E-mail a friendQueen Latifah
airdate October 9, 2008
Queen Latifah has made a name for herself in music, film and TV. The Grammy-winning artist has earned several acting awards, including an Oscar nod—the first female rapper to be so honored. Born Dana Owens in Newark, NJ, Latifah led her high school basketball team to two state championships. Now an industry mogul, she's celebrity spokesperson for several products, has a line of cosmetics and an artist management company. She's also the first hip-hop artist with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Multi-talented star discusses how one can remain true to themselves and at the same time not forget their roots. (2:08)
Full interview. (11:57)
Queen Latifah
Tavis: Always pleased to talk to Queen Latifah. The Oscar-nominated actress and Grammy-winning music artist is starring in the much-anticipated film "The Secret Life of Bees." The movie, which is produced by Jada Pinkett Smith, also stars Dakota Fanning; in theaters October 17th. Here now, a scene from "The Secret Life of Bees."
[Clip]
Tavis: So I saw this, and my first thought, Queen, was it's a nice ensemble, but this ain't exactly set off. (Laughter)
Queen Latifah: Definitely not set off.
Tavis: An ensemble of women, but not the same thing.
Latifah: No, no, no, definitely not set it off. We weren't quite in gangsta mode, if you will.
Tavis: Yeah, although Jada produces it, so that's (unintelligible).
Latifah: Yeah, so close enough - two out of four members of the team.
Tavis: Yeah, not bad. So you saw this and you wanted to play August. I love this - for those who know the book, of course, sisters - women already know this. In the movie, August, May, and June?
Latifah: Yes, are the Boatwright sisters.
Tavis: Opens in October, but August, May, and June. You decided to play August, and when you saw that, you wanted to do it - what got your attention about it?
Latifah: I just - the character was so nurturing, so compassionate, strong. I thought she was - to me, she's a different type of matriarch, in a way, because she's really the big sister, but she is much more like the matriarch of the family. And you get to see a bit of a dynamic. June, who's the youngest sister, is much more outgoing in terms of being out in the world and revolutionary towards the changes that are happening with Black people in America at this time in the '60s.
And August is more - she's going to register to vote, but she's got to take care of the house and take care of what's going on, and she's just kind of more grounded in the family aspects of it, and she's more like you go change the world; I'll be here working. If you need a home to come to, I got you. She's kind of more like that. So it was nice just to see something different.
Tavis: When you used the word a moment ago, matriarch, I'm looking at you, because we know each other for so long and well, and I'm looking at you and I'm thinking hip-hop artist, I'm thinking Oscar-nominated actress, I'm thinking cool. And I'm trying to put matriarch in that mix, and it doesn't quite (laughs) fit. Now, I raise that only because you are - we'll talk about this in a second - you are excellent, brilliant at managing, marketing, promoting, expanding your brand - I want to have a branding conversation in a moment.
How does being a matriarch at your age, at this point in your career - does that push you in a direction you really don't want to go, or do you like having that kind of range?
Latifah: I'm just not the type of person who is afraid to play anything. I don't think - if you look back at all the characters I played in my career, they're all different from one to the next. I think there are a lot of different kinds of matriarchs. To me, being a matriarch doesn't mean you're matronly and you're old and you're boring and you have no life, you know what I mean?
For me, I see the goddess; I see the phoenix, the spirit, the strength, the beauty, the sexiness. I see all those sides of it, too. And it's all how you feel about it on the inside; I don't have any insecurities about it. I come from a long line of amazingly beautiful, strong, talented women, so for me, growing older or just growing up has never been, like, a frightening thing where - I have friends who, when their 30th birthday was coming, they were just panicked.
They were freaked out and they felt like they hadn't done anything, and they had done a lot with their lives. But they were measuring themselves based on somebody's - some sort of expectations that I don't think was really for them, whereas I'm looking at all these 40-somethings who've been having fun, all these 30-somethings who are enjoying their lives and learning more about themselves, and they kind of made me excited about it.
I always kind of ran with older folks anyway - just was always trying to be in grown folks' business, I guess, so.
Tavis: I was teasing you when you walked on the set. Last Sunday I guess I was on a plane flying back from somewhere back to L.A. Had my "New York Times," as I do every day, and was reading on the plane and came across the story about you in the "New York Times" magazine.
Latifah: Damn that article. Sorry.
Tavis: Yeah, I know. (Laughter) The point I want to make now - knowing Queen as I do - I'm reading this just in the way that I do, knowing her. I'm reading this article, as I was saying to you, and I'm circling things - I know she didn't like this, I know she didn't like this, I really know she didn't like this. I'm circling this.
I said to you as you walked on the set before we came on the air, my expectation of the mainstream media is so low, if they get it just that - it's like Maxwell Smart - if they get it just that much right, you thank god for Jesus, keep on moving, because you hope they get it just reasonably right.
The centerpiece of that article for me, and what made me want to read it, and not just because you were coming on the show, was back to my earlier point - you are so good at what you have done with your brand. If the question is that I want to ask now, the advice you give, how do you break the mold? How does a woman who comes up in the hip-hop game the way you did, how does one break the mold in the uniquely different way that you have? What's at the center of that?
Latifah: Well, I can't really - obviously, I can't just speak for every woman, because I think we all have our own path. But I think it's important for us to figure out who we are as quickly as possible, and what we are and are not willing to stand for, deal with, put up with, or who we want to be looked at as. For me, I wanted to be viewed in a certain way, so I came out in a certain way. I demanded a certain respect, and the hardest guys in the game gave me that respect at 17 years old.
So obviously, I wasn't the only one looking for that kind of person to make a difference. Gangsta rappers supposedly like, "Yo, I like what you do, I respect what you do," and that meant keep doing what you're doing. So I don't judge anybody. I think there's room for everyone. But I really think the quicker you kind of figure out your insecurities, deal with all that, learn how to love yourself, the better off you'll be, because then you'll be making decisions and choices based upon your confidence about things and your dreams.
You'll just go for it; you won't be so easily swayed or influenced by people who want to guide you in the wrong directions. And I'm fortunate to have good people around me who respected my brains and not just looked at me as the talent, because I never wanted to be just the talent anyway. It was always about controlling my destiny.
Tavis: To that last point, then, how do you deal with the push-back that is inevitable, even when you have a strong constitution and you know who you are - your brilliant answer; what you would tolerate, what you won't, what you will do, what you won't do - even when you know that, you're in a system, you're in a game that will still push back when you say, "This doesn't work for me," or "This is what I do want to do," they'll say, "No, that's not quite in." How do you deal in the game with the push-back?
Latifah: Well, kind of look at it, it's football season, you know what I mean? (Laughter) Just imagine that incredible linebacker who he goes up against one block and gets pushed back, and he kind of spins off of it and goes into another block, and somehow manages to squeeze through at some point and gain some yardage.
Everything is not going to be a touchdown, but you get a little more yardage, a little more yardage; people start to realize okay, well, we can't just push this person around, and maybe they have some qualities that we need to check out. And I just think it's the persistence that you have to have. There's no way around it. You have to have persistence, you have to have determination, and you've got to kind of have a plan if you can, and know where you're going.
Because there's no need to waste all your energy on this thing and on that thing, and bringing the whole 'hood along. We get caught up in that just as rappers. One of us gains some success and we want to ring everybody on the block, but you can't. You've got to get your feet on solid ground first, and then you can start pulling people up.
But if you try to carry 20 people, you're going to get pulled back down before you even get a chance to really grow to your full potential. So I think I was fortunate enough to have people around me to help me make the right decisions, like my mother, who went with me to most of the stuff, helped form my management company.
My partner, Shakim, yeah. The Flavor Unit, certain entertainers in the business like KRS-1 and those guys, Lights Manager (sp), Nat Robinson - a few other people who just always gave good advice without wanting anything in return. So there's still that thing about keeping positive people around you, keeping the right people. You got to cut the dead weight sometimes. People can be very negative.
And it only seems to be getting more negative. Like, people have, like, blogs, for instance. Everybody wants to have something to say so bad; they want to be heard so bad, and so they figure if they say the nastiest thing or the most shocking thing, it's still a way of them being heard.
Tavis: I got to high-five you on the blogs, because I'm sick of them. (Laughs) I had my share of that this year. I'm sick of that. Yeah, exactly.
Latifah: It's crazy, you know what I mean? I think it's people want to be heard. We've got to separate the negativity from the positivity.
Tavis: Let me ask you in this last minute - you can take, as you well know, a master class for acting. Is there a master plan, though, for this thing? I can never figure out, as wonderful as you were doing it, at laying this thing out and advancing this brand, is there an in-game here? Is there a master plan? Or do you just want opportunities as they come for you?
Latifah: I'd like to be able to retire comfortably at 40. That was always my goal.
Tavis: At what?
Latifah: At 40. I kind of got a - (laughter) I kind of got a young start -
Tavis: I think you're already there, Latifah. I think you got that covered.
Latifah: But I doubt that I would. As far as acting is concerned, I feel like I could act until Ruby Dee - I could be like Ruby Dee, you know what I mean? As far as all kinds of businesses, the world is the oyster. I stay open. And as far as the kinds of things I do, I kind of base it on my life. If I want to slow down and kind of be in one place, I might consider going back to television. To me, all options are always open.
Tavis: It's hard to know how to promote what she's doing because she's doing so much stuff. The project that she wants you to go see at the movies right now is "The Secret Life of Bees," October the 17th. Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keyes, Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Sophie Okonedo - great cast.
Latifah: Yeah.
Tavis: Always nice to see you.
Latifah: Thanks, Tavis.
Tavis: And you look great. I know Jenny Craig can't get all the credit for that. I know you're in the gym doing your thing - yeah, there you go.
Latifah: Yeah, I'm dancing my way out. (Laughter)
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