“She was once Dana Owens, a poetry-writing, book-reading New Jersey teen convinced she could ‘conquer the world.’ As Queen Latifah, she’s come pretty darn close,” writes Lauren Daley in Sunday’s (5/7) Boston Globe. “She’ll be kicking off the Boston Pops’ 132nd season May 10-11, because of course she is. Q: You’re about make your Boston Pops debut. How did this pairing come about? A: They came to me with this wonderful proposition, and I thought, ‘This is going to be fun.’ And I like to have fun. I’ve played with orchestras before, and it’s a great combination—creating that musical magic is awesome. I’ll do jazz standards, songs from ‘Hairspray’ or ‘Chicago.’ Who knows? I’ll mix it up. Q: You wear quite a few hats—producer, actress, singer, rapper, author, business owner. How do you see yourself? A: I see myself as a musician-turned businesswoman-turned-actress. They’re all a part of me.… I’ll always be a musician in my mind—film, TV, music, poetry, that’s all part of it. Q: You write poetry? A: Writing poetry became my rapping. I fell in love with hip-hop and turned to writing rhymes rather than writing poetry based of some of my favorite poets.”
Posted May 8, 2017
