The rapper and singer Queen Latifah (51) was honored for her life's work at the BET Awards on Sunday (local time) and thanked her family and supporters with an emotional speech.
"I'm so extremely moved - I don't even know what to say," explained the musician.
“My family, my siblings, I love you.
My best friends - they do anything for me.
Regardless of whether I am lying with my face in the dirt or flying high, they know me and are there for me. "
The 51-year-old also thanked the television station Black Entertainment Television (BET), which has been playing music videos from the genres of hip hop, R&B and soul in its main program since 1980. Since 2001, BET has been giving awards to black stars from the fields of music, film, entertainment and sport every year. "When we weren't playing on the radio or anywhere else, when our videos weren't showing anywhere, BET gave us the opportunity to be ourselves and shine until this night, right here and now," said Queen Latifah. “Being black is beautiful.” In her speech, she also thanked her team and her fans.
Queen Latifah, whose real name is Dana Owens, was born in Newark, New Jersey. In 1989 she released her debut album "All Hail the Queen". With her third album "Black Reign" (1993) she achieved gold status for the first time in the USA. She has also worked as an actress since the 1990s. For her role in the musical "Chicago" she was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actress in 2003. Most recently, Queen Latifah took on the leading role in the series "The Equalizer", which began in 2021.