Queen Latifah, Rock the Bells Festival
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Queen Latifah Reigns Supreme With Surprise Star-Studded Rock The Bells Festival Performance

Queen Latifah Reigns Supreme At the Rock The Bells Festival: 'We're Queen's Army Forever!'

Published Sun, August 6, 2023 at 10:00 AM EDT

Queen Latifah delivered an electrifying, star-studded performance at the sold-out Rock The Bells Festival, one that showcased her star power and standing in the Hip-Hop community.

Yes, she's an Academy Award-nominated, jazz singing, Equalizer but on stage at the Rock The Bells Festival, she showcased the reason why she's a rap superstar, easily delivering what was probably the best set of the night.

As the legendary DJ Premier watched on from the side of the stage, Latifah entered the stage after being introduced by Papoose (who also announced his new Sirius XM show) and it was obvious from the jump, and from her dope ensemble, that she did not come to play around.

She flowed through set that included her signature tracks, including "Latifah's Had It Up 2 Here" and "Just Another Day," she also brought out her Native Tongues counterpart, Monie Love, for an energetic rendition of "Ladies First."

"Every time, Queen," Monie love declared after they delivered an electric performance that sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy. In a surprise pop-up, Big Boi and Sleepy Brown showed up to deliver classics alongside the Queen, including "So Fresh, So Clean," "I Like The Way You Move," "Ms. Jackson," and the forever Atlanta classic "Kryptonite." OutKast used to be under the Flavor Unit management umbrella, so it was a fitting reunion for the two during one of HIp-Hop's biggest nights.

Rapsody came out to perform her track "Hatshepsut" featuring Queen Latifah from her stellar 2019 album, Eve, on which she pays homage to the path Latifah helped pave for MCs like her.

Treach also joined Latifah on stage, running through what should probably be the anthem for Hip-Hop's 50th anniversary, "Hip-Hop Hooray" with total crowd participation, swaying their arms from left to right.

"We're Queen's army forever!" an especially joyful Treach declared. "We haven't been on stage since 2019- this is the first time you've seen us live thanks to our Queen Latifah."

Of course, he also performed "O.P.P." and was joined by Zhané's Renee Neufville, for "Hey Mr. D.J." which Treach is featured on (the track was produced by Naughty By Nature's Kay Gee).

The performance was capped by what may've been the best two moments of the festival — when Latifah brought out MC Lyte and Yo-Yo to perform the forever classic, "I Wanna Be Down Remix."

"The queens are in the house tonight," she announced as MC Lyte came out, to the delight of the crowd. It was Yo-Yo's birthday, and she was delivered an especially energetic performance of her classic verse on the track. Latifah closed with "U.N.I.T.Y." and brought Remy Ma back on stage, this time with her daughter on her hip (she'd also joined earlier to perform "Conceited"), along with Rapsody, Monie Love, MC Lyte, and Yo-Yo — it was a beautiful moment to cap the night, and a dope moment for Hip-Hop.

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