Of course, no disrespect to MC Lyte, who is arguably the greatest femcee ever, but with All Hail the Queen, hip-hop finally had its First Lady in Queen Latifah. With a regal flow and presence, Afro-voluptuousness and garb (who can forget those towering hats?), and wisdom beyond her years, Latifah proved in her debut that she can rap as hard as the guys—without being a tomboy.

Although it never earned even as little as a gold plague, All Hail the Queen, at that point in time, was the most successful LP from a solo female rapper (of course, no one was touching Salt ‘N’ Pepa...and J.J. Fad). So I’m sure heads were curious as to what to expect from Latifah’s follow-up, 1991’s Nature of a Sista’.

Boy, talk about a sophomore slump!

The album starts out strong, though—with the first three songs. Her proteges Naughty by Nature (They coincidentally released their debut album on the same day as their mentor) produce two of them—“Latifah’s Had It Up 2 Here” and “One Mo’ Time”, bringing that classic Kay Gee melody that was helping the group ride high on their big “O.P.P.” single at the time. Trust the Queen not to slack off in the former: “Why you little played out, *aaa-chew*! (Bless You)/I'm allergic to wack crews/[…]/How dare those who talk; we can't have them/Some make me wanna go out with the bat and a magnum/But I’m wise, civilized, I’m growing higher!” she spits over the echoing piano notes and punchy bass in a four-minute display of lyrical savagery, brought to a close by the frenetic vinyl-scratching outro from the late DJ AD. The latter song is a slow burn of piano and flutes—perfect for Latifah to play the silent lyrical assassin. And in the fast-paced horn-punctured funk of “Nuff’ of the Ruff’ Stuff”, Latifah goes off, turning songs from All Hail the Queen into dazzling puns: “I ordered them to ‘Dance for Me’, they tried to turn me 'Inside Out'/They felt the 'Wrath of My Madness', I let them 'Come Into My House'/It's called 'Latifah's Law' for the criminal to curse/And all the gentlemen know its rule: 'Ladies First'!” The Queen’s battling skills have definitely gone up a notch or two since her previous outing.

But at what expense? The next tracks—“Give Me Your Love” and “Love Again”—sound thread-bare in content, like as if Latifah was merely content with making a standard song about love and another about racial harmony respectively. In fact, with the latter, she repeats the same singing and rapping verses again and again! All the meticulous detail that can be found in her brag raps is totally gone. Of course, they are fashioned as dance numbers, with an abundance of hyper drum kicks and bright orchestral hits and guitars, which makes them all the more insubstantial. And a third indistinguishable dance number, “Bad as a Mutha” only exacerbates the situation.

The second half of the record is no better. Of course, there is the iconic “Fly Girl”, where Latifah truly channels her focus into the personal issue of her criteria for dating; and it is arguably the best song in the album. The closing “How Do I Love Thee” features Latifah in a sultry, whisper-rapping voice, kind of reminiscent of Madonna in “Justify My Love.” And the title track sounds like a worthy sequel to “Queen of Royal Badness,” the Queen sprinting on the funky track with a dizzying array of sharp couplets. Otherwise, one really couldn’t be bothered with an uninteresting rub-a-dub track (“Sexy Fancy”); a lively sampling of James Brown’s “The Payback” almost compensating for the blase lyrics (“If You Don’t Know”); and a barely passable joint featuring the Safari Sisters *gasp!* rapping (“That’s the Way We Flow”). Hey, I know Latifah was being nice and all, but clearly her backup singers should remain just that.

So Nature of a Sista’ is almost as disappointing as it is impressive. True, the album does feel like a regression for Queen Latifah, as she has clearly not optimally developed her other strengths (i.e. socially-conscious material), and there are barely any true memorable tracks here. Plus, her attempt to try a thousand different ideas doesn’t always work in this second go-round, thus making the album a haphazard listening experience about half the time. However, it is part of what marginally gives Nature of a Sista’ more pluses than minuses, for she is willing to try other stuff apart from just rapping. She sings even more here, especially in the hooks; and the music is more melodic and polished than ever, suggesting that she was reaching for a larger audience (DJ Mark the 45 King is conspicuously absent). Additionally, there really isn’t a bad track in the entire collection. Of course, Nature of a Sista’ got quite a drubbing, and to an extent rightfully so. But even if her sophomore album is nowhere on the level of her debut, Queen Latifah demonstrated her willingness to grow and experiment with her artistry rather than run the risk of becoming rote in the same old lane, resulting in a record that is slightly more hit-than-miss. And that’s got to count for something, right?

TRACK LISTING:

1. Latifah’s Had It Up 2 Here
2. Nuff’ of the Ruff’ Stuff
3. One Mo’ Time
4. Give Me Your Love
5. Love Again
6. Bad as a Mutha
7. Fly Girl
8. Sexy Fancy
9. Nature of a Sista’
10. That’s the Way We Flow
11. If You Don’t Know
12. How Do I Love Thee

REVIEWS IN MY QUEEN LATIFAH SERIES:

All Hail the Queen (1989)
Nature of a Sista' (1991)
Black Reign (1993)
Order in the Court (1998)
Persona (2009)

Recommended: Yes