Queen Latifah and Will Smith talk hip hop in Class of ’88: “Learned How To Rap in the Bathroom”

Queen Latifah discussed her start with HipHop that her goal with during Will Smith‘s new podcast, Class Of ’88.

When the New Jersey-bred pioneer signed her deal with Tommy Boy Records in 1988, she was one of the emcees who set the standard for women in Hip-Hop. So, when she dropped her debut album, All Hail The Queen, the following year with the breakout single, it became both “hardcore” and “revolutionary.” Throughout her career, Queen found herself immersed in rap beefs with Roxanne Shanté and Foxy Brown. However, all of that has since subsided and Queen, Roxanne, Da Brat, Latto, Saweetie, MC Lyte, and others took part in Netflix’s docuseries, Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop, which detailed the impact of female rap artists.