Order in the Court is the fourth studio album by the American hip-hop artist and actress Queen Latifah.[5] The album was released on June 16, 1998, by Motown Records and would be Latifah's last album with Motown. Partly dedicated to The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, it is her first album to have a Parental Advisory warning on it.
| Order in the Court | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 16, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 1997–1998 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop[1] | |||
| Length | 55:17 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Queen Latifah chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Order in the Court | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[2] |
| Rolling Stone | [4] |
Before the album's release, Latifah and Foxy Brown had been arguing over who was the real Queen.[6] On the album's second track, "Court Is In Session" Latifah portrayed herself as a judge presiding over the current state of hip-hop music by taunting her rivals, including Foxy.[6] However, with the closing track, "Life", Latifah comes to realize that feuding with other female rappers was futile, given the untimely and recent deaths of Biggie and Tupac.[6] Both "Black On Black Love" and "Life" celebrate the black community, black love, and black businesses.[6]
More so than Latifah's other hip-hop albums, this one focuses on her legacy and attempts to cement herself as a defining hip-hop artist, regardless of gender.[6]
Track listing edit
- "Bananas (Who You Gonna Call?)" (featuring Apache) – 4:00
- "Court Is In Session" – 3:52
- "No/Yes" (skit) – 0:45
- "No/Yes" – 4:50
- "Turn You On" – 4:21
- "Black on Black Love" (featuring Antonique Smith and Next) – 5:05
- "Parlay" (featuring Le Fem Markita) – 4:52
- "Paper" – 4:00
- "What Ya Gonna Do" (featuring Inaya Jafan) – 4:33
- "It's Alright" (featuring Faith Evans, Lil' Mo) – 3:45
- "Phone Call (Skit)" – 0:34
- "Brownsville" (featuring Le Fem Markita, Scarlet and Nikki D) – 4:40
- "I Don't Know" (featuring Sisqó) – 4:29
- "Life" – 5:42
European edition edit
- "Let Her Live" (featuring Next)
Japanese edition edit
- "Let Her Live" (featuring Next)
- "Keep Your Head to the Sky"
Album notes edit
- Singer Inaya Day is featured on the album, credited as Inaya Jafan
- Latifah performed the track "Life" at the Lilith Fair in 1998. The live song also appears on the CD and cassette release Lilith Fair Volume 2
- "Turn You On" Samples and Interpolates "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" By Cherelle
- "Let Her Live" Samples and Interpolates "That Girl" by Stevie Wonder
- "Keep Your Head to the Sky" Samples and Interpolates "Saturday Love" By Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal
- "Life" Samples "You're Not the Man" by Sade
- "Paper" interpolates "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye
- "Black on Black Love" Samples "Make Me Say It Again, Girl" by The Isley Brothers
- "Court is in Session" Samples "What Am I Missing" by Rufus & Chaka Khan
- "Bananas (Who You Gonna Call)" samples vocals from "Fu-Gee-La" by The Fugees
- "It's Alright" samples "I Want to Thank You" by Alicia Myers
References edit
- ^ a b "Order in the Court - Queen Latifah | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
- ^ Weingarten, Marc (June 19, 1998). "Order in the Court Review". Entertainment Weekly. p. 74. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (November 3, 1998). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Village Voice Media. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
- ^ "Queen Latifah: Order In The Court : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". October 1, 2007. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007.
- ^ "CNN - When Latifah reigns, she pours it on - September 2, 1998". www.cnn.com.
- ^ a b c d e Smith, Da’Shan (2018-06-13). "Revisiting Queen Latifah's 'Order In The Court' 20 years later". REVOLT. Retrieved 2020-07-17.