Maps of Music

All Hail the Queen (1989)

Where the lyrics of All Hail the Queen take you, and where it was really made.

The album reached only No. 124 on the Billboard 200, yet the Library of Congress selected it for the National Recording Registry in 2023.

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All Hail the Queen: debut studio album by American rapper Queen Latifah
Released November 7, 1989 through Tommy Boy Records
The feminist anthem "Ladies First", featuring Monie Love, remains one of Latifah's signature songs
Peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Top Hip Hop/R&B Albums chart
Peaked at No. 124 on the Billboard 200 chart

Latifah began as a beatboxer in the hip-hop group Ladies Fresh
She was also a member of the MC group Flavor Unit
In 1988, with help from friend DJ King Gemini, she made a demo tape with a track titled Princess of the Posse
Tommy Boy Records signed her after the demo drew attention
She was 19 years old when the debut album came out

Mixing and production credits include Daddy-O, DJ Mark the 45 King, KRS-One, Prince Paul, and Queen Latifah
Performers include De La Soul and Monie Love
Remixing credits go to Dr. Jam and Soulshock

1	Dance for Me	3:46
2	Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children	4:29
3	Come Into My House	4:18
4	Latifah’s Law	3:54
5	Wrath of My Madness	4:17
6	The Pros	5:47
7	Ladies First	3:59
8	A King and Queen Creation	3:39
9	Queen of Royal Badness	3:29
10	Evil That Men Do	4:07
11	Princess of the Posse	3:55
12	Inside Out	4:16

Born Dana Elaine Owens on March 18, 1970 in Newark, New Jersey; grew up mainly in East Orange, New Jersey.
Started as a beatboxer and rapper for the Flavor Unit crew; signed to Tommy Boy Records and released debut album All Hail the Queen in 1989 at age 19.
Black Reign (1993) became the first album by a solo female rapper certified Gold by the RIAA; its single "U.N.I.T.Y." won a Grammy Award.
Order in the Court (1998) was released through Motown Records; later albums include The Dana Owens Album (2004), Trav'lin' Light (2007), and Persona (2009).
Performed at Super Bowl XXXII halftime show as the first rapper to do so.
Starred on the Fox sitcom Living Single (1993–1998) and hosted The Queen Latifah Show (1999–2001, 2013–2015).
Earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Chicago (2002), and a Primetime Emmy Award for the HBO film Bessie (2015).
Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006, becoming the first hip-hop artist to do so.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2026.

The New York Times noted that the backup tracks are sometimes rich enough to carry the album on their own, but they do not have to
The paper also noted that some songs have vocal choruses, while in others Queen Latifah's speech provides melody
Newsday called the album "international ghetto music filtered through hip-hop's strongest feminist sensibility"

The Source included it in its "100 Best Albums" list in 1998
Robert Dimery featured it in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
VH1 ranked "Ladies First" number 35 on its 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop in 2008

"Wrath of My Madness" was the first single from the album and was later sampled in Yo-Yo's "You Can't Play with My Yo-Yo"
The magazine Q placed the album in its list of the 50 best albums of 1990
Despite peaking at No. 124 on the Billboard 200, the album was chosen for the National Recording Registry in 2023