VH1 paid respect to some of Hip Hop's most influential women during its revived "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" ceremony on Monday [July 11]. And with the nation in crisis over the shooting of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, there couldn't have been a more galvanizing honoree than Queen Latifah, who dedicated part of her speech to addressing racial turmoil. "Listen we all know that our world is really tense right now. There's a lot of tension, there's a lot of angst. There's a lot of hurt, there's a lot of pain. I'm hoping that we can somehow manage to channel all of these emotions that we have in a positive way," the distinguished artist and producer told a captivated audience.
"Because I don't care how much or things I have, or Puff has, or anybody, Missy has, the ladies have," the Queen continued. "If I go outside and try to hail a cab and he passes me for the white woman standing right there, that racism is still alive and kicking. And we have to change that."
Latifah hasn't shied away from saying her piece on the matter while even promoting her role in the upcoming "Ice Age: Collision Course" film. When speaking with the Today Show on Friday, she opened up on how the recent events have impacted her as a Hollywood star, who continues to relate with the experience of Black people oppressed by police violence. "It's really time to stop playing around with this, and lying to ourselves and acting like everything is cool and everyone is perfect," Latifah, who said she comes from a police family. "It's time to make an example out of someone, you know, as far as I'm concerned, who is a police officer. Because there's no way all of these things can happen, and there's no guilty police officers."
Dubbed "All Hail the Queens" in her namesake, this year's honors were significant in that they mark the return of the distinction after they were cut from the network in 2010. Latifah would be introduced by former co-star Common, receive her award from Puff Daddy, serenaded by Naughty by Nature, and perform alongside Da Brat and Monie Love.
Source: instagram.com
