Persona (Queen Latifah Album)

''Persona'' is the seventh studio album by the American entertainer Queen Latifah. It was released on August 25, 2009, by Flavor Unit Entertainment. The album marked Queen Latifah's return to hip-hop music since 2002. ''Persona'' includes a mix of Latifah rapping and singing and features guest verses by Missy Elliot, Marsha Ambrosius, Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men, Busta Rhymes, and Mary J. Blige.

Background

In 2008, Latifah was asked if she would make another hip-hop album. She was quoted saying the album was "already done" and it would be called ''All Hail the Queen II.'' It was previously stated that her return-to-hip-hop album would be titled, ''Negativity'' and ''Star''.

It was rumoured that the album would be titled ''"The 'L' Word".'' When Latifah asked about the rumor, she stated it was her attempt to "mess with people's heads" referring to the rumors that she is lesbian.

On September 12, 2008, ''Rolling Stone'' reported that Queen Latifah was working on a new album titled, ''Persona''. The song "Cue the Rain" was released as the album's lead single. The other singles from the album include, "Fast Car", "My Couch" and "With You".

Collaborations

Dre from production duo Cool & Dre teamed up with her for the song titled, "My Couch". Dre lent his vocals for another track titled, "Hard to Love Ya" alongside Busta Rhymes and Boyz II Men's Shawn Stockman. On July 26, 2009, on her Twitter page, Latifah revealed that the second single from the album would be "Fast Car", which included a remix with Missy Elliot and Lil' Kim.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a rated mean out of 100 from mainstream critics, ''Persona'' received a score of 46, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". ''Boston Globe'' critic Ken Capobianco that "Queen Latifah puts the torch songs aside and aims at burning up the clubs with this set of tuneful, briskly executed songs, almost exclusively produced by the superb Cool & Dre ..For all the pleasures, Latifah sounds too guarded. She reveals more shilling for shedding pounds. More personality in ''Persona'', please."Capobianco, Ken (2009-08-24).
'Persona' Lacks Queen's Attitude
. ''The Boston Globe''. Retrieved on 2009-08-26. Allison Stewart from ''The Washington Post''
noted that "Latifah is usually a towering presence capable of dominating – and redeeming – even the iffiest tracks, but she's operating at a dimmer wattage here. She seems to be observing the proceedings as much as participating, as if she were interested, but not particularly invested, in how it all turns out."Stewart, Allison (2009-08-25)
Review: ''Persona''
''The Washington Post''. Retrieved on 2009-08-26.

Chart performance

The album debuted at number 25 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 18,000 copies in its first week. It also peaked at number three on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming Queen Latifah's highest-charting album on the chart yet.

Track listing

Notes
* signifies a co-producer
Sample credits
*"Cue the Rain" cotains resung lyrics from the composition "The Chain" as performed by Fleetwood Mac.
*"People" samples from the composition "I've Been Waiting" as Dazz Band.

Charts

References

External links

Queen Latifah Returns to Rap on New Album
at ''The Star-Ledger''
*

{{Authority control

2009 albums
Albums produced by Cool & Dre
Albums produced by the Neptunes
Queen Latifah albums