Queen Latifah has never been one to hold her tongue. When it was calling out misogyny in hip-hop, she was there on the front lines. When it came to celebrate other female emcees such as MC Lyte or Monie Love, Queen was there as well. Now nearly three decades into her career, Latifah still isn’t shying away from challenging emcees to pick up the baton and keep pushing the culture.
During a Hot 97 interview promoting her upcoming film Girls Trip, Latifah discussed her thoughts on her career, the Remy Ma/Nicki Minaj feud and more. However, her loudest barbs came when asked about the progression of hip-hop and how many rappers of the day have lost their edge.
“A lot of rappers have lost their balls, they’ve gotten soft,” the legendary emcee told Ebro and Laura Stylez. “When things are going on in the world like Trump or elections, this was stuff we chewed on, y’know? Or people addicted to heroin… where’s the flip side to the molly, Percocet?”
There’s a legitimacy to those claims. Glamorizing hard drug use has led many to question if whether or not the artists themselves are promoting a toxic idea, and certainly, drugs show up frequently in plenty of lyrics from popular rappers.
Latifah’s perspective comes from an era where for as many party records there were songs about Stop the Violence and lamenting the woes of the crack era. Maybe beyond a select few such as Kendrick Lamar or J. Cole, her message will reach a few more people.
