Rehoboth Jazz - Queen Latifah
She first made her mark as the "Queen of Hip-Hop," becoming the first female rapper to notch a gold record, while opening the door for a generation of female rappers to follow.
But these days, Queen Latifah is making an entirely different kind of music, having now released two albums in succession -- " The Dana Owens Album" and "Trav'lin' Light"-- in which she sings standards from the jazz, soul, blues and "Great American Songbook" realms.
She'll play a sold-out show at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center on Friday as part of the 18th annual Rehoboth Beach Autumn Jazz Festival, followed by a concert Wednesday at the Grand Opera House in Wilmingotn.
She suddenly sees a musical future for herself that few would have envisioned when she arrived on the scene with her debut CD, 1989's "All Hail the Queen." "I've always envisioned that I could sing songs like this for the rest of my life," said Latifah, who lives in Colts Neck, N.J. "It would be mighty cool to be like Tony Bennett."
Actually, considering the success Latifah has enjoyed with acting and as a talk-show host ("The Queen Latifah Show") ... it's hard to envision her devoting all her efforts toward a single pursuit such as singing. "I looked at this as part of me growing up, that I could sort of release this side of myself," said Latifah during a recent telephone interview. "I just always feel like the more I go on through my career that I'll be able to explore different sides of my talents and abilities and be able to share that with the world. That's always my hope. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don't. But I'm always on the optimistic side."
As Latifah's star continued to rise during the 1990s, she grew to be seen as a role model for women. She unabashedly embraced being a plus-size beauty who could exude confidence at every turn. "I was raised to believe that beauty comes from the inside out," Latifah said.
Latifah's career as an actress may actually be at a new peak now. She's been in several highly successful films in recent years, including "The Bone Collector," "Bringing Down the House," "Chicago" (for which she received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress) and, just this past summer, "Hairspray."
But this fall, she's jazzing it up on the road.
The tour focuses on material from "The Dana Owens Album" and "Trav'lin Light."
She sees the two CDs as being very closely related musically.
