The Beginning Of A Trailblazer
It’s no secret that Hip Hop is a predominantly male industry and often times females who are doing great things get over looked. Queen Latifah is a prime example of what I mean. In 1989 this Newark, New 
Jersey femcee started off in the rap game making a lot of noise with her debut album “All Hail to the Queen” selling more than 1 million copies! Since then the U.N.I.T.Y rapper has went on to do some really amazing things that have made a huge impact in Hip Hop and the entertainment industry at large. While Queen Latifah is undoubtedly a house hold name there may be a few things she has done in the past that you may not be aware of.
Don’t Eat Your Profits
As soon as Queen Latifah began making money with her music she made a wise decision and started investing it instead of blowing it all away on “stuff”. Many rappers have the misconception that once they start making money from a label it will always be coming in. Her first investment was in a delicatessen and a video store on the ground floor of the apartment she was living in at the time.
From Signed Artist To Signing Artists
A few years later 21 year old Queen Latifah made yet another very wise move and started up her own company called Flavor Unit Records and Management 
Company. Not only did she begin managing her self but within 2 years she had signed over 17 rap groups which included the very successful Naughty by Nature which she also has been credited for naming. She would also go on to manage groups such as Outkast and The Almighty RSO which included the former co owner of The Source magazine Benzino.
Seeing The Bigger Picture
In 2003 Queen Latifah decided to refocus her company primarily on movies and TV shows which lead her to launch Flavor Unit Entertainment along with her first film Bringing Down The House which stared herself & Steve Martin. Tho it received mixed reviews it still managed to bring in over $130 million dollars; not a bad start. Since then Flavor Unit has released the following movies; Percentage, House Of Bodies, Steel Magnolias, The Cookout, The Cookout 2, Just Wright, Life Support, The Perfect Holiday, & Beauty Shop.
Flavor Unit has also been quite busy filming TV shows such as The Queen Latifah Show, Let’s Stay Together, Single Ladies, The Star Next Door & The Next. Flavor Unit has also recently signed licensing deals with Netflix & Centric.
Not Consumed In Vanity
Of course this is only scratching the surface of what Queen Latifah has accomplished in her career which has contributed to her estimated $215 million net worth. One thing is for sure Queen Latifah has contributed a lot to the entertainment industry. She has carried her self with class and has managed to not be consumed by the vanity of her success. She was told that girls can’t rap, and own business well I guess Queen Latifah proved them wrong on all fronts.
