On this day, Nov. 28, in hip-hop history...

1989: New Jersey-hailing rapper Queen Latifah dropped her debut album All Hail the Queen on Nov. 28, 1989.

Queen Latifah broke boundaries for female MCs like never before with her Tommy Boy Records debut. As the First Lady of The Flavor Unit, Queen used her feminine graces to her advantages, but never exploited her sexuality for her music. Although she was still a teenager, Latifah rapped about issues that many black women in her community faced: public harassment, domestic violence and society's sex-imposed disadvantages. Her smooth yet potent rhymes matched with production help from KRS-One, DJ Mark the 45 King, Prince Paul and more ensured the fact that the LP would become a hip-hop classic.

Propelled by the feminist anthem "Ladies First" featuring Monie Love and "Wrath of My Madness," the 15-track album peaked at No. 6 on Billboard's Top Hip Hop/R&B Albums. All Hail The Queen gained universal praise from music critics and is still ranked as one of the best rap albums from hip-hop's golden age of the late 80s.

Though she's gone on to find incredibly successful careers in both acting and entrepreneurship, Queen Latifah is still a prominent figure in hip-hop today. Latifah, along with Salt N Pepa, Missy Elliott and Lil Kim, was honored at the 2016 VH1 Hip Hop Honors this year for nearly 30 years of contributions to the game. The Queen's accolades didn't stop there either. Earlier this year, the "U.N.I.T.Y." MC was recognized, along with LL Cool J and Kendrick Lamar, at the 2018 NAACP Image Awards and received an honorary doctorate from Rutgers University in her home state of New Jersey.

Tommy Boy Music
Tommy Boy Music
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