QUEEN LATIFAH HONORS WHERE SHE HAS BEEN

Queen Latifah song in Hairspray I Know Where I’ve Been is her opportunity to honor those who paved the way for her success.

Queen Latifah came a long way to get to where she is today, and it wasn’t without encountering hard headed Hollywood types. Queen related to her character Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray who wanted to convince everyone there was plenty of room on the Corny Collins dance show for all kinds of people.

Queen says singing the song I Know Where I’ve Been was her way of honoring the people who paved the way for her success without barriers.

“I Know Where I’ve Been makes me feel like it’s me paying respects to all those who have come before me, black and white and everything in between. To march, to make a difference in my life. To allow me the opportunity to follow my dreams and achieve them without the type of discrimination that they would’ve faced back then.”

Queen describes how the song expresses a serious side to the film with a message of solidarity.

“People who got hosed down and bit by dogs and had to go without food and had staged sit-ins and walked miles just to get to work and school. Just to have the same opportunities, just for me to have these opportunities so performing I Know Where I’ve Been, recording that song as well as performing it in the film really was important to me that I made sure I kept that thought in my mind and didn’t just make it a big joke. That somebody really went through this so I could do this scene right here. So you know what let’s go there. And I think everybody standing next to me, walking along side of me in that march got it.”

Queen Latifah’s equal opportunity philosophy extends to the animal kingdom. She did the narration for the upcoming film Arctic Tale following the trials and tribulations of a walrus and polar bear in the Great North.