Sign up or log in to MY NTS and get personalised recommendations
Support NTS for timestamps across live channels and the archive
Frequently referred to as the First Lady of hip hop, New Jersey-born Dana Elaine Owens came to prominence in the late '80s and early '90s, the so-called "golden era" of rap, when the genre finally dispensed with its training wheels and became a global sensation with a cast of unforgettable characters. Latifah, one of the few prominent women in the scene, made initial steps that many female MCs have followed since.