I realized there was racism because people thought, ‘Oh, if you like roll ‘n’ roll, that makes you like a white kid.’ – Queen Latifah
I lost relatives to AIDS, a couple of my closest cousins. I lost friends to AIDS, high-school friends who never even made it to their 21st birthdays in the ’80s. When it’s that close to you, you can’t really deny it, and you can’t run from it. – Queen Latifah
My mom has always been my champion. She was very smart and grounded. She said, ‘Save your money. Pay your taxes. Don’t put everything in one basket,’ but she let me explore and be creative. – Queen Latifah
I’ve never been the straight rapper that is going to stand in a cipher and battle all day. I started off battle rapping, but to me, making songs became more important than freestyles… I’ve met many rappers who can freestyle but can’t make a record. – Queen Latifah
I want every day to be life for the living, not just traipsing through it existing. I’m just interested in life and the world and exploring. – Queen Latifah
When it came time to be a professional rapper, I wouldn’t sign anything without reading it. There was no way I was going to have people make decisions for me or wake up one day and find that I was broke because I never bothered to read a contract. – Queen Latifah
I made decisions that I regret, and I took them as learning experiences… I’m human, not perfect, like anybody else. – Queen Latifah
There are a lot of people who helped make Queen Latifah who she is today. I don’t forget, but a lot of people do and get big heads. – Queen Latifah
I enjoy going to work and having a good time. It’s tough when you got to work with people who just are in a bad mood all the damn time. – Queen Latifah
We ignore our feelings a lot, I realize. Many of us have to… until they really bite us in the butt. – Queen Latifah
To me, doing a gay pride show is one of the most fun things. My first show that paid more than $10,000 was in a gay club on New Year’s Eve in San Francisco. – Queen Latifah
Look at people for an example, but then make sure to do things your way. Surround yourself with positive people. – Queen Latifah
Racism is ignorant. And it’s stupid. And it’s old. And it’s played out. So beat it already with that, you know what I mean? ‘Let’s all get along’ – I’m so tired of that damn sentence, but it’s true. – Queen Latifah
Sometimes I pray when I really feel like I need God to help me with something, and sometimes we just have conversations. We just kick it. – Queen Latifah
I have to be realistic about what I can and can’t do. So whatever I do has to really be worth it. I like to master the things I do. – Queen Latifah
I like Pirate’s Booty. Prunes and olives, too. I love hummus. I can eat that until I die. I tend to eat mostly organic food. – Queen Latifah
My mother wouldn’t allow me to speak slang when I was growing up. But when I got outside, around my friends, it was ‘Yo’ and ‘That’s the joint’ and ‘Yo, what’s up?’ So I had my game for my friends and my game for my mom. – Queen Latifah
I used to do school plays. I never really took any acting classes. I’m just a natural ham, I guess. – Queen Latifah
When I was growing up, there were so many musicals you could watch. I like the fantasy of musicals and I love music. – Queen Latifah
I’m not one of those people who wake up chatting. I usually don’t want to speak for the first 10 or 20 minutes. And I don’t really want you to talk to me either! – Queen Latifah
My mom was my main influence growing up, and Phylicia Rashad reminded me a lot of my mother, just the way she handled certain things, she was… not soft-spoken but smooth-spoken. Just very calm, cool, collected about things. – Queen Latifah
I know a lot of people who really aren’t beautiful because their attitudes are very nasty… Whether I make the 50 most beautiful list or not, I’m always going to feel like I’m number one most beautiful to myself… I get that from my mom, and my daddy and my friends who raised me. – Queen Latifah
To me, I always felt like I was carrying a torch for women of any size to be themselves – it doesn’t matter whether you’re a size 2 or a 22, just be who you are. – Queen Latifah
I’m not the type that’s going to sit and preach to people if they don’t need it just because I’ve been around the block a few times. – Queen Latifah
There are times you can’t really see or even feel how sweet life can be. Hopefully its mountains will be higher than its valleys are deep. I know things that are broken can be fixed. Take the punch if you have to, hit the canvas and then get up again. Life is worth it. – Queen Latifah
To wanna be me is to go through not just the good but the bad. You wanna share my story identically? Man, you gonna take some lumps. – Queen Latifah
