"Light" draws Latifah to classic R&B

10/05/2007 6:52 PM, Reuters
Steve James

"I'm Gonna Live Till I Die" could double as Queen Latifah's theme song.

The Sarah Vaughan standard -- featured on "Trav'lin Light," Latifah's second album of pop/R&B/jazz staples -- captures the essence of Latifah's multiformat career.

"Trav'lin Light," which Verve released September 25, debuts this week at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, a career best for an artist whose 1989 groundbreaking rap debut, "All Hail the Queen," presaged a Grammy Award for best solo rap performance in 1994.

And the Queen has kept it moving ever since. She has segued into successful stints as an Emmy Award-nominated (HBO's "Life Support") and Academy Award-nominated ("Chicago") actress; a partner with Shakim Compere in New Jersey-based film production company Flavor Unit Entertainment ("Bringing Down the House"); a CoverGirl spokeswoman; author; and philanthropist (the Lancelot H. Owens Scholarship Foundation).

Like 2004's "The Dana Owens Album," "Trav'lin Light" is "half jazz and half more eclectic choices, with a couple more ballady songs," according to Latifah.

But the transition to this type of material from hip-hop wasn't an easy one.

AMERICAN HISTORY

"Working with such respected producers like Arif Mardin and Tommy LiPuma and such amazing musicians as Stevie Wonder, George Duke and Joe Sample has made it easier," she said. "It's like going to history class and actually having fun. These are people who played with or knew artists like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.

"That brought the music closer to reality for me," she continued. "And my hope is to bring this music to a younger, more diverse crowd. This is our music: American music created by people of African descent as well."

Although details are still coming together, Latifah is eyeing a return to her roots with a new rap album. "I want to make sure it's something where people are like, 'Oh, yeah, she's still got it.' I don't want to put out a corny album," she said.

In the past five years, however, female rappers have found little success on the charts. The problem, Latifah said, is that "females need to be more in control of their own business -- without getting involved in the cutthroat sort of currency. You just hope that when a female gets in the door, she will bring someone else through."

Thanks to her multifaceted CoverGirl deal, Latifah has become a model for the importance of branding to today's artists.

"Initially, hip-hop was being judged as something trendy, but we as the artists never felt like that," she recalled. "But all it took was one Sprite commercial and then it was a wrap. Back then, managers had to go out and create opportunities and then explain to an artist why it was important to do this. Now, artists instantly come into the game with branding in mind."

After a fall tour of intimate venues in support of the disc, Latifah will jump back into acting with full force. Early next year, she will begin shooting a remake of "All of Me," which originally starred Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin. Two HBO projects, one about blues singer Bessie Smith, are also in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, Latifah's CoverGirl Queen Collection launches a new campaign in October. For the TV spot, she penned the song "Every Woman Is a Queen," which is exclusive to physical versions of the CD sold at Wal-Mart.

"I wanted to record a song for the campaign that was classy, an ode to women, if you will. For me, as a spokesperson, it's about making sure the woman with two kids can still feel beautiful. It's something my mother always said: Every woman is a queen."

Reuters/Billboard