Black Reign (album)

Black Reign is the third studio album by American rapper Queen Latifah, released in 1993.^[10] Black Reign was her most successful album up to that point, peaking at number 60 on the Billboard 200.^[11] The album also peaked at number fifteen on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album sold in excess of 500,000 copies, achieving gold status.^[12]

Black Reign
Studio album by Queen Latifah
Released	November 16, 1993
Recorded	November 1992 – September 1993
Studio	Skyline Studio Giant Studio Unique Recording Studios, New York City[1]
Genre	East Coast hip hop[2] vocal jazz
Length	55:53
Label	Motown[3]
Producer	Sidney "S.I.D." Reynolds Tony Dofat KayGee Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah chronology
Nature of a Sista (1991) Black Reign (1993) Order in the Court (1998)
Singles from Black Reign
"U.N.I.T.Y." Released: November 9, 1993 "Just Another Day..." Released: December 23, 1993 "Black Hand Side / Weekend Love" Released: 1994 "Rough... / I Can't Understand" Released: September 27, 1994

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[5]
NME	7/10[6]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]
Select	[8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	7/10[9]

Critical reception

Trouser Press wrote that Latifah "rhymes over bottom-booming jeep beats and sings to sweet soul, dancehall and, in the case of 'Winki’s Theme,' a song for her late brother, a live jazz quartet."^[13] The New York Times wrote: "As one of hip-hop's true vocal virtuosos, Queen Latifah tosses off articulate, quick-changing syncopations when she raps, slipping in and out of a Jamaican accent and singing melodic choruses in a sweet, strong voice."^[14]

Track listing

Black Reign

No.	Title	Producer	Length
1.	"Black Hand Side"	S.I.D.	3:22
2.	"Listen 2 Me"	Tony Dofat	4:43
3.	"I Can't Understand"	Tony Dofat	3:50
4.	"Rough... (featuring Treach, Heavy D, and KRS-One)"	Tony Dofat	5:04
5.	"4 The D.J.'s (Interlude)"	S.I.D.	1:38
6.	"Bring The Flavor"	Tony Dofat	3:25
7.	"Coochie Bang..."	S.I.D.	3:46
8.	"Superstar"	S.I.D.	3:56
9.	"No Work"	Kay Gee	2:51
10.	"Just a Flow (Interlude)"	S.I.D.	1:30
11.	"Just Another Day..."	S.I.D.	4:29
12.	"U.N.I.T.Y."	Kay Gee & Mufi	4:11
13.	"Weekend Love (featuring Tony Rebel)"	Kay Gee	4:09
14.	"Mood Is Right"	S.I.D.	3:30
15.	"Winki's Theme"	Queen Latifah	5:29
Total length:			55:53

Music videos

• "U.N.I.T.Y."
• "Just Another Day"
• "Black Hand Side"
• "I Can't Understand"
• "Weekend Love"

Influence

The album was a major influence for young adult novelist Jason Reynolds,^[15] who was inspired to start writing poetry when he discovered Black Reign at nine years old.^[16]

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[12]	Gold	503,000[17]

References

1. "Black Reign – Queen Latifah | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
2. "50 Greatest East Coast Hip-Hop Albums of the 1990s". The Boombox. October 20, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
3. "Queen Latifah, Black Reign (Motown): The recording..." OrlandoSentinel.com.
4. Christgau, Robert (February 1994). "Consumer Guide Album". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
5. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 711.
6. Batey, Angus (February 12, 1994). "Long Play". NME. p. 41. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
7. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 669.
8. Howe, Rupert (February 1994). "New Albums". Select. p. 75. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
9. Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 318–319.
10. "Queen Latifah | Biography & History". AllMusic.
11. "Queen Latifah". Billboard.
12. "American album certifications – Queen Latifah – Black Reign". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
13. "Queen Latifah". Trouser Press. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
14. Pareles, Jon (February 22, 1994). "Review/Pop; Queen Latifah, Tough but Kind (Published 1994)" – via NYTimes.com.
15. Brown, Lesley-Ann (August 22, 2015). "The Graceful Power of Novelist Jason Reynolds". NBC News. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
16. Foster, Jordan (April 17, 2017). "Jason Reynolds: From Kid Poet to Award-Winning Author". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
17. Concepcion, Mariel (June 9, 2007). "A bad rap?". Billboard. Vol. 119, no. 23. pp. 24–25. Retrieved February 3, 2022 – via Internet Archive.