Disco de Queen Latifah: “Black Reign”

This is one of my favorite 90's albums. I was suprised to see that there was no parental advisory. There is a Hell of a lot of cussing in "Rough" and "UNITY". This album is great. My fave song is "Just Another Day". That song is a classic. This is the best album from Latifah and a must own!

Queen latifah was one of the first females in the rap music businees. she opened a lot of doors for future female rappers. Without Latifah, there probably be no Eve, Lil' Kim, Missy Elliott, Da Brat, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC (RIP), Foxy Brown, Lady of Rage, etc. This is simply Ql's best album. This is a must own.

This album from Queen Latifah still is a favorite to me! Makes me think that a live band is performing this entire album instead of different producers and samples. Especially U.N.I.T.Y. which is so funky--I'm thinking that there are live horns and a band instead of a sample. But there are countless standouts, especially Black Hand Side, I Can't Understand, Just Another Day, her tribute to her late brother and others. My favorites are the Tony Dofat produced songs, with his hard beats and the echoes on some of those beats. Dofat did about 6 to 7 songs, while S.I.D. and Kay Gee did the other half of the album. Dofat gives the S.I.D. songs some tight competition! I still like Listen 2 Me, perhaps Dofat's best produced song then or now. But Latifah's themes of standing up for yourself and making women take control of their lives are a common theme througout this album and that's what I love about Black Reign. I was pleased that she won a Grammy for U.N.I.T.Y.! I've played it more ever since it won. It makes this album more respectable. An album that I still love to this day!

Lemme tell ya this is one of the best rap albums that Queen Latifah eva put out in 1993 'cuz that's a tribute to his late brother "Winki" aka Lancelot H. Owens from a terrible motorcycle accident backthen. The tight song "U.N.I.T.Y" is an ode to the ladies who're bein' called "b****es" or "h**s", stuff like that. I'm blessed this doesn't have no warning label or sumthin that saids "PARENTAL ADVISORY: Explicit Lyrics" based off of that label put out in '85.

The song "U.N.I.T.Y" features a sample of the Crusaders (who are mostly my all-time favorite jazz group along w/ Spyro Gyra, Impromp2, Patrice Rushen, Us3, etc. who are my favorite jazz playas) which I read off the cover. This I have on tape not CD. The rest of the songs I might tryout once I listen to the album. Bought it yesterday at CD Warehouse ('cuz I heard they're goin' out of business pretty soon this summer or the fall).

I've always followed and dug Latifah's work back from day 1. From a rapper, an actress, an former TV host of her own show, a singer, all of the above. Yea as I said Queen Latifah is my girl and mostly da bomb in the music, movie and entertainment industry/community.

I recommend all of her other rap albums incl. her latest she put out last yr., "The Dana Owens Albums" (which sure is a good album to have), so hopefully I'll cop that rightafter I dig up all of her other albums. Surely a must for all hip-hop lovers, non-rap fans or beginners, A fanatic fan to any type'a music i.e. jazz, R&B, blues, rock, etc.

I 'specially recommend Ronny Jordan's "The Antidote" incl. all of his other albums, Guru's JAZZMATAZZ 3-part series, Miles Davis' later works from '81 thru '91, anything from Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Barry White, Prince, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Mase, A Tribe Called Quest, Patrice Rushen, Common, The Roots, Salt-n-Pepa, Dr. Dre, Outkast, etc.

Reviewers of Latifah's newest album "Order in the Court" cannot believe that she swears as much as she does. If you listen to "Black Reign" and listen for the bad language, you will hear more language than you might think. This album and "Order in the Court are definitely recommended.