym NYC Cutter. In 1994 Marley Marl was referenced on Biggie Smalls' track "Juicy" as being one of his early influences. He still works today and his music has had influences on RZA, DJ Premier as well as Pete Rock, who is also a longtime friend.

He and KRS-One released Hip-Hop Lives in May 2007 with Marley Marl as the executive producer. "It all happened with one phone call," Marley Marl told AllHipHop.com during a March 2006 interview. "They called me and he jumped on the phone and told me it would be spectacular for Hip Hop...My reason for doing this is to show these kids that Hip Hop beefs are not that serious."

On June 5, 2007, Marley Marl suffered a heart attack. He was released from the hospital a few days later on the 8th. According to an interview in The Source, he blamed the heart attack on stress brought on by his worries about being a good father. In 2008, Craig G and he will release a collaborative album.

Fresh to Def

Def Jam Recordings is a United States based hip-hop record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Music Group. In the 80's the label was synonymous with hip hop.

Def Jam was founded by Rick Rubin in his dorm room at New York University and its first release was a single by his rock group, Hose. Russell Simmons joined Rubin shortly after when they were introduced to each other by Vincent Gallo. The first single released with a Def Jam Recordings logo was T La Rock & Jazzy Jay "It's Yours". The first releases with a Def Jam Recordings catalogue number were LL Cool J's "I Need A Beat", and the Beastie Boys', "Rock Hard", both in 1984. The singles sold well, eventually leading to a distribution deal with CBS Records' (which would later become Sony Music Entertainment) Columbia Records the following year. The first full-length album released by Def Jam Recordings was LL Cool J's Radio in November of 1985. The following year, Def Jam created a short-lived subsidiary label called OBR Records, catered toward R&B artists — the first artist signed to that imprint was Oran "Juice" Jones, who enjoyed success with his hit single "The Rain". Def Jam also signed thrash metal band Slayer. As the decade drew to a close, the label signed Public Enemy, whose controversial lyrical content garnered the company both critical acclaim and disdain.
Lyor Cohen became president of Def Jam in 1988, after winning a power struggle with Rubin, who would shortly thereafter leave the company to form Def American Recordings (now known as American Recordings).

For more information on the progression of the label past the 80's and its amazing roster of artists visit http://www.defjam.com/

Gangsta Gangsta

Gangsta rap is a term originated by the mainstream media to describe a certain subgenre of hip hop music which developed during the late 1980s. It is a genre of hip hop that reflects the violent lifestyles of some inner-city youths. Gangsta is a corruption of the word gangster. The genre was pioneered around 1983 by Ice T with songs like Cold Winter Madness and Body Rock/Killers and was popularized by groups like NWA in the late '80s'. After the national attention that Ice-T & N.W.A created in the late 80's, gangsta rap became the most commercially lucrative subgenre of hip hop.

The subject matter inherent in gangsta rap has caused a great deal of controversy. Criticism has come from both right wing and left wing commentators, and religious leaders, who have accused the genre of promoting homophobia, violence, profanity, promiscuity, misogyny, rape, street gangs, drive-by shootings, police brutality, vandalism, thievery, crime, drug dealing, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, racism, and materialism. From the gansta rap genre emerged a sub-genre of sorts of rappers who used profane and sexually graphic lyrics most notably Too Short and the 2 Live Crew.

Keeping it Reel

Hip hop films are motion pictures that display the aesthetics and culture of hip hop, primarily use hip hop as the musical soundtrack, use hip hop artists as their main characters, or all of the above. Some have suggested that hip hop movies also include video recorded concerts and documentaries. Hip hop movies cover a wide range of genres and themes.

"Krush Groove" is a 1985 Warner Bros. film, written by Ralph Farquhar and directed by Michael Schultz (who also produced the movie, along with Doug McHenry). This film is based on the early days of Def Jam Recordings and up-and-coming record producer Russell Simmons (re-named Russell Walker in the film), portrayed by Blair Underwood in his feature film debut. Russell Simmons was the film's co-producer and story consultant; he also has a cameo role in the film as a club owner named Crocket.

In the movie, Russell Walker has signed all of the hottest acts to his Krush Groove record label, including Run-D.M.C., Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, and Kurtis Blow. Rick Rubin produces their records. When Run-D.M.C. has a hit record and Russell doesn't have the money to press records, he borrows money from a street hustler. At the same time, Russell and his brother Run are both competing for the heart of R&B singer/percussionist Sheila E. Also appearing in the film are LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, New Edition, the Fat Boys, and some of their songs, as well as others from the likes of Chaka Khan, Debbie Harry, and The Gap Band. Members of the R&B band Full Force also make a cameo in the film as bodyguards.

Krush Groove was filmed in the Bronx, New York (including at least one scene in the Marble Hill projects). Among the locations where the movie was shot was the famous Disco Fever, a popular club during the embryonic stages of hip hop which, by the time of the film, had fallen on some hard times. Disco Fever owner Sal Abbatiello expected the movie not only to turn the spotlight on the burgeoning rap movement but also to "bring attention [back] to the club"and so agreed to have scenes shot there. Unfortunately, the attention surrounding the filming brought the scrutiny of the local authorities, who shut the club down for good on the last day of shooting for not having all the proper licenses and permits.

Breakin' is a 1984 movie directed by Joel Silberg. It was also released under the title Breakdance: The Movie in some international locations. The film is a retelling of West Side Story.
The film setting was inspired by a German documentary entitled Breakin' and Enterin' set in the Los Angeles multi-racial hip-hop club Radiotron, based out of Macarthur Park in Los Angeles. Many of the artists and dancers including Ice-T (who makes his movie debut as a club MC) and Boogaloo Shrimp went straight from Breakin' and Enterin' to star in Breakin'.
The story is a retelling of the 1957 musical West Side Story, which is based in turn on Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (Kelly's agent Franco has a West Side Story poster directly behind his desk). Breakin' reverses the genders of the white/Puerto Rican couple. Although Kelly and Ozone are clearly a romantic couple in the sequel, and although they peck briefly in the first film (during the song "99 1/2 Won't Do"), the love scene in which they become a couple has been cut, and now exists only as a glimpse during the end credits.

Beat Street is a 1984 mainstream hip hop dramatic feature film, and the second following Breakin'. It is set in New York City during the popularity rise of hip hop culture in the early 1980s. The movie was the East Coast answer to the Los Angeles-set Breakin', displaying break dancing, DJing, and graffiti with a mild social undertone. Some of the plotline was based on the graffiti documentary Style Wars. Most visibly, the villain character Spit in Beat Street was lifted from the way the real-life graffiti artist Cap was portrayed in Style Wars.
Notable performances include a song by Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five, breakdance battles between the New York City Breakers and the Rock Steady Crew, and cameos by beatboxer Doug E. Fresh, Richard Lee Sisco, and the Treacherous Three.

The Crossovers

The Beastie Boys are an American hip hop group from New York City consisting of Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz. Since around the time of the Hello Nasty album, the DJ for the group has been Michael "Mix Master Mike" Schwartz, who was featured in the song "Three MC's and One DJ".
They started out as a hardcore punk group in 1979, and appeared in the compilation cassette New York Thrash with Riot Fight and Beastie. They switched to hip hop with the release of their debut solo album Licensed to Ill (1986), which enjoyed international critical acclaim and commercial success. The group is well-known for their eclecticism, jocular and flippant attitude toward interviews and interviewers, obscure cultural references and kitschy lyrics, and performing in outlandish matching suits.
They are one of the longest-lived hip hop acts and continue to enjoy commercial and critical success in 2008, more than 20 years after the release of their debut album. On September 27, 2007 they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1985, the band opened for John Lydon's post-Sex Pistols band Public Image Ltd., as well as supporting Madonna on her North American Virgin tour. Later in the year, the group was on the Raising Hell tour with Run DMC, Whodini, LL Cool J, and the Timex Social Club. With their exposure on this tour, the track "Hold It Now, Hit It" made Billboard's national R&B and Dance charts. The track "She's on It" from the Krush Groove soundtrack continued in a rap/metal vein while a double A-side 12", "Paul Revere/The New Style," was released at the end of the year.
The band recorded Licensed to Ill in 1986 and released the album at the end of the year. It was a smash success, and was favorably reviewed by Rolling Stone magazine with the now-famous headline, "Three Idiots Create a Masterpiece." Licensed to Ill became the best selling rap album of the 1980s and the first rap album to go #1 on the Billboard album chart, where it stayed for five weeks. It also reached #2 on the Urban album charts. It was Def Jam's' fastest selling debut record to date and sold over five million copies. The first single from the album, "Fight for Your Right," (sample (help·info)) reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the video (directed by Ric Menello) became an MTV staple.

After the success of Licensed to Ill, the Beasties parted ways with Def Jam and ended their relationship with Rick Rubin to sign with Capitol Records. A bootleg album entitled "Original Ill" features original demos of all the tracks from the final version of Licensed to Ill plus deleted tracks "I'm Down" (A Beatles Song) and "The Scenario" was released in 1998.

The DJ- DJ Hurricane (born Wendell Fite) is a hip hop DJ, producer and rapper. He is known for his work as the Beastie Boys' DJ. He was a member of the groups Solo Sounds and The Afros and recorded three solo albums, featuring many well known artists such as the Beastie Boys and Talib Kweli. One of New York's premier hip-hop artists on the turntables, DJ Hurricane fostered his skills alongside Run D.M.C. in the Hollis, Queens area of New York City before eventually hooking up with the Beastie Boys, where he made a name for himself as the group's DJ before going on to release his own albums. Hurricane began rhyming at the age of 11, during hip-hop's infancy, eventually forming a group called the Solo Sounds and later the Afros. While serving as one of Run D.M.C.'s body guards on the 1986 Raising Hell tour, he became friends with the Beastie Boys, who were the tour's opening act. It wasn't long before the Beasties offered Hurricane an opportunity to be their exclusive DJ. As the Beasties rose to fame with each successive album in the 1990s, Hurricane simultaneously reveled in the spotlight, releasing his first solo album in 1995 on Grand Royal, titled The Hurra. Five years later in late 2000, after having parted ways with the Beasties prior to their album Hello Nasty in 1998, Hurricane released his second album, Don't Sleep, which found him much more conceptually collected and with a broad scope of guest artists, including Kool G Rap, Xzibit, Scott Weiland, Public Enemy, Rah Digga, Talib Kweli, and others.

ALERT: DJ HURRICANE WILL BE SPINNING ON THE WHEELS OF STEEL IN H-TOWN LABOR DAY WEEKEND @ "DJ, BRING THA BEAT BACK '08" HOSTED BY THE KANDY GYRLZ SOCIAL CLUB. SEE FLYER AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE FOR MORE DETAILS!!!!

Fashion

During the 1980s, hip-hop icons wore clothing items such as brightly colored name-brand tracksuits, sheepskin and leather bomber jackets, Clarks shoes , Dr. Martens boots and sneakers (usually Adidas-brand shelltoes and often with "phat" or oversized shoelaces). Popular haircuts ranged from the early-1980s Jheri curl to the late-1980s hi-top fade popularized by Will Smith (The Fresh Prince) and Christopher "Kid" Reid of Kid 'n Play, among others.

Popular accessories included large eyeglasses (Cazals or Gazelles), Kangol bucket hats, nameplates, name belts, and multiple rings. Heavy gold jewelry was also popular in the 1980s; heavy jewelry in general would become an enduring element of hip hop fashion. In general, men's jewelry focused on heavy gold chains and women's jewelry on large gold earrings. Performers such as Kurtis Blow and Big Daddy Kane helped popularize gold necklaces and other such jewelry, and female rappers such as Roxanne Shanté and the group Salt-N-Pepa helped popularize oversized gold door-knocker earrings. The heavy jewelry was suggestive of prestige and wealth, and some have connected the style to Africanism. 1980s hip hop fashion is remembered as one of the most important elements of old school hip hop, and it is often celebrated in nostalgic hip hop songs such as Ahmad's 1994 single "Back in the Day", and Missy Elliott's 2002 single "Back in the Day".

Backpackers

"Backpacker" was originally a slang term from the 1980s for a graffiti artist who always wore a backpack containing his music collection and, more importantly, his spraypaint cans, markers, and spray tips. Typically, the music collection would consist only of local underground rap/hip-hop music artists. The sub-genre or sub-categorization of the music means nothing, as long as they are a local unsigned (no recording contract) artist. A backpacker's music selections are based upon three principles: 1) no mainstream, 2) the music is commercially unavailable, and 3) the music was given/sold to them "hand-to-hand" from the originating recording artist. However, these principles eventually became very loose, and soon many people who listened to commercially available underground rap or "indie rap" became known as "backpackers."

The term gradually came to refer to someone with this musical taste, and now has almost nothing to do with graffiti (although certain "backpackers" may participate in graffiti "tagging.") The term also may have originated (or became popularized) through the association of "indie" hip hop listeners with underground rock movements such as "straight edge." The "straight edge" fashion style often involves backpacks, sometimes even if the backpack is not being used. As underground rap listeners co-mingled with "straight edge" rockers (or any punk rocker with the backpack style), the term may have become even more popular.

In the 1990s and 2000s, "backpacker" became a derogatory term to describe someone who listens only to independent hip-hop music, such as the nerdcore or "alternative rap" sub-genre of hip-hop music.

Old School Backpackers

A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip-hop group, formed in 1988. The group is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip (Kamal Fareed), rapper Phife Dawg (Malik Taylor), and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White , left the group after their first album but appears to have rejoined the group since 2006. Along with De La Soul, the group was a central part of the Native Tongues Posse, and enjoyed the most commercial success out of all the groups to emerge from that collective. Their innovative fusing of hip hop and jazz has had a lasting impact on hip hop music, helping to expand the art of hip hop production. Many of their songs, such as "Bonita Applebum", "Can I Kick It?", "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo", "Scenario", "Check the Rhime", and "Electric Relaxation" are regarded as classics of the genre.

They released five albums in ten years, the first three of which were very highly acclaimed, and disbanded in 1998. In 2006, the group reunited and toured the US and plan to release an album after some works in the studio. The group is generally regarded as pioneers of alternative hip hop music, having helped to pave the way for socially aware hip-hop artists. Allmusic calls them "the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s". In 2005, A Tribe Called Quest received a Special Achievement Award at the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta. In 2007, the group was formally honored at the 4th VH1 Hip Hop Honors.

De La Soul is a Grammy Award-winning hip hop group. They are best known for their eclectic sampling and quirky, surreal lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap subgenre. The members are Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos, Mercenary, Plug Wonder Why, Plug One), David Jude Jolicoeur (Trugoy the Dove, Dave, Plug Two) and Vincent Mason (P.A. Pasemaster Mase, Maseo, Plug Three). The three formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Paul Huston (Prince Paul) with a demo tape of the song "Plug Tunin'". Prince Paul was also sometimes referred to as Plug Four.

With its playful wordplay, innovative sampling, and witty skits, the band's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, has been hailed as a hip-hop masterpiece. It is also the band's biggest commercial success to date, with their subsequent albums selling progressively less, despite receiving high praise from critics. A measure of 3 Feet High and Rising's cross-over appeal was the fact that it was voted Album of the Year by NME Magazine, a title better known for its taste in guitar-based music. De La Soul has influenced numerous other hip hop artists such as Camp Lo, Black Eyed Peas, and Digable Planets. They were also instrumental in the early stages of rapper/actor Mos Def's career, and are a core part of the Spitkicker collective. They are the longest standing Native Tongues Posse group, after the Jungle Brothers.

The Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop/jungle group who pioneered the fusion of jazz and hip-hop/early jungle dnb and also became the first hip-hop group to use a house-music producer. They began performing in the mid-1980s and released their first album, Straight Out the Jungle, in 1988 (see 1988 in music). With Afrocentric lyrics and innovative beats, the Jungle Brothers were critically acclaimed and soon joined the influential Native Tongues Posse. The trio is comprised of Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall (Afrika Baby Bam) and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B). Sammy B left the group after the group released Raw Deluxe.

Female Lyricists

MC Lyte (born Lana Michele Moorer on October 11, 1971 in Brooklyn, New York) is a female rap artist and the younger sister of Milk Dee and Gizmo, who recorded under the name of Audio Two. She is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc."MC Lyte" Lana Moorer began rapping at the age of 12 and began her career in 1986. The release of her first single, "I Cram to Understand U (Sam)", was produced by her older brothers. This song, about a lying boyfriend’s crack cocaine addiction, led to her recording contract with First Priority Music. Her debut album, Lyte As a Rock, was released in 1988, and featured the previously mentioned single and another titled "10% Dis", which targeted her former microphone rival, Antoinette.

Her second album Eyes on This was released in 1989. It spawned Lyte's first #1 Rap Tracks single "Cha Cha Cha" and another hit titled "Cappuccino", which is a metaphysical story weaved around a bad cappuccino experience. The song's video was directed by Ric Menello, who also helmed the The Beastie Boys's, "Fight for Your Right" music video. MC Lyte turned to producers Wolf & Epic (of Bell Biv Devoe fame) for her third release, 1991's Act Like You Know, which spawned another #1 Rap Track titled "Poor Georgie" and two smaller hits "When in Love" and "Eyes are the Soul". In 1993, MC Lyte released the album Ain't No Other. The album spawned yet another #1 Rap Track, "Ruffneck", which earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Single and was the first ever gold single by a solo female rap artist (Salt-N-Pepa had had several gold and platinum singles earlier). Another smaller hit titled "I Go On" also came from this album.

Lyte then signed Elektra/Asylum and issuing released 1996's Bad As I Wanna B, which featured a duet with Missy Elliott on the track "Cold Rock a Party," which became another #1 Rap Track for her, and reached #11 Pop. Her contribution to the Sunset Park soundtrack, "Keep On, Keepin' On", reached #10 on the Pop charts. In 2001, Rhino Entertainment released The Very Best of MC Lyte. The artist mounted a comeback in 2003 with Da Undaground Heat, Vol. 1 with production team Maad Funk.

In 2003 MC Lyte released her first independent record on her own label SGI/CMM along with manager/partner Fred Crawford. The album entitled, "Da Underground Heat Vol. 1 hosted by Jamie Foxx", went on to garner her yet another Grammy nomination and Bet Award nomination as well. The leading single, "Ride With Me", became the title track for a show called HOLLA hosted by Cheryl Underwood and also became one of the title songs for EA Sports NBA video game of 2003. The song also appeared in a popular LL COOL J feature entitled "Deliver us from Eva".

Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an award-winning American rapper, singer and actress. Latifah's work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination.

Latifah was born in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of Rita, a schoolteacher who worked at Irvington High School, and Lancelot Owens, a policeman. Her parents divorced when Latifah was ten. Latifah performed the number "Home" from the musical The Wiz in a high school play. Her stage name, Latifah, meaning "kind" in Arabic, was given to her when she was eight by her cousin. Latifah was raised in the Baptist church, and, while in high school, was a power forward on her basketball team.

Latifah started her career beatboxing for the rap group Ladies Fresh. Latifah was one of the members of the original version of the Flavor Unit, which, at that time, was a crew of emcees grouped around producer DJ Mark the 45 King. In 1988, DJ Mark the 45 King heard a demo version of Latifah's single "Princess of the Posse" and gave the demo to Fab Five Freddy, who was the host of Yo! MTV Raps. Freddy helped Latifah sign with Tommy Boy Records, which released Latifah's first album All Hail the Queen in 1989, when she was nineteen. That year, she appeared as Referee on the UK label Music of Life album "1989—The Hustlers Convention (live)". Her debut managed to be both a critical and a commercial success and was followed by the albums Nature of a Sista and Black Reign, which contained the Grammy Award winning hit single, U.N.I.T.Y. In 1998, Co Produced by Ro Smith now CEO of Def Ro Inc. she released her fourth hip-hop album Order in the Court. In 2004, she released the soul/jazz standards The Dana Owens Album.

On July 11, 2007, Latifah made her singing debut at the famed Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles as the headliner act in a live jazz concert. Before an enthusiastic crowd of more than 12,400, she was backed by a 10-piece live orchestra and three backup vocalists, The Queen Latifah Orchestra. Latifah performed new arrangements of standards including "California Dreaming," first made popular by '60s icons The Mamas & the Papas.
In 2007, Latifah released an album entitled Trav'lin' Light. Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Joe Sample, George Duke, Christian McBride, and Stevie Wonder made guest appearances. It was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album" category.

From 1993 to 1998, Latifah had a starring role on Living Single, a FOX sitcom; she also wrote and performed its theme music. She began her film career in supporting roles in the 1991 films House Party 2, Juice, and Jungle Fever. She had her own talk show, The Queen Latifah Show, from 1999 to 2001.

Latifah first attracted notice for her role portraying a lesbian in the 1996 box-office hit, Set It Off and subsequently had a supporting role in the Holly Hunter film Living Out Loud (1998). She played the role of Thelma in the 1999 movie adaptation of Jeffrey Deavers' The Bone Collector, alongside Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Although she had already received some critical acclaim, she gained mainstream success after being cast as Matron "Mama" Morton in the Oscar-winning musical Chicago, the recipient of the Best Picture Oscar. Latifah received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role, but lost to co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones. Latifah is one of two hip-hop artists to receive an Academy Award nomination in an acting category (Best Supporting Actress, Chicago, 2002). The other is Will Smith (Best Actor, Ali, 2001, and Best Actor, The Pursuit of Happyness, 2007).

In 2003, she starred with Steve Martin in the film Bringing Down the House, which was a major success at the box office. Since then, she has had both leading and supporting roles in a multitude of films that received varied critical and box office receptions, including Scary Movie 3, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Taxi, Kung Faux, Beauty Shop, and Hairspray.

In early 2006, Latifah appeared in a romantic comedy/drama entitled Last Holiday. Film critic Richard Roeper stated that "this is the Queen Latifah performance I've been waiting for ever since she broke into movies". Also in 2006, Latifah voiced Ellie, a friendly mammoth, in the animated film, Ice Age: The Meltdown (her first voice appearance in an animated film), and also appeared in the drama Stranger Than Fiction. She has starred in two movie remakes (Taxi and Last Holiday), four sequels (House Party 2, Scary Movie 3, Barbershop 2: Back in Business and Ice Age: The Meltdown), one spinoff (Beauty Shop), one movie based on a book (The Bone Collector), and two screen adaptations of musicals (Chicago and Hairspray). Addressing the apparent disparity between rap music and movie musicals, Queen admits that she grew up watching musicals and singing in that style. "What the hell was I going to do," she revealed to CraveOnline, "it wasn't like I was going to perform much of that ... but now it's all paying off because here come the musicals again and I get a chance to have some fun with a lot of these songs."

The summer of 2007 brought Latifah triple success in the big-screen version of the Broadway smash hit Hairspray, in which she acted, sang, and danced. The film rated highly with critics. It starred, among others, John Travolta (Grease), Michelle Pfeiffer (Stardust), Allison Janney (Juno), James Marsden (Enchanted) and Christopher Walken (Balls of Fury). Also in 2007, she portrayed an HIV-positive woman in the film Life Support, a role for which she garnered her first Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy nomination.
Latifah produced the 2007 film The Perfect Holiday penned by Marc Calixte and Lance Rivera in Westfield, NJ. In addition to producing the film, Latifah starred alongside Terrence Howard, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Charles Q. Murphy, Jill Marie Jones, and Faizon Love.

In 2008, Latifah appeared in the crime comedy Mad Money opposite Academy Award-winner Diane Keaton as well as Katie Holmes and Ted Danson.

Roxanne Shanté (born Lolita Shanté Gooden on November 9, 1969) is an American hip-hop pioneer. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects, Shanté first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and her association with the legendary Juice Crew.

Shanté's career began at the age of 14 when she encountered influential record producer Marley Marl, radio DJ Mr. Magic, and Tyrone Williams talking about how UTFO had canceled their appearance at a show they were promoting. Shanté offered to record an answer to UTFO's recent hit "Roxanne, Roxanne," which was about a woman named Roxanne who rejects the members of the group. The men agreed and the result was "Roxanne's Revenge," a confrontational and profane song in which Shanté assumed the role of Roxanne, dissing UTFO over its own instrumental, which sparked the Roxanne Wars and made her a hip-hop star in the process. The single would go on to sell over 250,000 copies in the New York area alone. Aligning with the Juice Crew, most of her tracks would be produced by Marley Marl, with the exception of several songs on Shanté’s last album, 1992’s The Bitch Is Back.

As an MC, Shanté had an extraordinary ability to freestyle (improvise) entire songs. "Roxanne’s Revenge" was an example, reportedly written and recorded at the same time in one take.[citation needed] However, the original version of the song was rerecorded after UTFO sued over the usage of its original backing track; the new version featured slightly different music with less profanity. People are most familiar with this version, which appears on the original 12-inch single released in 1984, with the original on the reverse side.
In 1988, Shanté and Rick James had a hit with "Loosey's Rap."

At the age of 25, Shanté retired from the recording industry to become a psychologist. She continues to make occasional guest appearances and live performances, as well as mentor young female hip-hop artists. She also took part in a series of Sprite commercials during the late 1990s. She is married and has one son and one daughter. She earned a PhD in psychology from Cornell University-paid for by her record label via an unusual contract clause—and has a practice in Queens. She is a vegan and owns Hip-Hop Ices ice cream parlor in Queens.
She will be portrayed by actress Keke Palmer in The Vapors, a film about the formation and rise of the Juice Crew.