All Hail the Queen is the debut studio album by American rapper Queen Latifah . The album was released on November 7, 1989, through Tommy Boy Records . The feminist anthem [ 1] "Ladies First", featuring Monie Love , remains one of Latifah's signature songs.
All Hail the Queen peaked at no. 6 on the Billboard Top Hip Hop/R&B Albums chart and at no. 124 on the Billboard 200 chart. "Wrath of My Madness" was the first single from All Hail the Queen, and was later sampled in Yo-Yo 's "You Can't Play With My Yo-Yo". "Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children" peaked at no. 14 in the UK .
In 2023, the album was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[ 2]
The New York Times noted that "the backup tracks are sometimes rich enough to carry the album on their own, but they don't have to; some songs have vocal choruses, while in others Queen Latifah's rising and falling speech provides melody enough."[ 13] Newsday called the album "international ghetto music filtered through hip-hop's strongest feminist sensibility."[ 14]
In 1998, All Hail the Queen was included in The Source ' s "100 Best Albums" list.[ 15] It was later featured in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die .[ 16] In 2008, the single "Ladies First" was ranked number 35 on VH1 's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.[citation needed ]
In 2023, All Hail the Queen was 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."[ 17] In their statement explaining their inclusion of the album, the Library of Congress said, "[Queen Latifah's] album showed rap could cross genres including reggae , hip-hop, house , and jazz – while also opening opportunities for other female rappers."[ 18]
Title Writer(s) 1. "Dance for Me" James, Owens, Stewart 3:41 2. "Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children" (with De La Soul ) Owens 4:25 3. "Come into My House" (with Quasar) Owens 4:14 4. "Latifah's Law" Owens, Vega 3:51 5. "Wrath of My Madness" James, Owens 4:12 6. "The Pros" (with Daddy-O ) Owens, Bolton 5:43 7. "Ladies First" (with Monie Love ) Owens 3:45 8. "A King and Queen Creation" (with 45 King ) Owens 3:34 9. "Queen of Royal Badness" James, Welch 3:24 10. "Evil That Men Do" (with KRS-One ) Owens, Parker 4:03 11. "Princess of the Posse" James, Owens 3:51 12. "Inside Out" James, Owens 4:11
CD bonus tracks Title Writer(s) 13. "Dance for Me" (Ultimatum Remix) James, Owens 5:04 14. "Wrath of My Madness" (Soulshock Remix) James, Owens 5:30 15. "Princess of the Posse" (DJ Mark the 45 King Remix) James, Owens 4:07
Daddy O – Producer, Performer, Mixing
De La Soul – Performer
Dr. Jam – Remixing
KRS-One – Producer, Mixing
Queen Latifah – Producer, Mixing
Monie Love – Performer
DJ Mark the 45 King – Producer, Performer, Mixing
Paul C. – Engineer, Mixing
Prince Paul – Producer, Mixing
Soulshock – Remixing
Dwayne Sumal – Engineer
Rob Sutton – Mixing
Ted Jensen – Mastering
Mike Teelucksingh – Engineer
Little Louie Vega – Producer, Mixing
Dr. Shane Faber – Guitar (Bass), Engineer
Dan Miller – Engineer, Mixing
Bob Coulter – Engineer, Mixing
Al Watts – Engineer, Mixing
Steven Miglio – Artwork, Design, Layout Design
Dante Ross – Production Coordination, Production Consultant
Ultimatum – Remixing
Dilly d'Mus – Assistant Engineer
Louis Vego – Producer, Mixing
Howard Zucker – Typography
Jane Wexler – Photography
Bart Everly – Photography
Christopher Shaw – Engineer
Gawthaman Gobinath – Make-up Artist
"All Hail The Queen Charting Singles"
Year
Single
U.S. Rap [ 22]
U.S. R&B
U.S. Dance
U.S Dance Maxi Singles
1989
"Dance For Me"
14
—
—
—
1989
"Ladies First" (12/5/1989)
5
64
38
—
1990
"Come Into My House"
21
81
7
10
"Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children"
—
—
28
—
^ Roberts, Robin (Summer 1994). " 'Ladies First': Queen Latifah's Afrocentric Feminist Music Video" . African American Review . 28 (2) (Black Women's Culture ed.): 245–257. doi :10.2307/3041997 .
^ "Recording Registry: 2023" . National Recording Preservation Board . Library of Congress. Retrieved 2023-04-12 .
^ Henderson, Alex. "All Hail the Queen – Queen Latifah" . AllMusic . Retrieved July 16, 2021 .
^ Tanzilo, Robert (January 18, 1990). "Queen Latifah: All Hail the Queen (Tommy Boy)" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved January 25, 2012 .
^ Marlowe, Duff (January 28, 1990). "Queen Latifah 'All Hail the Queen' Tommy Boy" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 25, 2012 .
^ Fadele, Dele (November 11, 1989). "Queen Latifah: All Hail the Queen". NME . p. 42.
^ Williams, Henry (January 1990). "Queen Latifah: All Hail the Queen". Q . No. 40.
^ Fitzgerald, Muff (November 4, 1989). "Queen Latifah: Hail the Queen". Record Mirror . p. 18.
^ Coleman, Mark; Matos, Michaelangelo (2004). "Queen Latifah". In Brackett, Nathan ; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster . p. 669 . ISBN 0-7432-0169-8 .
^ McDonnell, Evelyn (1995). "Queen Latifah". In Weisbard, Eric ; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide . Vintage Books . pp. 318–319. ISBN 0-679-75574-8 .
^ Carey, Jean (February 23, 1990). "Women Give a New Dimension to Rap" . St. Petersburg Times . Retrieved June 10, 2022 .
^ Christgau, Robert (November 21, 1989). "Consumer Guide" . The Village Voice . Retrieved January 25, 2012 .
^ Pareles, Jon (Nov 5, 1989). "Female Rappers Strut Their Stuff in a Male Domain". The New York Times . p. A29.
^ Leland, John (Dec 24, 1989). "Anything Goes—So Long as It's Funky". Part II. Newsday . p. 23.
^ "100 Best Albums". The Source . No. 100. January 1998.
^ Harrington, Jim (2006). "Queen Latifah: All Hail the Queen". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . Universe Publishing . p. 612. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3 .
^ "Recording Registry: 2023" . National Recording Preservation Board . Library of Congress. Retrieved 2023-04-12 .
^ Ulaby, Neda (2023-04-12). "Queen Latifah and Super Mario Bros. make history in National Recording Registry debut" . NPR . Archived from the original on 2023-04-12. Retrieved 2023-04-12 .
^ "Queen Latifah Chart History (Billboard 200)" . Billboard . Retrieved May 11, 2021.
^ "Queen Latifah Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved May 11, 2021.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1990" . Billboard . Retrieved May 11, 2021 .
^ "Queen Latifah" . Billboard . Retrieved 7 August 2024 .