All Hail the Queen is the debut studio album by American rapper Queen Latifah. The album was released on November 7, 1989, through Tommy Boy Records. The feminist anthem "Ladies First", featuring Monie Love, remains one of Latifah's signature songs. All Hail the Queen peaked at no. 6 on the Billboard Top Hip Hop/R&B Albums chart and at no. 124 on the Billboard 200 chart. "Wrath of My Madness" was the first single from All Hail the Queen, and was later sampled in Yo-Yo's "You Can't Play With My Yo-Yo". "Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children" peaked at no. 14 in the UK. In 2023, the album was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Critical reception

The New York Times noted that "the backup tracks are sometimes rich enough to carry the album on their own, but they don't have to; some songs have vocal choruses, while in others Queen Latifah's rising and falling speech provides melody enough." Newsday called the album "international ghetto music filtered through hip-hop's strongest feminist sensibility." In 1998, All Hail the Queen was included in The Source's "100 Best Albums" list. It was later featured in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2008, the single "Ladies First" was ranked number 35 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

Legacy

In 2023, All Hail the Queen was inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry, based on its "cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage." In their statement explaining their inclusion of the album, the Library of Congress said, "[Queen Latifah's] album showed rap could cross genres including reggae, hip-hop, house, and jazz – while also opening opportunities for other female rappers."

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Charting singles