Maps of Music
Order in the Court (1998)
Where the lyrics of Order in the Court take you, and where it was really made.
Queen Latifah's fourth album was her last with Motown and her first to carry a Parental Advisory warning, and it was partly dedicated to two rappers who had recently been killed.
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Overview
- Order in the Court: fourth studio album by American hip-hop artist and actress Queen Latifah
- Released June 16, 1998 by Motown Records
- Latifah's last album with Motown
- Partly dedicated to the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur
- Her first album to carry the Parental Advisory warning
- Standard track listing of 14 tracks
- European edition adds 'Let Her Live' (featuring Next)
- Japanese edition adds 'Let Her Live' and 'Keep Your Head to the Sky'
Background
- Before the release, Latifah and Foxy Brown had been arguing over who was the real Queen
- On the second track, 'Court Is In Session', Latifah portrays herself as a judge presiding over the current state of hip-hop
- In the song she taunts rivals, including Foxy
- The closing track, 'Life', shows Latifah realizing that feuding with other female rappers was futile
- The reason given is the untimely and recent deaths of Biggie and Tupac
- 'Life' is a tribute to Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., both killed in 1996 and 1997
- 'Black on Black Love' and 'Life' both celebrate the black community, black love, and black businesses
- More than Latifah's other hip-hop albums, this one focuses on her legacy
- The album attempts to cement her as a defining hip-hop artist, regardless of gender
Recording
- Singer Inaya Day is featured on the album, credited as Inaya Jafan
- Collaborators include Sisqó, Antonique Smith, Lil' Mo and Faith Evans
- Producers include Clark Kent, Big Jaz and Diamond D
- 'Turn You On' samples and interpolates 'I Didn't Mean to Turn You On' by Cherelle
- 'Let Her Live' samples and interpolates 'That Girl' by Stevie Wonder
- 'Life' samples 'You're Not the Man' by Sade
- 'Paper' interpolates 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' by Marvin Gaye
- 'Court Is in Session' samples 'What Am I Missing' by Rufus & Chaka Khan
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
| 1 | Bananas (Who You Gonna Call?) | 4:00 |
| 2 | Court Is in Session | 3:53 |
| 3 | No/Yes Skit | 0:45 |
| 4 | No/Yes | 4:51 |
| 5 | Turn You On | 4:21 |
| 6 | Black on Black Love | 5:05 |
| 7 | Parlay | 4:53 |
| 8 | Paper | 4:01 |
| 9 | What Ya Gonna Do? | 4:34 |
| 10 | It’s Alright | 3:46 |
| 11 | Phone Call | 0:34 |
| 12 | Brownsville | 4:41 |
| 13 | I Don’t Know | 4:30 |
| 14 | Life | 5:43 |
| 15 | Let Her Live | 3:40 |
Sources: musicbrainz.org
Artist
Career
- 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.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reception
At release
- AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes that the artist fuses old school R&B and contemporary soul into her hip-hop trademark
- The same review concludes that the album falls short of expectations
- Italian Wikipedia describes the album as a good commercial and critical success
Reappraisal
- Source material gives no further critical reappraisal beyond the contemporary notices above
Records
- France: placed 16th on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart
- United States: placed 95th on the Billboard 200 chart
Sources: it.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- Latifah performed 'Life' at the Lilith Fair in 1998, and the live version also appears on the CD and cassette release Lilith Fair Volume 2
- Singer Inaya Day is featured on the album, credited as Inaya Jafan
- 'Life' samples 'You're Not the Man' by Sade
- The French article describes 'Life' as a tribute to Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., both murdered in 1996 and 1997
- The album came out just before Latifah's time at Motown ended
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org