Queen Latifah

Dana Elaine Owens is an American singer and rapper better known under her stage name, Queen Latifah. In music, film and television, Queen Latifah has received the award of two Screen Actors Guild Awards (two Image Awards), a Grammy Award and six additional Grammy nominations, and nods to an Emmy Award. Queen Latifah was the daughter of the Newark New Jersey schoolteacher and a Newark New Jersey police officer Lancelot Owens Senior, was born and raised in Newark New Jersey. Their divorce occurred when Latifah was ten. Latifah was a student at the Catholic School in Newark, NJ and was educated through the Baptist Church. At the age of 8 when her mother gave Latifah the name of a stage Latifah that means delicate and kind in Arabic. Latifah is an extremely tall girl of 5'10 inches who played in the basketball team of her high school team. The song she performed was "Home" from The Wiz during a play in her high school. Latifah started beatboxing for the rap group Ladies Fresh. Latifah is among the founding members of the Flavor Unit, which was in the beginning a group made up of DJ Mark the 45 King. Mark James aka DJ Mark the 45 King made an unreleased version of Queen Latifah's song Princess of the Posse. He sent the recording to Yo! MTV Raps Fab 5 Freddy. Dante Ross, an employee of Tommy Boy Music who heard the song, and then was signed by Latifah in 1988 for the release of her debut single Wrath of My Madness.