All Hail the Queen

I guess 80s rap just isn’t my thing

a little weak compared to others in this era but enjoyable. low 3

Is it dated? Is it repetitive? Did I head bop along to it?
Yup to all the above.
Will I listen again? Probably not.

Honestly, its got solid beats, solid flow, solid bars. And it sounds very much like hip hop in 1989 and feels like Fresh Prince with a tinge of Public Enemy.

Feel like if I was listening to hip hop back then, this would have been great, but in a world with Kendricks and Aesop Rocks, this album just feels ancient.

Not necessarily aged poorly, just that the beats and rapping are very simple, there's a lot of "I'm a great rapper, I'll destroy you at the mic" lyrics. That late 80's "I need to hit every beat extremely hard with my rhymes" with a very hard flow (which is now, unfortunately, synonymous with awful corporate training videos that try to be cool).

A lot of the music is great and some of the sung choruses are great (The Pros, which weirdly has some of my least favorite rapping on the record. Which is funny because the sung choruses have better "rapping" with rolled/trilled lines that the actual rapping does not).

Monie Love was great on Ladies First.
Also, recognized the sample used on Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children as it was used in an episode of Better Call Saul, fun fact (Scorpio by Dennis Coffey).

But overall, it gets the 2/5 simply because this style of rapping, to me, has just kinda been left behind and does not really work for me in today's landscape. Not necessarily a knock against the album itself and more just a reflection of how far hip hop has progressed since this album came out (and how far it's progressed due to this album's influence).

Considering the era of rap/hip hop and that I associate QL with Ice Tea and Ice Cube. And that this was an hour. I was not excited to listen. I was right.

She's alright. I think there were better female rappers at the time but I can appreciate her impact in promoting women in rap. Musically it's got that old school hip hop vibe with pretty typical themes.

Hell yeah! I wasn't sure how much female fronted rap there might be on the list, but I was delighted to see the Queen! A mishmash of genres and styles, and a sonic education which teaches more with each listen

really solid late 80s rap

It was fine. I appreciate the bravado without violence or sex and that the queen staked her place, but it's not something I would choose to listen to.

An album full of hip hop songs that felt really long and a little boring, but then again I am not a fan of hip hop music.

Favourite songs: Ladies First, Queen of Royal Badness, Latifah's Law, Evil That Men Do, Wrath of My Madness, Come Into My House, Mama Gave Birth To The Soul Children

Least favourite songs: Inside Out

4/5

An album produced by some of the greats in the Hip Hop Industry in the late 80's, from De La Soul to KRS-One to The 45 King (who, after listening to A King and Queen Creation could indeed better stick to producing and not pick up a mic).
Queen Latifah shows she can MC with the best on this album, has a good flow and can adjust to laid-back beats like on 'The Pros' and even hold up marvelously on the much harder Boogie Down Productions-style beats on 'Evil That Men Do.'
The host of different producers also makes this an album with several styles that were popular in the time, a little bit of soul, a little bit of jazz, some reggae, a hint of house

Remembering she was 19 when this album was released, you can certainly see how much influence she has had on the genre and what came after.

And still...

Many of the songs are lazy, the lyrics are only bragging songs, there's not a song with an interesting train of thought or with anything more to say about how flavourful she is. Not all songs are strong, and some are just plain weak.

Interesting debut.

Det var sgu ikke lige mig. Musikken var meget cool..

she's better off acting, but the music isnt trash

2.5 rounded down

you wouldn't have Beyonce without Queen Latifah. and this debut is jazzy, funky, groovy, and with a flow that is sterling. Ladies First is a killer song.

Holy shit, what a discovery! Great production! Excellent samples, really cool energy. I didn’t know what to expect out of Latifah’s music, but this is one of my favorite surprises so far!

4/5

Samasta liian pitkästä CD-levyongelmasta kärsii tämäkin, monen muun aikalaisensa tavoin. siistejä hetkiä kyllä levyllä. 3/5

Queen Latifah made music? I must be too young that I only knew her as an actress.
Dance for me is a fun start, girl can rap! A fun album, very 80s hip hop.
Mama gave birth has some weird chipmunk shit, fuck that.
Also enjoyed Ladies First.
Overall 3*, fun album.

Good 80’s hip hop album, but really does just feel dated now, has not lasted the test of time well, but was clearly influential. So probably earns its place on the list to get a 3 star rating.