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Queen
Latifah's wish list…
There's plenty to do. I'll never run out of things
to accomplish as long as I'm alive because there's so much to learn
and so much to do. I've learned a lot. I feel like I have so much
further to grow personally, spiritually, emotionally, physically and
mentally. So, I'll be hanging around until God says, "You just
come on back."
There's a lot I want to do for kids. There are so
many charitable things my partner Shakim and I are working on besides
our scholarship foundation. There are adventure camps, acting camps,
fundraisers and real estate ventures. We'd still love to create a
studio within a high school. We want to give back to kids mostly.
Obviously, to be a parent at some point has always been on my mind. It
is going to happen sooner or later before my mother kills me. More and
more movies, more TV, more production…There's so much in the
entertainment field. There are so many places to go within this field
that I found my home when I landed here. There are a lot more avenues
to go up and things that I can do. I like being able to hire people
and give them jobs. I'd like to discover somebody.
Queen
Latifah on
developing leadership skills …
I
went through my follower period too. At some point, you want to be
accepted. You want to feel part of something. A lot of kids are facing
that with gangs, groups or clubs. It could be a positive sort of
acceptance or it could be negative. At the end of the day, you have to
be your own leader. You have to make your own decisions. All those
decisions come with consequences and if you're ready to live with
them, then that's your choice. But nothing is free and anything is
possible. Now that anything that you could possibly dream of is
possible, what are you going to do? Often, it's the company that you
keep. If you're going to run with a crew decide which crew to run
with. You don't want to be a follower; you want to be a leader. Kids
are going to face those challenges. At some point, any true leader has
had to stand alone.
Queen
Latifah on the execution of Stan "Tookie" Williams
I'm totally against it. It's not about what Tookie
Williams did or didn't do; I'm just not with the death penalty. I'm
against it. I feel like there are too many people who have died who
are innocent. It's a flawed system - look at how many people are free
based on DNA. Who knows what other scientific things will come up in
the future to free other people or convict those who claimed
innocence? I feel like it shows a great lack of compassion. We don't
honor ourselves as human beings by murdering a human. Just lock them
up and throw away the key. Set them loose with a bunch of savages like
themselves to deal with their own future. But to kill someone, that's
absolute. There's no coming back from that.
Queen Latifah
on the state of women in hip hop…
Somebody has to move the music forward at all times.
If you're not really doing anything new or fresh, then it's just the
same ole same ole. It's consistency. Somebody has got to do it and
keep it going and that takes support from the people around you so you
can go through what you're going through. It's kind of hard for women
even having a relationship and being a rapper because we have babies.
We're the ones that have to have the kids. Guys can rap, get their
girlfriends, marry them, have babies and life goes on in terms of a
personal life and a family life. With us, it's a little more
challenging to slip one in between albums. Any number of things can
affect a woman who is trying to do her thing out here. But it's a
matter of time before that hot new girl comes along and she's
supported by her manager, supported by her record label and the money
is put behind her to make her a success and she's going to do it. You
need those components. It's not only that you can rhyme and
automatically you're going to be what Queen Latifah is or what Lyte or
Salt 'N Pepa were. It takes time to build that up and it takes
financial support. It ain't cheap to get a record played on the radio
these days.
Queen Latifah on Lil Kim…
I want to go see the girl. We've written letters to
get on the list. It's a Catch 22 with Kim. I feel bad for Kim because
she's pretty much the only one who really didn't do anything. She just
didn't tell anything. In the circles that we move in, there's
something to be said about that. But I think there's a smarter way
that things could have been done for her and people could have acted
on her behalf in a smarter way that would not have had her wind up in
this situation.
Queen Latifah on maintaining her privacy…
I don't feel like I have to share every part of my
life with the public. There are still things that are private to me
that I like to keep to myself just for my own sanity.
Queen Latifah on the drawbacks of being a star…
The negative aspects are when you're trying to have
an argument and people come up to you and say, "Aren't you Queen
Latifah?"
You want to say, "Yeah, now get the hell out of
my face! Don't you see me arguing? Go 'head on!"
But you can't say that because somebody will get
their feelings hurt and you feel bad. It's a pain in the butt though
when you're just trying to have a conversation. It's a compliment to
you, but at the same time it's very hard for the people around you.
Everybody who loves and cares about you has to ride this thing with
you - good times and bad. It's good when everything is cool, but when
she gets arrested, it's bad. It has its ups and downs like any other
profession. The only problem is you have your mistakes in front of the
world and other people get to have theirs behind closed doors.
M
January 2006 |
