Persona | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Queen Latifah | ||||
Released | August 25, 2009 | |||
Recorded | 2008–2009 | |||
Genre | Hip hop, dance, R&B | |||
Label | Flavor Unit Entertainment | |||
Producer | Cool & Dre, The Neptunes | |||
Queen Latifah chronology | ||||
|
||||
Singles from Persona | ||||
|
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | (46/100) |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
The Boston Globe | (mixed) |
Los Angeles Times | |
PopMatters | |
Rolling Stone | |
Washington Post | (mixed) |
Persona is the seventh studio album by hip hop artist Queen Latifah. It marks Latifah's return to hip hop music since 2003.
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 had previously been stated that her return-to-hip-hop album would be titled "Negativity" and "Star".
It was rumored that the album would be named "The 'L' Word". When 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. This album will be, at least partially, produced by Izanagi. She will also work with Missy Elliott.
The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at #25 with just over 18,000 copies, but fell 95 places to #120 in its second week.
Dre from production duo Cool & Drel teamed up with her in a song called "My Couch". He once again lent his vocal in another track titled "Hard to Love Ya" alongside Busta Rhymes and Boyz II Men's Shawn Stockman. On her Twitter page, Latifah revealed that the second single from the album would be "Fast Car."