''Order in the Court'' is the fourth studio album by the American hip-hop artist and actress

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album '' All Hail the Qu ...

. The album was released on June 16, 1998, by Motown Records and would be Latifah's last album with Motown. Partly dedicated to

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

and

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

, it is her first album to have a

Parental Advisory Advisory (abbreviated PAL) is a warning label introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 and adopted by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2011. It is placed on audio recordings in recognition of profan ...

warning on it. Before the album's release, Latifah and Foxy Brown had been arguing over who was the real ''Queen''. On the album's second track, "Court Is In Session" Latifah portrayed herself as a judge presiding over the current state of hip-hop music by taunting her rivals, including Foxy. However, with the closing track, "Life", Latifah comes to realize that feuding with other female rappers was futile, given the untimely and recent deaths of

Biggie Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

and

Tupac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

. Both "Black On Black Love" and "Life" celebrate the black community, black love, and black businesses. More so than Latifah's other hip-hop albums, this one focuses on her legacy and attempts to cement herself as a defining hip-hop artist, regardless of gender.

Track listing

#" Bananas (Who You Gonna Call?)" (featuring Apache) – 4:00 #"Court Is In Session" – 3:52 #"No/Yes" (skit) – 0:45 #"No/Yes" – 4:50 #"Turn You On" – 4:21 #"Black on Black Love" (featuring

Antonique Smith Antonique Smith (born August 11, 1983) is an American actress and singer. Life and career Smith was born in East Orange, New Jersey. She starred as Mimi in Jonathan Larson's Broadway production of ''Rent''. She was also the poster girl for '' ...

and

Next Next may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare * ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage * '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film Lit ...

) – 5:05 #"Parlay" (featuring Markita) – 4:52 #"

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...

" – 4:00 #"What Ya Gonna Do" (featuring Inaya Jafan) – 4:33 #" It's Alright" (featuring

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al ...

, Lil' Mo) – 3:45 #"Phone Call (Skit)" – 0:34 #"Brownsville" (featuring Le Fem Markita, Scarlet and

Nikki D Nichelle Strong (born September 10, 1968), known by her stage name Nikki D is an American rapper. Career Strong signed with Def Jam in 1989 and released her debut single "Lettin' Off Steam" the following year. It was produced by Sam Sever. The ...

) – 4:40 #"I Don't Know" (featuring

Sisqó Mark Althavan Andrews (born November 9, 1978), known professionally as Sisqó (stylized as SisQó), is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. He is most prominently known for "Thong Song", his membership in Dru Hill, ...

) – 4:29 #"Life" – 5:42

European edition

"Let Her Live" (featuring Next)

Japanese edition

"Let Her Live" (featuring Next) #"Keep Your Head to the Sky"

Album notes

*Singer

Inaya Day Inaya Day (born Inaya Davis, January 17, 1977) is an American singer, best known for her vocal work on house music tracks such as "Horny '98" by Mousse T, and her cover version of " Nasty Girl" by Prince protégées Vanity 6. Biography Early ca ...

is featured on the album, credited as Inaya Jafan *Latifah performed the track "Life" at the

Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 ...

in 1998. The live song also appears on the CD and cassette release ''Lilith Fair Volume 2'' *"Turn You On" Samples and Interpolates "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" By

Cherelle Cherelle and Cherrelle is a female given name. Notable people with the name include: * Cherelle Khassal (born 1991), Irish footballer * Cherelle Parker (born 1973), Democratic politician * Cherelle Thompson (born 1992), Trinidad and Tobago swimme ...

*"Let Her Live" Samples and Interpolates "

That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966 to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewste ...

" by Stevie Wonder *"Keep Your Head to the Sky" Samples and Interpolates "

Saturday Love "Saturday Love" is a song performed by American R&B singers Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal. It was released in October 1985. The song peaked at #2 on the US R&B chart and became a moderate pop hit peaking at #26 on the US Hot 100 in the spring ...

" By

Cherrelle Cheryl Anne Norton (born October 13, 1958), better known by her stage name Cherrelle, is an American R&B singer and songwriter who gained fame in the mid-1980s. Her signature hits include "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On", "Where Do I Run To", "Eve ...

and

Alexander O'Neal Alexander O'Neal (born November 15, 1953) is an American R&B singer, songwriter and arranger from Natchez, Mississippi. O'Neal came to prominence in the mid-1980s as a solo artist, with eleven Top 40 singles on the US R&B chart, three of whic ...

*"Life" Samples "You're Not the Man" by

Sade Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WAB ...

*"Paper" interpolates "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye *"Black on Black Love" Samples "Make Me Say It Again, Girl" by

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

*"Court is in Session" Samples "What Am I Missing" by Rufus & Chaka Khan *"Bananas (Who You Gonna Call)" samples vocals from "

Fu-Gee-La "Fu-Gee-La" is a song by American hip-hop trio, Fugees, released on December 13, 1995, as the lead single from their second and final album, '' The Score'' (1996). Produced by Salaam Remi, it contains a sample of " If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don' ...

" by

The Fugees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

*"It's Alright" samples "I Want to Thank You" by Alicia Myers

References

1998 albums Motown albums Queen Latifah albums {{1990s-hiphop-album-stub