Some people observe life naturally and sometimes you just have to let things out and think about it later.
Business is fun. Controlling your own destiny is fun. Creating an idea and turning it into a movie; finding an artist and guiding their career and bringing them to some type of status - there's joy in that.
No one ever got ahead by going through the motions. You have to constantly be improving yourself. Make your life the masterpiece you want it to be.
I was taught from a young age that many people would treat me as a second-class citizen because I was African-American and because I was female.
I'm the daughter of a sister whose the mother of a brother who's the brother of another.
A confident woman is a sexy woman, in my opinion. And I think guys find that to be the same way.
I've never wanted to be put into a box, not musically.
You do silly things for love sometimes and not-so-smart things for love.
New Jersey is a great place to live. And we have given some of the best talent to the world, from Jack Nicholson, John Travolta, to Jerry Lewis to Bon Jovi to Frank Sinatra.
Half the battle is confidence. There are people who have great figures but have terrible confidence so you are not drawn to them because they seem down all the time.
Beauty is not just a white girl. It's so many different flavors and shades.
Running for office was definitely something I've thought about. When I was younger, I wanted to major in political science. And I've been engaged in current events since I was a kid. If I can make a difference and feel passionately and capable, then I would. Why not?
I am used to being on tours with people who are fantastic performers and I respect them and I love their music. But the bottom line is they got the vision for what we are trying to do.
I do feel like I have a direct connection with God for some reason; always have since I was a little kid - I would talk to God, talk to the sky.
There was always music in our home. My mom and my dad loved music. I remember when we were kids we would have these great parties at the house with congas and bongos and African drums, and it was amazing. It wasn't until years later that I found out that they were actually Black Panther meetings.
I like Pirate's Booty. Prunes and olives, too. I love hummus. I can eat that until I die. I tend to eat mostly organic food.
I promised my mom that if, after a year of putting 150 percent into my career it didn't work out, I would go back to school. I never did go back.
[Hiking] is not that crazy, but when you look back and you see that mountain you just climbed, you say, "I can't believe I did that."
Dreams become reality when we put our minds to it.
What would your life be like if you found out you had 3 weeks left? And you know that you had not begun to live? And you had all these dreams and all these possibilities. And all these things you wanted to do and things you wanted to say and now time's up?
I never wanted to give up my power. I wanted to be able to make my own decisions, so that's why I became involved in management, bottom line.
You can't let fear paralyze you. The worse that can happen is you fail, but guess what: You get up and try again. Feel that pain, get over it, get up, dust yourself off and keep it moving.
I feel like every woman is a queen, and we should be treated as such, and we should, you know, sort of request that sort of treatment from others.
It's not always easy to do the right thing. But, doing the right thing makes you strong, it builds character.
You can't ask someone who is not making that kind of money to go to the record store and buy an album when someone down the street has the same record with same sound quality for $5.
I learned you really do have to make sure you enjoy life.
I approach the film business the way I feel about self-esteem. It's something that has to be maintained. That's kind of how I feel about positive roles in Hollywood. They have to be maintained. You have to purposefully, intentionally try to make the right type of films. And the more people that do that, the more things will continue to improve.
There is no profession more essential than that of an educator, and it's time for all of us to embrace and celebrate their importance and contribution to America's children.
Living for today will bring about dying for today. You can’t just think, ‘I’m going to die anyway,’ because that’s what’s stopping us from moving forward.
Let your inner queen's voice come through loud and clear. Be strong, be authentic, be you, and you'll do her proud.
Sometimes I pray when I really feel like I need God to help me with something, and sometimes we just have conversations. We just kick it.
For me, it might sound cliche, but beauty for me really does start on the inside. It's like a state of mind, a state of love if you will. Then, whatever you can do on the outside is all like a bonus.
instinct leads me to another flow
Musicals are good times. I live to do a musical, there's nothing like it, no experience like that in the movie business. You don't get to pull all those triggers at the same time doing anything else. Nothing pulls that from you. Dancing, acting and singing is like "Alright, I gotta fire on all cylinders right now" because that's what it requires. It's fun getting to exercise all those muscles.
You need to give yourself the time to think freely. I don't know if that is political. But sometimes things are political because you observe things that are right or that are wrong and you want to speak on them.
When I'm doing something I love, I can lose sleep. I can go and go and go and go. My work ethic is pretty intense. But when it comes to doing something that I don't love every day, I'm not very good at it. That's called work, and I don't like work that much.
I am not one to turn down macaroni and cheese, even late at night. I love Italian food. I love pasta... A refrigerator full of water and Gatorade? Honey, that's just not gonna happen.
Having a belief in God, being able to find joy, despite your circumstances or put yourself outside of yourself, and stop looking inwards and look outwards a little bit really helps to carry through tough times. Giving makes you feel better.
I often find it's just the confidence that makes you sexy, not what your body looks like. It's how you feel about yourself that makes you sexy.
I'm not allowed to get a big head, I've still got to do the simple things in life.
While we [people] keep putting a face on HIV and AIDS, I think what we forget is that there are human beings, just people with emotions and feelings, women who want to be loved, men who want to be loved, who want to feel something.
I never really took any acting classes. I'm just a natural ham, I guess.
Racism is ignorant. And it's stupid. And it's old. And it's played out. So beat it already with that, you know what I mean? 'Let's all get along' - I'm so tired of that damn sentence, but it's true.
The more you push the budgets up, the more you make records cost $20, the more you make records last 4 and 5 minutes on the radio.
I designed my whole image. That was all me. I just bought some regular clothes, threw a medallion around my neck, and that was it. The next thing I know, that's the look.
Every woman is a queen, and we all have different things to offer.
Fear can be good when you're walking past an alley at night or when you need to check the locks on your doors before you go to bed, but it's not good when you have a goal and you're fearful of obstacles. We often get trapped by our fears, but anyone who has had success has failed before.
There are times you can't really see or even feel how sweet life can be. Hopefully its mountains will be higher than its valleys are deep. I know things that are broken can be fixed. Take the punch if you have to, hit the canvas and then get up again. Life is worth it.
If you try to follow everyone else's mold, you'll probably fail at some point because God created us uniquely for a reason.
I don't care how much money you have, free stuff is always a good thing.
Hip-hop definitely taught me a lot. Having to create your own identity and become known and respected in a male-dominated field - it requires some guts. There are times you have to be strong, and times when you have to stand alone for what you believe in.
Don't you want to know what's real and what's not? I remember when I was a kid, you know, this whole Cold War thing. They had us scared of the Russians. So, it's almost like, what's real and what's not?
There were musicians that influenced me, but they weren't all women. Teena Marie was a big influence because she wrote and produced her own music, which let me know that women could write and produce their own music, which was an empowering moment for me.
We all have to show up and do our job regardless of our life circumstances or situations. We don't have to do it with an attitude or whatever but maybe we do that day. Everyone understands that life happens and we have to create a whole other life where our life doesn't even exist. You know, our real life doesn't exist, these characters exist. And that is our life. And that's who we are.
I didn't know I had it in me. There's more to all of us than we realize. Life is so much bigger, grander, higher, and wider than we allow ourselves to think. We're capable of so much more than we allow ourselves to believe.
If there are kids who want to follow in my footsteps, I'd say that my shoes are too big for them to fill! But their shoe size is just perfect.
I think as far as the music industry is concerned, it's kind of been the wild, wild West in a way with the Internet, which is not necessarily a bad thing to me.
I don’t want to be a supermodel; I want to be a role model.
I really don't know how to be anyone else, and whenever I try to be anyone else, I fail miserably. Or I disappoint myself. It doesn't build my self-esteem, and it doesn't help me grow me at all.
I've never been the straight rapper that is going to stand in a cipher and battle all day. I started off battle rapping, but to me, making songs became more important than freestyles... I've met many rappers who can freestyle but can't make a record.
There is nothing like a person with confidence, male or female, not conceitedness, but confidence. That inspires other people.
The reality is, I like imperfection. You take away from the world when you're not yourself. Whatever is unique and special about you was designed by God. And when you try to be someone else, we don't get you. Who knows what you would have contributed to the world had you just been yourself, if you had just celebrated who you are and just walked boldly?
It was a very vulnerable time going from being insecure about my body and who I am to becoming comfortable with me. I had to tune out what the hell everybody else had to say about who I was. When I was able to do that, I felt free.
I know people who are twice as creative as I am, twice as smart, but they didn't do anything because they feared going into a room and opening their mouths. My parents told me to truly accomplish things in my life, there would be times I would have to stand alone. It may be scary, but that's what it requires.
Once you realize there is a Higher Power, you know you're not alone, that you have a purpose on the planet. You control your destiny instead of letting the day lead you where it may. You seize it, take it and lead it.
There are different flavours of sexiness.
I'm not living large; I just want to live comfortably. I wanna have financial stability that is unshakable.
You just have to connect with people who believe in your vision and who will work with you and advance your cause.
It's not always easy to do the right thing. But, doing the right thing makes you strong, it builds character, it forces you to make decisions based upon your beliefs and not what other people think. In life, and in business, you have to stand for what you believe in and sometimes you have to stand alone. But, what makes you a leader is having the courage of your convictions.
There are so many things I'd like to do. Like becoming a parent. To me that is the next natural progression in life.
There are still some places I'd love to visit - Africa, China, Brazil, India. I want to travel the world and experience other cultures and peoples.
If we focus on our health, including our inner health, our self-esteem, and how we look at ourselves and our confidence level, we'll tend to be healthier people anyway, we'll tend to make better choices for our lives, for our bodies, we'll always be trying to learn more, and get better as time goes on.
I think it's important to raise your kids, start 'em early. Teaching them the values and morals, so when they get out there on their own, you know they have it. They just have to remember to use it, but they have it.
The good thing about movies is that they're subjective. You can connect to different themes depending on your own perspective.
Yeah, I'm from Jersey; it's almost like I was automatically born a Nets fan.
I enjoy just being me. I don't need to be Queen Latifah, the brand, 24 hours a day.
To step into acting was not that difficult a transition to make. What was difficult was the work and the practice that went into becoming good at it, because I hadn't had any training.
I feel anger and I feel understanding. It's a difficult position to be in.
I have always felt strongly about empowering women. I'm living proof that, with confidence and by believing in yourself, you can accomplish any goal.
I don't have any regrets. If I could have talked to my 19- or 20-year-old self, I would have said, 'You're going to be fine. It ain't that serious!'
Look at people for an example, but then make sure to do things your way. Surround yourself with positive people.
Most people don't have so much talent that they can become a success all their own. We all need people to help us and lift us up.
I write pretty often. I have a home studio. Music is what I do for fun. I never get tired of it, so to take a break from [TV and movies], I would go make some music.
To wanna be me is to go through not just the good but the bad. You wanna share my story identically? Man, you gonna take some lumps.
I actually enjoy that I never really needed to be hanging out with every celebrity in Hollywood; I just go home and hang out with my cousins, my best friends. I'm not treated like royalty; they love me to death, but they don't treat me like royalty. So it's easy for me; they'll tell me the truth, whether it hurts or not. And I need that; I've always been given that.
Putting on your crown is really like accepting the fact that you are a queen. You're a great woman. Wherever you are in life, just keep on that path, and so for me, sometimes as women, we forget - we forget that about ourselves. So, putting on your crown is sort of reminding yourself that, hey, I'm a queen, and I can do what I want in this life and take it.
I don't have to take a trip around the world or be on a yacht in the Mediterranean to have happiness. I can find it in the little things, like looking out into my backyard and seeing deer in the fields.
Be bold, be brave enough to be your true self.
I enjoy going to work and having a good time. It's tough when you got to work with people who just are in a bad mood all the damn time.
You have to allow your mind to create and then if you want to censor something and bring it down or point it in a different direction, then you can do it.
Two records put me over the top with hip-hop. One of them was 'Planet Rock,' and the other had no lyrics - it was called 'Numbers,' from a group called Kraftwerk. Every kid in the 'hood in New York and New Jersey was popping, locking, and breaking to that record. It was the hottest track on the street at the time.
If you can draw something from my life that helps, more power to you.
I like to keep some coloring tools around to draw vistas.
The objectification of females is not a good thing! Not every rapper does this, but when the lyrics focus solely on the strip club, 'poppin' bottles' and how many girls they can 'tap,' it distorts what kids are learning. I think if there was more of a female presence in hip hop we could break up the monotony. It's all about balance.
Always follow your own path.
When we understand that we are a human race, what affects you affects me, what affects her affects you and so on and so on, then we'll look at this thing [HIV/AIDS] for what it really is. It's a disease that's out to kill all of us. What will make it continue is our prejudices, our ideas about it, and the fact that we don't look at ourselves as one giant community.
I had to grow to love my body. I did not have a good self-image at first. Finally it occurred to me, I'm either going to love me or hate me. And I chose to love myself. Then everything kind of sprung from there. Things that I thought weren't attractive became sexy. Confidence makes you sexy.
I need something bigger than myself. And the only thing that can be would be a child. Someone who would help me live even more selflessly.
I'm as involved as I can be. Whenever I'm asked to do something, I always tend to show up.
I lost my brother when I was 22. He was only 24. I was always the kind of person to live on the edge, but after that, it made me feel like I could really die. It can really happen. Before then, I never thought it could happen to me or my family.
When I want to push myself and do intense workouts, I do that, but I'm not going to do it because anybody thinks I should look a certain way. It's really more about how I feel and about being healthy.
You almost have to step outside yourself and look at you as if you were someone else you really care about and really want to protect. Would you let someone take advantage of that person? Would you let someone use that person you really care about? Or would you speak up for them? If it was someone else you care about, you'd say something. I know you would. Okay, now put yourself back in that body. That person is you. Stand up and tell 'em, "Enough!
For me, my criteria for making films is all about trying to do something different from the last time. So if I catch myself doing too much of one thing, I'm always trying to move away from that, because it's not going to be challenging enough to keep my attention and focus.
I made decisions that I regret, and I took them as learning experiences... I'm human, not perfect, like anybody else.
When I was around 18, I looked in the mirror and said, 'You're either going to love yourself or hate yourself.' And I decided to love myself. That changed a lot of things.
Lets be clear, Dolly Parton is a rapper. Somewhere before all the country, I don't know what happens up there in the mountains when you're growing up, but she has been spitting rhymes for a very long time - 50 years I'd say.
Life's not about sitting at home in front of the TV waiting for your life to begin. Get out there and take some chances.
I'm proud of everything I do, but I think I'm the most happy about becoming a rapper. It was my entrance into everything. That helped me get into acting.
I am a strong woman with or without this other person, with or without this job, and with or without these tight pants.
I've been giving back since I was a teen, handing out turkeys at Thanksgiving and handing out toys at toys drives for Christmas. It's very important to give back as a youth. It's as simple as helping an old lady across the street or giving up your seat on the bus for someone who is pregnant.
I decided early on that I was going to put on my crown and rule my world by acting right and treating myself like a queen.
My mother wouldn't allow me to speak slang when I was growing up. But when I got outside, around my friends, it was 'Yo' and 'That's the joint' and 'Yo, what's up?' So I had my game for my friends and my game for my mom.
God has always been in my life and his little voice in me that lets me know when I'm falling a little too far left or right, up or down you know. I know because there is a little voice that starts saying, 'damn it, what are you doing? You need to slow down with that' or I might not be a good person to hang around you know... So God will do this to me in some sort of way. Or something bad will happen to me.
You have to stand for what you believe in and sometimes you have to stand alone.
Life is so much bigger, grander, higher, and wider than we allow ourselves to think.
Jumping off that cliff in Jamaica.It was years ago. It was at this place called Rick's Cafe. Actually, it was two cliffs. They were pretty high, probably a good 40- 50-foot jump into the ocean. That was crazy.
As a teenager, I had big breasts for my age, and my friends cracked on me a lot.
Even if you don't have anything, even if you've got a quarter in your pocket, to share with someone else who has nothing really helps.
I'd like to have and adopt children. I think I'd be a great mom, honestly. I don't think I'll have any problem giving them all the love in the world. Discipline will be the hard part.
I believe that the kids, young people should have an opportunity to have Oscar nominated actors in their movies too.
My mother and I definitely got to a point where we had to have a real conversation and talk woman to woman, or daughter to mother, friend to friend - just off the record, clear the air and communicate. I didn't want to drive my mama crazy, but at the same time, I had to do, I had to learn, I had to grow and she understood that. She knows me better than anyone else on the planet so I tried to think about that.
When you're rapping, you do have to perform to a certain degree, but not every rapper is necessarily a gifted actor.
I'm thinking wanting to succeed is something in my DNA; I'm not like 'I've got to succeed,' I just don't think about that... I see a silver lining in everything and I see a lesson in everything.
You can huff and puff. But blow me down? I doubt it kid, or you get your ass whupped.
I definitely think we need to lean more on God. And I do think we need to praise, because we need to give it outward. You know, whenever you think you're in tough circumstances, there's always somebody who's in a worse position than you.
