Angie Martinez IRL - Queen Latifah Reflects on Legendary Career, Balancing Fame & Private Life

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: Joe and Jada (iHeartPodcasts & The Volume)

Angie Martinez IRL – Queen Latifah Reflects on Legendary Career, Balancing Fame & Private Life

Release Date: May 21, 2026
Host: Angie Martinez
Guest: Queen Latifah

---

Overview

In this episode, iconic broadcaster Angie Martinez sits down for an intimate, wide-ranging conversation with hip-hop legend, multi-hyphenate talent, and trailblazer Queen Latifah. Spanning her groundbreaking music, film, and TV achievements, Latifah reflects on her upbringing, the weight and privilege of her status, personal losses and growth, motherhood, privacy, and navigating fame with integrity. The discussion is filled with laughter, wisdom, gratitude, and candid insight into sustaining joy and authenticity across decades in the public eye.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Legacy and Reach of Queen Latifah

• Angie runs through Latifah’s phenomenal resume, highlighting her impact across music and Hollywood, acting, producing, and even as a CoverGirl.
• Latifah reflects on lifting others as she’s risen—bringing friends and new talent along:
  • "Whatever you thought, think bigger. You know what I mean? Go further. You ain't far enough." (02:14)

2. Carrying the “Queen” Title & Remaining Grounded

• On maintaining her ‘crown’ and sense of self:

  • "I didn't do this on my own. God put me in this position. There’s no reason I should even be here. This is divine." (07:06)
  • Keeping lifelong friends, family, and honest voices around grounds her and keeps her humility and realism in check.

• The weight of expectations:

  • "Crowns are heavy...You have to figure out how to get up and it's. It can be tough." (09:48)
  • Latifah describes the pressure and complexities of being a symbol while facing ordinary personal highs and lows.

3. Managing Lows, Asking for Help, and Maintaining Mental Health

• Candid about struggles despite outward strength:
  • "I can't handle all of that. There's a limit to how much I can handle. I may appear to be able to carry that load, but that load is heavy." (15:00)
• She recounts her self-care—disappearing to recenter, sometimes visiting her brother's grave, and being honest about needing space.
• Early realization that money alone can’t motivate her or provide fulfillment:
  • "I will bounce. I cannot be moved by money. It’s too dangerous." (15:34)

4. Upbringing, Family, and the Roots of Success

• Early home life filled with music, ambition, entrepreneurship, and strong values. Her mother, an educator, was supportive—even when Latifah wanted to leave college to pursue music—with the understanding of honesty and purpose.
• Her brother’s role as protector and confidante; the transition of her relationship with her mother from child to young adult revealed deep respect and communication.
• "She knew that I was called to make music. I was called. Something was calling me." (32:51)

5. Motherhood, Privacy, and Living Authentically

• Latifah speaks tenderly about being a mom, often channeling her own late mother’s wisdom:
  • "I need to take Queen Latifah off sometimes and sit her at the door… and just be whoever she is."
• She values sanctuary and boundaries between public and private life, despite fans' curiosity. She acknowledges being more open in recent years but is intentional about what she shares.
• On coming out publicly:
  • "I was getting a lifetime achievement award, and I didn’t want to leave out the people who were part of the lifetime. That’s about it. That was it." (45:07)

6. Navigating Fame, Relationships, and Protecting Self & Others

• Latifah resists external definitions, stating people rarely know the real her and challenging limiting public narratives:
  • "Whatever you think, you're wrong nine times out of 10. My life is much more rich than whatever you think." (38:40)
• She’s clear about boundaries even among friends and insists gossip, especially negative, isn’t brought to her:
  • "I talk to the people who actually care about me and try to navigate my life with them." (51:22)

7. Reflection on Success, Artistry, and Growth

• Talks about always seeking growth — as a parent, artist, and human:
  • "I'm a constant student. So whatever it is I'm interested in, I want to get better at it." (70:58)
• Importance of empowering others and legacy:
  • "All the people who I've helped through my career that would otherwise have been overlooked...using my power to empower other people." (88:35)

8. The Power of Uplifting Others, Full Circle Moments

• An emotional note from Patti LaBelle highlights cycles of giving and receiving in the industry:
  • "Thank you for so many things, and thank you for being my daughter..." – Patti LaBelle (80:24)
  • Latifah shares how Patti helped her through her brother's death and reframed her thinking: "Patti LaBelle is one of the people who I talk to, who talk to me… Just, first of all, just by understanding that I'm feeling a pain that is unbelievable..." (81:05)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On ambition and challenging limits:

  • "Whatever you thought, think bigger... If it's dangerous. No, it's more dangerous than that." – Queen Latifah (02:14, 39:36)

• On the myth of endless highs:

  • "Life is not a thing that just goes up, up, up, up, even if it appears that way. Definitely some body blows along the way. Big ones." – Queen Latifah (06:02)

• On privacy and public speculation:

  • "I've seen people invite the world into their house and then come to regret it... That's not something I desire." – Queen Latifah (36:49)

• On family, loss, and spiritual connection:

  • "I can still feel the energy. I still get the messages and the guidance... And so I just give it to God." (42:15)

• Advice to young people:

  • "Don’t be afraid to drive down that road that the world doesn’t see for you yet—because you see it...now you gotta show 'em." (72:13)

• On self-care amidst chaos:

  • "I have to grab onto the things that calm me...Sometimes you need to water the flowers, including yourself." (61:16, 67:05)

• On current pleasures:

  • "Those sweet smiles and laughs that I'm gonna get when I get home. Baby kisses." – Queen Latifah (88:22)

---

Selected Timestamps for Important Segments

• “Think bigger, go further” energy: 02:14, 39:36
• Discussing the pressure of being “Queen”: 07:06 – 09:48
• Mental health & recentering: 14:57 – 16:18
• On leaving college for music: 25:21 – 26:44
• Protecting privacy, evolving public openness: 36:49 – 38:40, 43:44 – 45:19
• Power of music and faith: 41:58
• Motherhood and lessons from her mother: 34:04 – 35:01
• Relationship with brother, loss: 29:46, 81:04
• Patti LaBelle’s emotional voice note: 80:24 – 83:10
• On age, embracing every decade: 85:00 – 86:41
• Legacy and inspiration: 90:47 – 91:20
• Speed round—joys, pet peeves, prayers: 87:48 – 90:47

---

Tone & Style

• Warm, wise, candid, humorous, unfiltered, with banter reflecting deep trust — especially when Latifah jokes about crowns, “taking Queen Latifah off,” or God texting her, “You know you wear your reading glasses.”
• Heartfelt when discussing loss (brother, mother), the responsibility of legacy, and the cycles of support within the Black creative community.
• Empowering and optimistic—Latifah insists on positivity, learning, and faith as survival skills in a challenging, often noisy world.

---

Final Takeaway

The episode is a masterclass in living with purpose, vulnerability, and continual growth. Queen Latifah’s legacy is grounded not only in unprecedented achievement, but in her refusal to let the world’s expectations define or confine her. By nurturing herself, pouring into others, and keeping a circle of love and honesty, she models what it means to be regal—crown and all—in real life.

---

“It’s okay to do a lot of things. Whatever you think you can do, you should be doing right.” – Queen Latifah (03:53)

---

For those who missed the episode, this is an uplifting, wisdom-packed journey through triumph, struggle, and the relentless, joyful pursuit of life’s possibilities.

Transcript

[Angie Martinez]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Guaranteed Human Amazon Health AI presents painful

[Commercial Narrator]

thoughts why did I search the Internet for answers to my cold sore problem?

[Angie Martinez]

Now I'm stuck down a rabbit hole

[Commercial Narrator]

filled with images of alarmingly graphic sores in various stages of ooze.

[Angie Martinez]

I can clear my search history, but

[Queen Latifah]

I can never unsee that.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Don't go down the rabbit hole. Amazon Health AI gets you the right care fast. Healthcare just got less painful

[Angie Martinez]

during Memorial Day at Lowe's. Shop household must haves for less.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Save $80 on the Char Broil Performance

[Angie Martinez]

Series 4 Burner Grill to chef up

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

something special plus get up to 45%

[Angie Martinez]

off select major appliances to keep things fresh.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Our best lineup is here at Lowe's.

[Angie Martinez]

Lowe's we help you Save valid through 527 while supplies last selection varies by location. See Lowes.com for details.

[Commercial Narrator]

Visit your nearby Lowe's

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Introducing Taco Bell's

[Queen Latifah]

new Jalapeno Citrus Salsa with bright citrus,

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

real red jalapenos, guajillo chiles. Usually you add sauce to the food, but when the sauce is this good, the food is just there to get the sauce to your mouth.

[Queen Latifah]

That rolled quesadilla.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Not a rolled quesadilla anymore.

[Queen Latifah]

Now it's a sauce shovel.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Taco Bell's Jalapeno Citrus Salsa. Get it with any other item on

[Queen Latifah]

the Cantina Chicken menu while it's here. Participating US Taco Bell locations for a

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

limited time only while supplies last contact store for availability. Do you want to find a stress free way to buy your next car? Start at CarMax and shop your way. If you want to browse with confidence, get pre qualified online with no impact on your credit score and shop cars within your budget. From luxury cars to family rides, CarMax has options for almost every price range, including more than 25,000 cars priced under $25,000. So hey, want to get started? Just head to CarMax.com for details and get pre qualified today. Want to drive CarMax?

[Queen Latifah]

You may have to live your life like this and so you're trying to figure out how does she live her life?

[Angie Martinez]

Yeah, they want to know. They want to know.

[Queen Latifah]

Oh, you can't even believe it. Whatever you thought, think bigger. You know what I mean? Go further. You ain't far enough. Yes, that's good. Now go further. If it's dangerous. No, it's more dangerous than that.

[Angie Martinez]

Thanks for watching guys. Today's episode is brought to you by Boost Mobile. Guys, I have a whole introduction to do today and it involves Grammy Awards and rock and Roll hall of Fame and many, many, many accolades. But I'm gonna pause that just to run a list down from, like, Jungle Fever, House Party, Juice, who's the Man, My Life Set It Off, Hoodlum, Living Out Loud, the Bone Collector, Bringing out the Dead, Brown Sugar is not even all of Them a scary movie. 3 Barbershop 2 to cookout, taxi, beauty Shop, Last Holiday, Ice Age, the Meltdown, Hairspray, the Perfect Holiday. And then I'm talking about, like, Queen Latifah show and Living Single and Star and Equalizer and covergirl Ads and Ladies first and Unity and Queen Latifa is

[Queen Latifah]

my guest on IRL today. The Money PE Got the sugar, Got that spice. She just made this M last night. Come on. You a rapper. You are such.

[Angie Martinez]

Do you think I am?

[Queen Latifah]

I definitely think you are. I know you are.

[Angie Martinez]

You know what? Part of the problem is that you made me believe that I could be a rapper. You also made me believe I could do a talk show and a this and a that and a that. Because you did all the things. And me watching you my whole career, I thought, yeah, yeah, I want to do a lot of things. Of course. And it's okay to do a lot of things.

[Queen Latifah]

It's okay to do a lot of things. Whatever you think you can do, you should be doing right and. And look at you right now.

[Angie Martinez]

I'm so happy you're here today, Angie.

[Queen Latifah]

I'm so glad to be here. Nothing brings me more pleasure than to be right here right now, a guest on your cast.

[Angie Martinez]

Yes.

[Queen Latifah]

On your show. Thank you. Come on. You the goat with this. So I'm. It's my honor.

[Angie Martinez]

You have been supportive not of just me. And I hear so many stories about the way you carry people and show up for people quietly. And when I hear them, I'm like, oh, I already know, because I. From my own firsthand experience of like, yo, I'm doing this commercial. Come. You put me in a CoverGirl commercial.

[Queen Latifah]

Of course. Look at you. Look at her. Stop. Look at her.

[Angie Martinez]

The point is, is that while you were collecting some of that list that I'm just talking about, you were just pulling people into things. Like, I can't imagine what that feels like. And then you see all these people doing things like, do you feel connected to so many people in.

[Queen Latifah]

I do. Yeah, I do. I feel connected to huge amount of people. And it's actually, you know, that phrase, what goes up must come down. It's really a real thing. And so if you really take that phrase seriously, as you're going up, you gotta consider that some of the people who may not be up yet, if you're going down, they might be going up. And you could use that help. At some point. You might need somebody to look out for you. And it's that one person that you said hi to that day, or you held the door open as you should have, and let them go through. And they may just remember your demeanor or how you spoke to them with respect or something like that. Or you may have given them a job and nobody would have hired them necessarily. They didn't have experience, but you saw something in them, you know, and then one day they're writing the checks, and then one day they're the boss and they actually can hook you up. And so they think, why not you? So.

[Angie Martinez]

But you talk about the lows. I don't remember any lows for you. Maybe that's just from outside.

[Queen Latifah]

It's good that you don't remember those lows.

[Angie Martinez]

So you're telling me there were some.

[Queen Latifah]

There's always lows. There's always lows. Life is not a thing that just goes up, up, up, up, even if it appears that way. Definitely some body blows along the way. Big ones. You know, I want to learn all

[Angie Martinez]

about your lessons today. I want to learn. Oh, I want to get all up in your lessons of life today.

[Queen Latifah]

I'm still learning. Yeah, that's one of the biggest lessons. Keep learning.

[Angie Martinez]

I will say, though, though, before we go into, like, details of things, the one thing, maybe it's not always been highs for you. Like, I'm sure there's ups and downs and all of that, but I think what people love about you so much and what I value about you, one of the things I value about you so much is that. That you know that your name is Queen Latifah, right? And so people call you a queen, and you've always been held in that type of you. You came into the game like, this is how you look at me. This is how I want to be treated. But that crown, it's one thing to say that. No, I'm just saying you have worn that crown for a long time and kept it intact. Like, how do you do that?

[Queen Latifah]

I think I've always tried to. First of all, I didn't do this on my own. God put me in this position. There's no reason I should even be here. This is divine. And then the fact that I have the mom who I had, my father, my family, my friends, who I still work with to this day from High school. That's a rare thing, apparently. I thought it was a normal thing, but I came to learn that it's not. And so even just having people who actually love you, who are able to critique you, is helpful, because then you don't get a big head thinking you're much bigger than you are. And then you also don't diminish yourself either. So there are people who can like, tell you the truth without really trying to put you down or just gas you up. You know what I mean? So I came up in a crew of people who did that. And even my partner slash manager, Sha Kim. I've had him all these years, and he could be a real realist. Like, brutally honest, too much like, all right, Shaq. I'm like, got it. Okay. Yeah. Now let me pick myself up off the ground and put myself back together again. I don't know. I think I've just been raised in a way to know oftentimes where I am in life. So I don't over. I'm kind of right here where I'm supposed to be. And if I kind of go this way, I got people to go, or if I go that way, people to move me back to center. And then I could call my grandmother, and it's about church. Yes. She just turned 98. Oh, God bless. I call from all around the world, and I know when I call, and it's gonna always wind up being, well, trust God, and we crack up about some things. She'll ask me what I'm doing, and I always think to myself, here's someone who has lived 100 years, pretty much, wow, she's still standing. She's seen way more than I'll ever imagine seeing. And if she can figure out a way to be okay in the midst of all these things and it's been all three years, then I think I can. I'll just follow her lead, you know, I'll just trust that things will work out and stay optimistic rather than just become pessimistic or jaded and cynical and all that stuff.

[Angie Martinez]

Did you always have that?

[Queen Latifah]

I think I've been a pretty optimist, optimistic person in general. Like, I'm always a happy, go lucky person until somebody takes away from it. Like, I wake up in a tent in a joyful place, really starts messing with my day, and then I have to get myself back. Yeah. Heavy. I just want you to know that. Huh? Crowns are heavy.

[Angie Martinez]

How.

[Queen Latifah]

How so heavy is the crown? Because when people expect you to, like, carry something, it could be heavy. You know what I mean? Like, you, you have real actual life to live and things are not as easy as they seem. And in spite of, in despite of that, you're expected to like, stand up and you ready to fall down and crumble and fall apart like everybody else might. But you know, when you're expected to get up, you know, you have to figure out how to get up and it's. It can be tough.

[Angie Martinez]

Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock BET Florida Sportsbook. We have reached the conference finals in the NBA playoffs and we are excited about it and the action is going to be turned up to 100. And on hard Rock Bet, every night is your shot to score a major bucket with win or go home energy on the hardwood. You could build the same game parlay. However you draw it up. Hard Rock Bet gives you tons of ways to stack your picks into a same game parlay built for the playoffs. If you're ever late to tip off, don't worry. Hard Rock Bet lets you live bet all game long, from the first bucket to the final buzzer. Try your first bet at Hard Rock Bet today and you can score 150 in bonus bets if you win. Plus place a $5 bet. And if it hits early, not only your winnings, but you also get an extra $150 in bonus bets. Open the app right now, get your promo going. And Hard Rock Bet is Florida's only legal sports book. But you don't have to be in Florida to join the party. Hard Rock BET is also live in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Colorado and Michigan, with more states on the way. So download the Hard Rock BET app today and let's get the party started. That's what I wonder. Like, I don't know. It's like when people put something on you, like people put things on us. Like you're the this of that and then you have to like, walk around the world like the this or that. Now you put a thing on you that was a good thing. Like this regal Persona of. It's not a Persona. You really are regal. You walk around. People love you because they love you, not because your name is Queen Latifah. But I don't know, it's just like a standard that's almost expected. I just wonder if that becomes like,

[Queen Latifah]

it's way too burdensome to live up to that. I can't live up to what people expect of me. It's just impossible. And I'm not that. That's not Who I am. I live up to what I can live up to and what my family has expected of me. You know what I mean? If I can go for that, then the public should be good, you know, because I got a big family. If I could make it through them, I think most people should be okay with everything else. But also, I'm not Superman, you know what I mean? Like, I have faults, of course, and I'm okay with that. And so what I'd rather show is that you don't have to be perfect, you know what I mean? But you can still carry yourself in a certain way that allows you to step back into what you want to be. So for me, maybe I want to get there. I might not be there, but I have to imagine, okay, this is where I want to be. So let me start moving in a way. I'll try to move in a way that can help me move into that space. What would I be if I were her? How would I feel if I met me? Would I like for me to speak when I walked in the room, say hello to everybody, or just speak to the person I know? Well, let's be, you know, let's have some manners. Let's say hi, everybody. Have a great shoot. You know what I mean?

[Angie Martinez]

I can't imagine through all your years, too, and, like, being famous and being in Hollywood and being on movie sets with really famous, like, just navigating the personalities in the world because you seem really well adjusted. You know, we see people that we knew from young and we've seen them come up, and you see people kind of losing in these. In these waters.

[Queen Latifah]

Yeah, it's hard, though.

[Angie Martinez]

And your soul seems to be intact. Is it always like that?

[Queen Latifah]

No, I think I've. I've crashed and burned several times. I've definitely hit brick walls and was like, oh, that was brick. Right? My bad. I've been protected by those who care about me. I've been protected by God. And then I've tried to be a person who asks for help or I say, I'm tapping. I don't have this. I ain't got this one. Yeah, absolutely. And go get help. Go figure it out. Go talk to somebody or step away for a second, whatever time I can get. I've had to make adjustments through the years. In the beginning, I would literally just disappear, and everybody be looking for me. I have things to do. I would just blow off everything and just bounce. And I would call my mother, and I'm like, mom, I'm up here. I'll Go to my brother's grave half the time. Get two Coronas, you know, one for him, one for me. I'm like, ma, I'm fine. I'm not speaking to anybody. I need a minute. And she would talk to whoever she needed to talk to to let them know, back up, give us some space. And it really would generally just take that day for me to recenter, you know, and then I'll be ready for the world again. I'm ready for the fight all over again.

[Angie Martinez]

But what was it? What are you battling? Like, what were you.

[Queen Latifah]

Because I appear that I can handle a lot. People throw a lot at me to handle. And I'm like, I can't handle all of that. There's a limit to how much I can handle. I may appear to be able to carry that load, but that load is heavy. And so when do I get to take a break? And if I say, hey, I need a minute, I need a break, but you want to.

[Angie Martinez]

And then like a million dollar production.

[Queen Latifah]

Yeah, yeah.

[Angie Martinez]

Which.

[Queen Latifah]

Which means nothing to me because I'm not materialistic. It could be $100 million production. It could be a billion dollar production. Guess what? I will bounce. You know what I mean?

[Angie Martinez]

Really?

[Queen Latifah]

Absolutely. I cannot be moved by money. It's too dangerous. You know what I mean? Like, that's not enough of a motivation for me. What I noticed is when I did things for a check, I hated it half the time. You know, the check cleared, the money was good, but I really did not enjoy it. It wasn't memorable. My heart wasn't in it. So I felt like I needed to do things that really meant something to me. And I mean, that was literally from my first couple of jobs on. So I learned early. And probably why I even had any type of poise when I came into the business is because I had already been living. I was running the streets at 15. I was in clubs, I was hanging out.

[Angie Martinez]

I need to know a little. Cause I ain't known little Dana. How do you reflect on her now at this age, when you think of her, you at. I don't know. What age pops for you?

[Queen Latifah]

I don't know. I just think about my poor mother.

[Angie Martinez]

Why?

[Queen Latifah]

Because what the hell was I doing in them damn streets?

[Angie Martinez]

What were you doing in the streets?

[Queen Latifah]

I was partying. I was doing it all.

[Angie Martinez]

How old are we talking about?

[Queen Latifah]

Like, from 15? 15, 16, 17.

[Angie Martinez]

What do you mean, partying? Like local parties, house parties, clubs, local parties.

[Queen Latifah]

But I was going to New York. I lived in New Jersey. I lived in East Orange, New Jersey, which is like a border of Newark. So it's maybe 35 minutes outside of the city. I'm taking the train, going to New York, just being cool, dressing fly, and just pretending. At 15, I'm fronting. Yes. Like I'm saying that.

[Angie Martinez]

But I was at Roseland at 15.

[Queen Latifah]

So, you know, I was in Roseland, too. Fake ID, of course.

[Angie Martinez]

The first night I went, there was a shootout.

[Queen Latifah]

Of course there was a shootout.

[Angie Martinez]

I didn't leave. I jumped under the table. I waited for it to stop, and then they played Bismarck. And I popped up out the table.

[Queen Latifah]

The party continued. And the party continued. And this is why I'm honored to be here. With a G. With a G at this table. Interviewing me who has seen some things. I need you to have seen some things at Roseland.

[Angie Martinez]

So you were also 15 in the club.

[Queen Latifah]

I was 15 with me. I mean, I remember meeting Biz Markey. Cause he had a biz hat on. And we were. We took the train into the city to go to Latin Quarter, which was a club that had a hip hop night. The biggest hip hop night around. You could see anybody perform, right? Legend. And you would always stop at the McDonald's in Times Square before you went to the club, which is a few blocks up. And we standing outside the McDonald's, and my boy Bree says, yo, that's biz. And I see this kind of guy walking up the street. He got this kind of trucker hat that says biz on it. And I was like, that's not Biz Markie. I don't know what I expected him to look like. And I walked up to him, I was like, you Biz Markey? He was like, yeah. I said, hit the beatbox. He said. I was like, yo, we went crazy. I was like, what? We went nuts. And he was from Jersey, too. I was like, yo. So this was. This was the beginning of all of it. There was no way I could walk away from this hip hop music.

[Angie Martinez]

You're already the type of kid, though, like, number one, you leaving Jersey, the kids are the streets. You in the streets. And you're not afraid to go up to somebody like, yo, like this energy that you were talking about, how you could walk in a room and feel people like you already had that kind of.

[Queen Latifah]

Cause I come from a big family, and there's every type of person in my family. And so. And we're taught a lot of things. And so if you could be a Owens Marcetti, you could make it through our family. Any of our cookouts all the stuff we've seen. I mean, there's every type of person in my family, so I've seen it all in front of me my whole life.

[Angie Martinez]

So you're not afraid? You're not afraid of people?

[Queen Latifah]

People that I'm supposed to be afraid of, yes. You know what I mean? The people that I'm supposed to be afraid of, I'm afraid of. Or if I get a certain vibe from a person, I' okay, How you gonna get out of. Get out of this one? Figure your way out of it. The rest of angels had the wheel. Cause it ain't no reason. I'm in East New York at 16. What are you doing out here? What are you doing in East New York? Jersey, girl, you way out in Brooklyn, like, this is last stop. Trains this way and that way.

[Angie Martinez]

What were you looking for?

[Queen Latifah]

Probably love. And 15, 16. His hormones are crazy.

[Angie Martinez]

Oh, you were looking. Oh, really?

[Queen Latifah]

You weren't kidding me? Well, that just happened to be part of it.

[Angie Martinez]

Oh, you were looking for something cute?

[Queen Latifah]

No, I mean, it comes with the club, but yes, I was looking. I was in clubs for the music, for the style, for the energy, for this music called hip hop that I got to be a part of. I'm looking at my favorite artists in this box on the wall, performing, you know, thinking one day, man, I wish I could perform up there. I mean, I'm hearing. I'm looking at Salt Pepper, I'm looking at Light. I'm looking at Coogee Rap and Polo. I'm looking at Kane. I'm looking at Boogie Down Productions. Melly Mel is hosting. I mean, Sweet Tea, Jazzy Joyce. Anybody who's anyone in hip hop is performing at this club. You gonna get frisked. You gonna think somebody cavity searched you. By the time you get in there, the way you get frisked, and you love it. And I'm like, yo, I've arrived. I got this.

[Angie Martinez]

And your mother's thinking, my child is where?

[Queen Latifah]

My mother has no idea. She doesn't know. I would have snuck out or either gone to. She. I mean, she's a schoolteacher. She has to get some rest.

[Angie Martinez]

She's a schoolteacher, and you're in the house. It's you, your brother, your mother, your parents were together.

[Queen Latifah]

It's just us three. My dad was at his other house at that point, so my parents weren't together by that time. He was in Newark. He was very close, but he wasn't in the house.

[Angie Martinez]

So he didn't know you were sneaking out?

[Queen Latifah]

Not till My mother probably told him. And then I got the talk from everyone and then I tried to get it together and it was my brother. Like, my brother and I were so close. Like I never kept secrets with him. And then I had a couple of cousins that knew my whole life and we were a close family. So there was always somebody or somebody in the flavor unit, the crew in Mark's basement that was with me. Like, we going to the city, we gonna get into something. So this was like it became. But what it was, my mother understood it because she was a cool teacher. Like, I got in my mother's car one day and she was playing leaders in a new school. It's just another case of that old pta. I was like, what? My mother knows hip hop. So then I'm like, you know, my mother was like the cool teacher. So she got that this was like a new form of music. Like this must have been what folk or rock and roll was to her generation. But to my generation, this was hip hop. And she encouraged it rather than, you know, pushed us away from it. You know, we were, this was our thing and we were thinking about how to make it a career, how to, how to monetize it, how to make a business out of it. And my mother supported that rather than push us away from it. Although you were going to college if you were living in this house, so.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Amazon Health AI presents painful thoughts.

[Commercial Narrator]

Why did I search the Internet for answers to my cold sorts problem?

[Angie Martinez]

Now I'm stuck down a rabbit hole

[Commercial Narrator]

filled with images of alarmingly graphic source in various stages of ooze.

[Angie Martinez]

I can clear my search history, but

[Queen Latifah]

I can never unsee that.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Don't go down the rabbit hole. Amazon Health AI gets you the right care fast. Healthcare just got less painful. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI, it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks, generate a assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures protect

[Commercial Narrator]

your pet with insurance from Pets Best plans start from less than a dollar a day. Visit petsbest.com Pet insurance products offered and administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company or Independence American Insurance Company for terms and conditions, visit www.petsbest.com Policy products are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company, Independence American Insurance Company or Ms. Transverse Insurance Company and administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC. $1.00 a day premium based on 2024 average new policyholder data for accident and illness plans. Pets age 0 to 10 the next 30 seconds could save you hundreds on

[Queen Latifah]

your car insurance at the Hartford, we're passionate about your protection. If you're 50 or over, AARP auto

[Commercial Narrator]

insurance from the Hartford gives you benefits that really matter, and you could save

[Queen Latifah]

$597 when you switch. How's that for a little piece of mind? Visit Trust Hartford Hartford.com today the Hartford your protection is our passion.

[Commercial Narrator]

The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. Pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. AARP and its affiliates are not insurers. Savings vary.

[Queen Latifah]

I did go to college, but I also asked if I could have permission to leave college for a year so I could, like, really put my.

[Angie Martinez]

Your mother?

[Queen Latifah]

The educator asked the educator. So, you know, not. She didn't even call herself a teacher. She called herself an educator. So yes, I did have to ask that permission. However, my mother and I were very close and she knew. She knew I was a pretty honest kid. My brother would lie, but she knew. She's like, now when your brother, he'll tell, he'll lie. And she would bust him in a minute. But she knew pretty much she could quiz me. And in a few questions I was giving up the story because I really couldn't lie to my mother like that. And so, you know, you were always a soul. I was. I was. And she had my number. And I just had to explain to her what my purpose was. So once I explained to her, I was like, ma, I really think I can do something with this. So I just want to put a. I just want to take off one year. Let me and I skipped a year, I skipped first grade, whatever. So I said, let me just take off one year and I'll put my 150% into this. And if it doesn't work out, I promise you I'll go back to college. And I never looked back.

[Angie Martinez]

Wow.

[Queen Latifah]

You know, all those records started playing. I got a deal. Like, the companies came together. It was just, it all worked.

[Angie Martinez]

So at some point though, you thought, I want this to, I don't know, you just thought bigger than everybody else. I feel like you always thought bigger because you could have just been like, I want to be a rapper, which was big enough. You did a great enough job at that. Like, that could have been it. But you didn't. You wanted a management company and you wanted to act and then you wanted to have brands and you wanted to like. I, I feel like you just have always, your whole career have thought bigger. Did you always think that from the beginning or.

[Queen Latifah]

I think so.

[Angie Martinez]

And how much of that is like the key to what you've been able to do for so long?

[Queen Latifah]

I think it's very important. Yeah, I think it's very important. I think I've. I grew up in a very creative household. My parents were a police officer and who wanted to be an architect. That's your dad? Yeah. Very creative. Listened to jazz, played percussion. Saw a musical household as well. My mom became an art teacher, but we watched her go to school. So she wasn't already, she didn't already have a diploma. When we were kids, she went to school, she went to college. Sometimes she would take us to school with her because she didn't have a babysitter. And there's a janitor that worked there that will watch us while she took her classes. So not only did we, you know, we actually got to see the work that went into her achieving this, this degree. And so there was a lot of learning, hands on learning that we got to see also. My grandfather owned a hardware store, so we got to see business people in front of us growing up, you know, anybody could get a job. Any one of my cousins could work at the hardware store where my grandfather and his brothers owned it. And a lot of business went through there. My grandmother was very much a hustler, smart, just knew how to talk to people. I mean, they just lived at a different level. So Newark was not the Newark that people talk about. It was a thriving metropolis with a million plus people. And I got to see a whole lot of things growing up and a lot of success in our own ways also grew up in Maryland and Virginia, where my mother's side of the family was from, so it was slow. Got to get away from the city, appreciate nature, be in the country, go to church every Sunday. You go on the vacation, Bible school, whether you like it or not, nobody's sleeping in the house on a Sunday. It's not happening. I don't care who you are or your religion, you go be at church on Sunday. So. So there was something to that.

[Angie Martinez]

Oh, so there's, like, a lot of discipline in that. There's faith in that. There's, like, how you treat people in that. Like, all those things. There's music in that, and there's music in that.

[Queen Latifah]

There's music in that.

[Angie Martinez]

But all those things that you talk about, how, like, they define you, that's. It's all rooted in that upbringing, in that setting and that thing. It's nice to hear you talk about your brother, too. Cause we always. When he comes up, for us, it's always in the sad part of his. His existence. But hearing about him in the joyful. How close you were, I don't know.

[Queen Latifah]

That was my brother. People thought we were twins because we looked alike. As soon as we saw each other, we were just like puppies. We would just hug each other, do something very loving or very silly. And people got to see what, like, a loving sibling relationship looked like, you know? So it was very normal for us. And I know at some point, my mother was like, listen, I understand that you. I get it. It was my brother who actually brought it to my attention that my mother was stressing about me hanging out and being in the streets like that. And he was like, come on, D. Yo, Mommy crying. I was like, what? Crying. I made Mommy cry. It was so out of the realm of reality for me. And he was like, yeah. I was like, oh, man. So I was like, I gotta talk to Mommy. And I was 17 at that time, so we talking about two years of just going at it.

[Angie Martinez]

Yes. Streets. Yeah.

[Queen Latifah]

And my mom and I had.

[Angie Martinez]

Why do you think she was crying? Did she think she was gonna lose you or.

[Queen Latifah]

I think she was definitely. I think she was worried about me. That particular night. I remember I went out to a club. I expected my friends to be there. None of my friends were there. And I went out with no money. And I was like, oh, my God. I'm stuck in the city, by the way, guys.

[Angie Martinez]

No cell phones, no beepers, no. There's nothing at this time.

[Queen Latifah]

Nothing.

[Angie Martinez]

You just outside, so you're not in

[Queen Latifah]

buses and trains all that stuff stopped running in Jersey. So I'm stuck in the city. Like, how am I going to get home? My mother has a cousin who lives in Castle Hill in the Bronx. So I said, okay, I could hop this Turner Style, and I could just take it to Castle Hill. Then I walked to her house, and I knocked on her door. She was a nurse at the hospital locally. And I was like, is Dana Rita's daughter? And she's like, what? Come on in. She led me into a room, let me spend the night. Called my mother. Of course. This is my mother's first cousin. She called my mother, let her know where I was, gave me train fare and bus fare to get home because she had to work. And I took the train home. And by the time I got back to East Orange, it felt like I traveled 150 miles. And it was time to just have a. And that's when I came in. And my brother was like, dude, yo, what you doing? He was drinking some beer. I could tell. I was like, you tipsy? And then we used to wrestle a lot. So he grabbed me up like, who you got Mommy crying? I was like, I got mommy crying. And I was like, I couldn't believe I had done that to my mother. And so, you know, I had to talk to my mom, and she talked. We had a conversation about things. And she was like, ultimately, it was like, I know you're gonna continue to do what you're doing because you have to do this. I just need you to call me and let me know you safe, wherever you are. And I was like, ma, I promise you, I will let you know wherever I am. Cause I'm thinking, okay, she's gonna let me still wild out a little bit. All I gotta do is let her know I'm there. If I'm in Brooklyn, I'm there. It got so. It got to the point where everybody would watch. You call your mother. Yo, you call your mother. Yo, you call your mother? No, let me get in the door. Like, for real.

[Angie Martinez]

You really were protected.

[Queen Latifah]

I was protected. Everybody, like, all the whole Flavor Unit. If I was in Mark's basement, you'll call your mother. I'm in my friend's. I'm in Bed Style, my girl Gigi's house. You call your mother? Call my mother. I'm in the Bronx, yo. You call your mother. I call my mother. Like, I have to call my mother or somebody. Ramsey, tell my mother I'm here. Pass the number along. Make sure she knows where I am. And from that moment on, it Was like, we were adults, you know, we were women dealing with one another, rather than just mother, daughter, you know what I mean? And it was a different kind of cadence in our relationship that really made the difference because she knew I needed to do this and that it was a purpose in it. She could see it. She could see it in my friends. She could hear it. Because I would play my little songs for her. I would rhyme for her or make up a song and sing it for her. So she knew that I was called to make music. I was called. Something was calling me. And she wanted me to follow my creative path. She just didn't wanna worry about my life, you know what I mean? And I could respect that. So I get it.

[Angie Martinez]

God bless. How lucky are you? How much has that informed you as a mom now? Like, what kind of mom are you? I don't even know you as Mom.

[Queen Latifah]

Who? I don't know that I know me as Mom.

[Angie Martinez]

What do you mean?

[Queen Latifah]

I just know.

[Angie Martinez]

You've been doing it for seven years now.

[Queen Latifah]

I know. I know. Well, the day he got here, I was like, I'm sorry to your mother. I'm so sorry. What was I thinking?

[Angie Martinez]

What?

[Queen Latifah]

Crazy. What? I'm sorry. Oh, my God.

[Angie Martinez]

Is that how you talk to her?

[Queen Latifah]

I was so mad at me. I do. I talk to her like she right here. Like, ma, I don't know what I was thinking. God bless you. How could you so. I love you so much. How could you even think to be so nice to me after pushing me out like that? You know, I'm like, I got stuck, too. Oh, my gosh. And she still loved me. You and mom, you know, it's just one of the most unselfish things you know, will ever do. And that's pretty much like. I don't talk very much about my personal life like that because I need that to keep for myself.

[Angie Martinez]

And it has served you.

[Queen Latifah]

It has. And that came from my mother, too. You know, my mother would tell me to keep, you know, keep your private seat, your private things private. And this house is. This is for you. This is your sanctuary. So everybody can't come in your house. You know, out there is out there, but here should be, like, a safe space for you to be who you are. Because I need to take Queen Latifah off sometimes and sit her at the door and let just la come in the door. Dana. Come in the door and just be whoever she is. Yeah, I'm just Mama, you know, Like, I'm bringing whatever I can to the table. You Know, whether it's. I'm fortunate, I grew up with a brother who comes up with all kinds of craziness. So I'm never shocked when my son comes up with some madness or has jokes or wants to do something wild that everybody is like. I'm like, yeah, okay, we're gonna do that. But here's how we're gonna do it. We're gonna do that safely, but we definitely jumping, but not from there, you know, so, you know, I. I'm funny.

[Angie Martinez]

We become our mothers, by the way.

[Queen Latifah]

I know.

[Angie Martinez]

We really do become our mothers.

[Queen Latifah]

Yeah.

[Angie Martinez]

The only thing I will say, and I know I also value your privacy, you know what I mean? And I respect you so much that I would never want to push anything about you. But I will say it has been really joyful for people who love you to see you just seem and be free. Like, that's really it. It's like I don't even want to know the details of all the intimacies of whatever, all the decision making. And I know you don't really want to share that, but. But you have been more open. You have been outside. You have been on carpets with your wife and you. And everybody knows you have a child.

[Queen Latifah]

And I've always been outside, to be honest with you. Yeah, you haven't really been.

[Angie Martinez]

It's not. It's not like.

[Queen Latifah]

It's not a lot of big secrets. You have to know me to know. And if you know, you know, and if you don't, you don't. It wasn't like something I felt. I've seen people, you know, some people are really good at navigating public life. Some people are really bad at it. And some of my peers, my friends, like, that fame thing hit them and their anonymity went away. And they were like. They couldn't really handle that, you know? Plus, we're teenagers and we gotta grow up still. We're still growing up, so that's really, really tough to grow up in front of the world. But I never felt. I also seen people invite the world into their house and then come to regret it. So I don't really feel the need to put my whole life in everybody else's hands. It's not like something that's a desire I have for you to know what's going on in my house every five minutes or what I ate or how I sleep or what I'm doing. That's not for you.

[Angie Martinez]

But you never felt trapped or like you felt like you had to hide anything, you know, what I'm saying because I had the brat on a. Judy, no question. Have you ever spent time with the brat and Judy?

[Queen Latifah]

I would like to spend some time with Brady.

[Angie Martinez]

You should absolutely spend time with them.

[Queen Latifah]

Especially now.

[Angie Martinez]

They are so funny. No, they are so funny. But the brat was explaining to me like, you know, there was a time and she couldn't do certain things and be certain ways, and that was just it. That was the law. And then she got to a point, she was like, look, I just want to. I don't give a.

[Queen Latifah]

You stop caring.

[Angie Martinez]

You stop caring. Now she's way more open with her stay till they got a reality show.

[Queen Latifah]

She's not like you.

[Angie Martinez]

She's. She's way more open. And that's her choices. Everybody's choices. But. But I'm just saying, like the feeling of feeling. I don't know, you just. Even the little bit that you share now, you seem happy and free about it. You don't seem pressed about it, but you also. I just wonder if there was another side of that, if you ever felt

[Queen Latifah]

definitely tight and stuff. Oh, no question, no question. I felt tight from jump. But what I felt was. And I still feel it. People think they know me and they don't. Like, I'm still not the box you think I'm in. Like, whatever you think, you're wrong nine times out of 10. And that is why I really can't justify all your thoughts. Dear public, God bless you. I cannot justify all your thoughts about me by either verifying or, you know, I don't need to clarify that because my life is much more rich than whatever you think. My life is way more colorful than all that, you know what I mean? I'm a Pisces, you know what I'm saying? A full blooded, free ranging Pisces over here. And I. I do what I feel, you know what I'm saying? So you may have to live your life like this and so you're trying to figure out, how does she live her life.

[Angie Martinez]

Yeah, they want to know.

[Queen Latifah]

They want to know. Oh, you can't even believe it. Whatever you thought, think bigger. You know what I mean? Go further. You ain't far enough. Yes, that's good. Now go further, you know what I'm saying? Like, if it's dangerous. No, it's more dangerous than that. Okay, if that's who she loved. No, no, no. Loved more than that, you know what I'm saying? Much more of that because it's actual real life. And again, I think it comes back to my family. And just being around. I mean, it's the reason I can be. I never felt uncomfortable being in a room with different races of people. I never felt uncomfortable being around people who had more money. You could be a millionaire. You could be a billionaire. It makes no difference to me. I'm gonna speak to you and treat you just like anyone else in the room. It came from my family and what they filled me with before I even stepped into the world at all. So people are people.

[Angie Martinez]

But you're comfortable in any room is what you mean, right? Like, you're comfortable in most. In good rooms. In any good room.

[Queen Latifah]

In most. And in some places. Listen, I'm not perfect. I've gotten burned by people, too, you know? But I just. I have to keep moving, and I have to get up. I got my heart broke. I still choose to love, you know, I've suffered unbelievable losses of family members. I still have to live because apparently, I have to live. I'm still here. I love music. I always will. It's my default. Music is like, my default with whatever I do. So if I were hosting this show, I would be playing some music to get me in a mood, to get me in a zone. If it's a scene in a film that I have to cry, I don't have to think of a sad thing anymore. I could put on a Clark Sisters record, and the harmonies are. Will make me want to cry, really. So I'll be right there. Call action. You know what I mean? And that's a gift, and I receive that. And the faith that I have has been my superpower in a lot of ways. Because you're right. Those who are not walking around with it, they don't have this invisible person to talk to like I do. That's your mom. Right? Okay. Whether it's my mom or one of my other relatives, Winky, you the big brother. You better watch out for me. I could curse at him a little bit.

[Angie Martinez]

You still talk to him that way? Yeah.

[Queen Latifah]

You supposed to be doing this. How come I have to do it? You the oldest.

[Angie Martinez]

Do you talk to him as Winky? That was a kid. Or do you have an evolved Winky?

[Queen Latifah]

I haven't evolved Winky too, because Winky as a kid still checked me as a little sister.

[Angie Martinez]

Got it? You know what I mean?

[Queen Latifah]

He still checked me on something. So if I catch myself cursing too much, I can hear him say, dude, come on. You cursing too much. And I'm like, dag, how can you make me feel bad from way over there? Then I laugh. And we laugh about it. You know, it's funny to me. So I like that I don't have those walls of between the realms like some people do. And I'm not trying to be all spacey, but I just. Having to confront life and death like that at such a young age. You know, from the time my grandfather passed away when I was seven, I felt like we went to back to back to back funerals. And so when you lose so many people that you love, you have to deal with the realities that this is a life. But for me, it doesn't end there. I can still feel the energy. I still get the messages and the guidance a little bit to go here, do this, do that. And I know it can't be me, because I don't even know that to know it. It might just be a feeling that I get. And so I just. I give it to God.

[Angie Martinez]

How are you managing? Let me care for how I ask this because I don't want to be too nosy.

[Queen Latifah]

I like your thoughtful process.

[Angie Martinez]

You like this? Look at me. Yeah, look at me over here with it. I'm talking to one of my ancestors. I'm talking about one of my ancestors up there. No. You know, I'm trying to think of how to ask this without being too nosy, but it's like, you know, you have. You have made a shift, a public shift.

[Queen Latifah]

Damn. Did I?

[Angie Martinez]

You did.

[Queen Latifah]

What'd I do?

[Angie Martinez]

Stop. You are a married woman with a child. You are.

[Queen Latifah]

You.

[Angie Martinez]

You do carpets with your wife. I met your wife at the Mary J. Blige concert, by the way. I think I met her briefly before, but I saw her there.

[Queen Latifah]

She was going off.

[Angie Martinez]

I told you. We were coming up to the pod. She was like, good, get her? No, she didn't say. Well, maybe she said something like that.

[Queen Latifah]

She said, good Lord, it was great.

[Angie Martinez]

But when you. You've let people in a little bit. I mean, you went on a stage the tiniest bit. So I'm not gonna go. I'm not gonna ask about details about none of the intimate home.

[Queen Latifah]

Thank you.

[Angie Martinez]

I won't. I promise I won't. But you did go on stage. You shout pride. You clearly are living in your truth and your family and your life. Why, Dana?

[Queen Latifah]

I can't do just regular as shit.

[Angie Martinez]

Stop it.

[Queen Latifah]

Gotta be looked at deeper. It was the damn Pride week in la. Would you. I'm sorry.

[Angie Martinez]

No, stop. Talk to me. You made a choice to do that. I did, yeah. So what. What about. Can you talk about that? Like that decision to Just make that choice in a woman who's had the career that you've had with the speculation for all those years and the decision to be so private, to make a decision to go, you know what? I'm gonna just say this and leave it right there. Like that's a decision. Like, so what makes you make that decision? And then what does that feel like? I guess is the question.

[Queen Latifah]

I was getting a lifetime achievement award, and I didn't want to leave out the people who were part of the lifetime.

[Angie Martinez]

Yeah, that makes sense.

[Queen Latifah]

Yeah, that's about it.

[Angie Martinez]

That was it.

[Queen Latifah]

That's it really. It's really that simple.

[Angie Martinez]

It was not more complicated than that.

[Queen Latifah]

It was so not more complicated than that. And it's funny because it's not always that deep.

[Angie Martinez]

Some people think that if you don't share, it means you're hiding something, versus I'm okay with just not sharing. I guess maybe that's the difference.

[Queen Latifah]

I mean. Or maybe it's a combination of both. You know, when I was growing up, you know, kind of hanging out, people just. Even in this business, people are just so fascinated about people's private lives. You know what I mean? Like, so fascinated by what you're doing with your private life. Why? Is it because you're curious? Is it because you're intrigued? Is it because you might, like, you be surprised?

[Angie Martinez]

I think also sometimes people want to know how you navigating.

[Queen Latifah]

Listen, because it's hard for others personally, how I'm navigating. But don't expect. Unless it's Angie, I may tell you how I navigate. I mind my business. It's okay to mind your business and handle your business. I do try to mind my business, though.

[Angie Martinez]

Do you really? Yes. Yes, I do.

[Queen Latifah]

You know what I mean? Because I realized that a lot of people also like talking about other people business. And they. When even before it was like all the pages and everything, when it was like, literally National Enquirer, people would bring those things to me or bring gossip to people near me or around me. And I was. I'm like, what is the point of this? Why are you telling me this? Like, what do you think you're doing by telling me that you read something about me somewhere, and then I gotta look at the person who's bringing me the message, like, what do you get out of it? Out of this? Like, do you care about me? You see I'm about to go do this and you come put this on me. How do you think I'm going to feel about that? You know what I mean, like, there's nothing positive that's going to come from me having this knowledge right now. So really, this is for you. This is not for me. So I told everybody around me, don't bring that shit to me. If you read it, you read it. Tell me later. I don't want to hear that shit. Keep it where you at, you know. And so some of it, and some of my ability to keep things to myself is me also respecting other people's privacy. I know a lot about a lot of different people, but it's not really my place for me to share their business necessarily, you know, because many of them, like myself, we're all growing up, you know what I mean? We're not perfect. And I make mistakes and other people make mistakes too. When I need to say something about something, I'm clear about it. You know, you step on my toe, I'm gonna let you know, I'm gonna say ouch. But every I don't have to say everything about everything like. And I don't need to say everything about my private life because it's my private life and I love the people that are in my life.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Amazon Health AI presents Painful

[Commercial Narrator]

why did I search the Internet for answers to

[Angie Martinez]

my cold sore problem? Now I'm stuck down a rabbit hole

[Commercial Narrator]

filled with images of alarmingly graphic source in various stages of ooze.

[Angie Martinez]

I can clear my search history, but

[Queen Latifah]

I can never unsee that.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Don't go down the rabbit hole. Amazon Health AI gets you the right care fast. Healthcare just got less pain points. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI, it all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. Work it screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S P500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advice Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures [e-mail] disclosures your pet is

[Commercial Narrator]

your bestie, your therapist, your perfect match. It's easy to love them. It's easy to protect them too, with pet insurance coverage from Pets Best because it's all fun and games until they chew on something they shouldn't and you get a venture vet bill to match. With perfect timing, Pets Best helps protect your furry friend and your budget from this imperfect world. Get up to 90% cash back on eligible vet bills from less than a dollar a day. Pets Best has plans to cover accidents, injuries and more, from puppies and kittens to seniors. Find your Perfect Match plan and get a [e-mail] Pet insurance products offered and administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company or any Independence American Insurance Company for terms and conditions, visit www.petsbest.com. policy products are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company, Independence American Insurance Company or Ms. Transverse Insurance Company and administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC. $1.00 a day premium based on 2024 average new policyholder data for accident and illness plans. Pets age 0 to 10 the next

[Queen Latifah]

30 seconds could save you hundreds on your car insurance. At the Hartford we're passionate about your protection. If you're 50 or over, AARP Auto

[Commercial Narrator]

Insurance from the Hartford gives you benefits that really matter and you could save

[Queen Latifah]

$597 when you switch. How's that? For a little peace of mind, visit trustheartford.com today the Hartford your protection is our passion.

[Commercial Narrator]

The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. Pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. AARP and its affiliates are not insurers. Savings vary.

[Queen Latifah]

You know, or maybe. Maybe I'm getting cheated on, or maybe I'm getting my heart broken. Or maybe I'm down in the dumps or maybe I'm drinking too much, like, and maybe I need to deal with me. So what do you want me to tell all y'? All that for what? Let me work on this. Let me go work on this. Let me work on me. And so maybe that's been part of it. Or I talk to the people I know who actually care about me. You know, I don't go to people who are strangers who don't necessarily have my best interests at heart. I talk to the people who actually care about me and try to navigate my life with them. And they also try to do the Same with me. And so we need to know we have this circle of protection, this circle of safety, of safe. Safe. I don't know what word I'm trying to use, but, I mean, even with you, there's things I would tell you because we've known each other a thousand years. I would feel more comfortable telling you than I would tell somebody else. Me, you can have a straight up, off the record conversation the moment we walk out this door and they're not here.

[Angie Martinez]

Well, thank you for assisting me and of course.

[Queen Latifah]

But, you know, I know parts of your life, it's none of their business. You know what I mean?

[Angie Martinez]

Parts of mine I also understand. And somebody who actually cares about you and respects you, like, I understand I was literally sitting in the room earlier thinking about, well, I want to ask about this, and I want to ask about this. And then I thought to myself, I think it's really beautiful the way she has navigated her life this long and just given people enough to like, stand on your business, stand on your work, stand on your integrity and how you. And how you carry yourself and that you could even have this moment now where you give them just a little and it's okay. And people are so happy to see it because you're ha. Because you are.

[Queen Latifah]

I don't.

[Angie Martinez]

You seem happy, like from the outside.

[Queen Latifah]

Happy all the time.

[Angie Martinez]

You seem happy. And I think, I think people are happy for you. I think, I think for the most part, I mean, you can't everybody listen. It's a sick world out there with a lot of people who are very unhappy. But I think most people who know you and have been raised with you and they see you, they're like, yeah, we love to see that. I mean, do you feel that?

[Queen Latifah]

I do feel that.

[Angie Martinez]

You know what I'm saying?

[Queen Latifah]

I do feel that. Even if I occasionally, when I get on, I see the comments that people have, and most of the time it's always very positive and I just stick with the positive stuff. And then somebody always goes left. And I'm like, okay, but even for you take.

[Angie Martinez]

Take you out of the equation. I think about people watching and in the spirit of, like, real life and learning the lessons of that, it's like you not sharing all of those things. I think lots of women making this mistake now because of social media and because of our need to overshare all the time, and that shit stays with you forever. And then you walking around with not only trying to figure out, like, how you said, am I drinking too much? Am I doing this and, like, that's the shit we all need to be working on. Yeah, but all of our stuff is outside because we're looking at other people's things. We're looking at the comments. We're looking at what we should be doing and what our skin should look like and what we should be wearing. It's like everything is external versus what we're managing inside.

[Queen Latifah]

Yeah, we lose a lot of our natural instincts, I think, you know, if we always are looking for validation or even justification or we're looking for someone else to tell us that we're right. I mean, there's a lot of gaslighting that can happen. I've just seen so much. And I've also, you know, I always. I just. I love smart women. I always have loved smart women. I always. I grew up around a lot of smart women. My freshman year of high school, I went to All Girls Catholic School in Irvington, New Jersey. I'm still on a group chat with my friends from high school, like, my crew. And they are so smart. You know what I mean? And they're mothers and got graduates, and they're going through ups and downs, but they just. I just appreciate. And they have such varied opinions, you know, they have such different opinions, but they all still have to walk their individual paths. And I respect that. You know what I mean? And I think that we need to be okay with walking our path and knowing that we'll come out on the other end of things. Like, if I can share some wisdom of my life to let you know that I fell in a hole so deep I couldn't find the bottom of it. And then I was like, help. And somehow I came up out of that, and I was out of it, and I just put one foot in front of the other then. And that helps you. Then I want you to know that. That I did go through that. You know what I mean? I want you to know that I've gone through hell and back. I have a reason to smile, you know? And whenever I get too much in my own head, I start praying. I pray, I pray it away. I start saying, hold up, wait a minute. I don't have this. I ain't got it. I don't got it. Listen, I need you to protect my son, protect my family, protect this house. I just go off. And then before you know it, I'm calm, I'm all right. Because then I remember I'm not in control of this. I didn't invent this whole thing. There's no way I could control it all, you know. And once I remember that I let go of the wheel a little bit, then I get back to just being me, doing my portion of it, you know, sharing my gifts, you know, saying the things that only Dana Owens will say. It's just. It's the truth, you know, it's the truth because there's so much right now I wish I could control in this world with what we're looking at. But I will do what I can, you know, I will do what I can and that's what I can do. And I can be content with that. It may not change everything, but you never know. And every little bit will change something. So I try to stay positive and keep a positive attitude because I just can't give in to negativity. Like I can't wake up every day like somebody gonna die. This gonna happen. Nah, I don't hear that shit, you know what I mean? Cause guess what? Somebody did die. That already happened. And it's gonna happen. And I don't wanna live in that space. I wanna live in a space that goes beyond that. Somebody's also gonna take their first steps today. Somebody is also gonna like swim for the first time, you know what I mean? And somebody's gonna save somebody in the swimming pool today. It's not just gonna be a drowning. Like you are telling those stories. Those stories get a lot of publicity. Tell good stories, you know, you'll see some. You'll find it. When you tell good. If you wanna find the good, you'll find the good. So I try to find the good because I need to keep my head above water. And the negative is not gonna do that for me.

[Angie Martinez]

I love that. Did you hear a good story today?

[Queen Latifah]

Let's see.

[Angie Martinez]

I mean this is a good story. You are a good story.

[Queen Latifah]

Angie Martinez came in my dressing room, sat on a giant pillow and levitated.

[Angie Martinez]

I didn't levitate.

[Queen Latifah]

She sat in a lotus position. The next thing you know, she floated. And I took a picture of it and I was like, you know what? I'mma look at this picture. When I need to get in a good mood. I'm going to look at you just sitting there and I'mma feel good about something. And I know that that picture's going to come in handy one day.

[Angie Martinez]

That might really be a simple key. Life really. It's like. Cuz right now people are struggling to navigate this. It is a stressful. Even myself, man, I struggling some days. Who I get scared to. I get scared of like I get. I get scared of Myself, almost, because I can't fix it. I want to fix things. I want to help. I want to say the right thing. I want to be. I want to inspire somebody. I want to. I want to challenge my, like, all. I want to do all these things, and there's so much going on in the world that. That it's. It's hard sometimes. And so for me, like you, I try to. Okay, hold up.

[Queen Latifah]

Yep.

[Angie Martinez]

Hold on. Calm. Calm your ass down.

[Queen Latifah]

There you go.

[Angie Martinez]

What can you control today?

[Queen Latifah]

Yeah.

[Angie Martinez]

What can you. What is. What is good today? What you got for me today? Yeah, how you gonna use me today?

[Queen Latifah]

Yep.

[Angie Martinez]

And let's just get through today.

[Queen Latifah]

How about that? You know what I mean? How about just the next 30 minutes? Maybe we going too far with this. Let's just, you know, right here, right here.

[Angie Martinez]

That just is making me think of one time I went to go see you. You were hosting a. You were doing a show, and I was introducing you, and I think it was your jazz album.

[Queen Latifah]

Oh, wow.

[Angie Martinez]

And it was here in la. The outdoor. What's that? Outdoor?

[Queen Latifah]

The Hollywood Bowl.

[Angie Martinez]

Hollywood Bowl. You were doing the Hollywood Bowl. I'm introducing you now. I am backstage. My hair is, like, not doing right. I didn't like what I was wearing, so I'm fidgeting. I'm this and that. And she's getting ready to go out to perform and sing in a way that you didn't really sing in front of people before. It's a new thing. I'm rattled because my hair. My outfit's not really hitting right. She's calm as a cucumber. And your demeanor is so calm. And I realize this, what you're experiencing and what you're expressing, you had it even then. Like, you have this kind of like, let me just. Let me just deal with this moment right here. Let me be who you don't like. You just. I remember looking at you like, she's mad, and this ain't all going right. There were things going wrong last minute. People were running in. Oh, the light didn't go off. Hey, I need you to redo this. Hey. And people get scattered. You were kind of like, okay, all right, well, let me get that. Like, you just. You had this demeanor about you that people could be throwing the damn kitchen sink at you, and you did not seem to be rattled. And I was so inspired by that. No, really, Like, I was inspired by it, because I think that's part of what it takes to be great is to be able to weather fucking noise and shit.

[Queen Latifah]

Yep.

[Angie Martinez]

And still operate at a high level.

[Queen Latifah]

Yeah.

[Angie Martinez]

You know what I'm saying?

[Queen Latifah]

I absolutely know what you're saying.

[Angie Martinez]

Yeah. And you do that really well.

[Queen Latifah]

I think I've seen a lot going on around me, and I have to grab onto the things that calm me. And I also seen people that I thought were. That I held in much higher esteem get nervous. And I'm like, I'm nervous about this. I just have a process to certain ways that I do things. Like, I remember actually playing the Hollywood bowl, and I think my life got off so early. I didn't have the history of all the places that we had gone and the things, the doors we had walked through and how people had been through some of these doors. And some of them were the first black people to even play some of these places I had played. But everybody was putting so much seriousness on it. And some people I really respect who are accomplished. And I said, mm, mm. I remember taking. I had a show at the bowl on a Sunday. I rode my motorcycle from my house to the Hollywood bowl on that Saturday. And luckily there was no show. They were on a break at the time. I was like, yo, I gotta perform here tomorrow. You mind if I, like, pull up for a second? And just so the guy let me in, I pulled up on stage.

[Angie Martinez]

He knows who you are, right?

[Queen Latifah]

He knows who I am. Kinda. You know what I mean? Kinda knows who I am. And I just walked out into the crowd. I walked out into the audience, and I just looked at the stage from, like, way up. I was like, I'mma body this tomorrow. I'mma kill this tomorrow.

[Angie Martinez]

Okay. Cleo, you going? Cleo.

[Queen Latifah]

And then I left. And then I left. And then the next day I was like, let's go. You know, Because I had to even take it in, like, okay, it's at least 5,000 people going to be right here. I gotta. I gotta get it. I gotta. I gotta do this. But that was my homework. It wasn't about being in rehearsal. It wasn't about being with the band. It wasn't about the perfect again again. It was about take this moment and just see where you are. Because tomorrow is gonna be filled with people. Imagine them sitting right here, looking at you there. How you gonna project what you gonna do to talk to this person with the seats up here? And this is the stuff that my mind goes on, you know? So I said, okay, I know what to do for you. And some of it is just relating to you back there in that seat rather than what's right in front of You. You know, and then some of it is relating to what's in front of you.

[Angie Martinez]

So good.

[Queen Latifah]

You know what I mean? But I was just so grateful because, like, again, some of the people in my band that do this in their sleep were like, we're playing a Hollywood ball. We're playing a ball. We're playing a ball. We're playing ball. I'm like, okay, if you nervous, should I be nervous? I'm not. I'm not about to. No, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not doing that. I've seen things in different ways. I've been on these roads too long.

[Angie Martinez]

I'm gonna show up with my crown.

[Queen Latifah]

Yeah, let me show up. Let me put my joint on. Tilt it a little. Yep, there we go. We got it. Now let's get out there and give the people what they want. And that was what we did. So I'm glad you got to make that observation, because that's probably why you saw me looking so calm.

[Angie Martinez]

Yeah. Wow. That's amazing. That's the backstory.

[Queen Latifah]

There's the backstory.

[Angie Martinez]

There's always a backstory. Yep. There's always a prep. There's always a. Like, there's always an internal process that everybody has to go through to make sure that your crown is sitting the way it's supposed to sit.

[Queen Latifah]

You do, and it's yours, and it's meant to be done your way.

[Angie Martinez]

And you ain't gonna find it in the comment section.

[Queen Latifah]

No. You need to just trust yourself sometimes. And that's the concern with looking outwards for everything. Like, if you're looking outwards to develop something on the inside, maybe, you know? But it all has to come from here. And when I look at the chats with my friends from high school, they're all developed in here. We done been through hell and back still going through it. Like, still can talk about everything that we are going through at our big ages, but there's just, like, a difference in the development on the inside, you know, that is no different than when we were freshmen in high school. Like, it was already happening then. So when I see people negate the youth voice, it's one of the things that irritates me most. When you don't listen to kids, when you don't listen to young people, it annoys me. It does, because they're not jaded yet. They're not cynical yet. They haven't learned enough about the world to be afraid of everything, you know? And they are. They have great ideas. They're willing to do things and so what do you do? You take your old ideas and you shove it down there, you know, noses and tell them who to be and how to be. And then you kind of. It's like you don't ruin that, you know. And I think my mother had a lot to do with that too. And my father just watching my mother pour a little bit of something on so many so called thugs. What, you mean businessmen? You mean doctors? You mean that lawyer? You mean that, that owner of that new company? You mean that music person? I watch them. I watch them come in the room like this and she say something and then they just like the whole posture changes. They come in with a smile. Hey, you know, how you doing, Ms. O? And I'm like, mm, aw. So sometimes you need to water the. You gotta water the flowers, you know, it's not including yourself. Including ourselves. Including ourselves. So what do. That's what I try to do. I try to pour some positive energy on myself when I'm feeling like I don't have it or I'm not feeling 100%, which is quite often, you know, I find something good to read. I find something funny to look at, or I draw.

[Angie Martinez]

You draw?

[Queen Latifah]

Yeah.

[Angie Martinez]

You nice?

[Queen Latifah]

I don't know if I'm nice, but I'm nice enough to just draw a square in perspective, you know?

[Angie Martinez]

Fat Joe is a very good friend of mine. He was my nature neighbor. So I go, and his wife is one of my best friends sometimes, right? So I'll come down in the morning and get some breakfast. And I go in there. He's in his office and he's. No, he's draw. He draws. He has these things of crack. It says crack. It's like 3,000, 3,000 cars. So I call them Picasso Joe. Picasso. He just be in there just drawing with his glasses. And I'm like, I love, I love that for you. I love that you're like a painter. He just. Just little gr. He draws art. Little graffiti. Gra.

[Queen Latifah]

Yes.

[Angie Martinez]

All over the place.

[Queen Latifah]

Yes.

[Angie Martinez]

Whatever it takes.

[Queen Latifah]

Whatever it takes.

[Angie Martinez]

Whatever it takes.

[Queen Latifah]

That's his piece. I want to learn how to play violin. Really? Anybody got one?

[Angie Martinez]

You could do it. It's not too late.

[Queen Latifah]

I know.

[Angie Martinez]

What was the last good thing you learned how to do? What was the last interesting thing you learned? What's the last new thing you learned how to do?

[Queen Latifah]

Damn.

[Angie Martinez]

It's something.

[Queen Latifah]

Trick question.

[Angie Martinez]

Well, be a mom, I guess. Still kind of being a mom is because that's. You're only seven years in.

[Queen Latifah]

Okay. I'm learning to Listen to you.

[Angie Martinez]

No. No new hobbies. No new. No new tricks. Something for a movie. Something for a. Something to do. I don't know.

[Queen Latifah]

Look, I'm looking through my life right now.

[Angie Martinez]

I. I learned how to golf.

[Queen Latifah]

Oh, we should go. I would. I'd love to have golfing with you.

[Angie Martinez]

Do you golf?

[Queen Latifah]

I hear that I could golf if I actually practice. No, I have. I played.

[Angie Martinez]

You tried it and you're okay?

[Queen Latifah]

Okay. Yeah.

[Angie Martinez]

Decent. You're friends with Jada, aren't you? She's a golfer. No.

[Queen Latifah]

So come on, let's go. Let's go golfing.

[Angie Martinez]

Light is a golfer.

[Queen Latifah]

I have to be her light. She can't beat me at everything.

[Angie Martinez]

Spinderella golfs. There's a world out here.

[Queen Latifah]

What are we doing?

[Angie Martinez]

I'm gonna take you. I'm. I'm gonna. I'm gonna go with you. I'm not the greatest golfer, but I love it. I'm obsessed. You can't. And I think there's a beauty in it.

[Queen Latifah]

Do you just like the clothes?

[Angie Martinez]

No, I don't give a shit about the clothes. I go out there and whatever. I don't care. I'm not.

[Queen Latifah]

No.

[Angie Martinez]

I like outfit, but I don't really care. Most days I'll be out there. I go out there by myself. I will do a whole 18 by myself in some gray sweatshirts and a little tank top, and I will golf 18 holes. And I find beauty in the grass. I find beauty in the quiet. I find. I find beauty in being in my own head and trying to figure something out quietly without any interruptions. There's no multitasking. It's just like. It's like my painting is the same thing. Anyway, I would love to take you. I'm going to take you. All right. We have a couple of segments. Okay. Before you go. We're not going to let you leave here.

[Queen Latifah]

No. Because I got to figure out what I learned. That's not.

[Angie Martinez]

You have not learned anything. Stop.

[Queen Latifah]

I know I've learned something.

[Angie Martinez]

You are the daughter of an educator.

[Queen Latifah]

I know. That's why I got to really be. She's going to be pissed if you

[Angie Martinez]

don't figure this out.

[Queen Latifah]

Need it.

[Angie Martinez]

First of all, real quick, because I have an in real life questions. First of all, the hall of Fame induction is really fucking cool.

[Queen Latifah]

I had nothing to do with it. And thank you.

[Angie Martinez]

What are you going to say in your speech? Do you know?

[Queen Latifah]

No idea.

[Angie Martinez]

Okay.

[Queen Latifah]

I'm going to practice my tears.

[Angie Martinez]

Are you going to cry? You're definitely going to cry. Does it make you emotional, these things or not anymore.

[Queen Latifah]

That might.

[Angie Martinez]

It might.

[Queen Latifah]

Everybody's excited about that one, so I

[Angie Martinez]

think it's really cool.

[Queen Latifah]

I think it is, too.

[Angie Martinez]

What does success look like to you right now?

[Queen Latifah]

You've done a lot, like, personal. What kind of success?

[Angie Martinez]

I don't know. Like, is there another level of success that you wish to attain? Is there anything that you're chasing or feel like you have to conquer still?

[Queen Latifah]

Always. Always. Even. Even, you know, just finishing things. Just finishing the things that I have started. Like I told you, I'm gonna play you a bunch of music. So much music that I just need to finish. I'd be happy to finish that, you know, I'm happy to finish just basic tasks. I want to be a better parent. You know what I mean? Like, this to me, I'm going, I want to be a better. I want to cook better, I want to design better. I mean, this. I'm a constant student. So whatever it is I'm interested in, I want to get better at it. You know, I want to read more, draw more, paint more. There's many things I want to learn how to fix my car.

[Angie Martinez]

You don't know how to fix your car?

[Queen Latifah]

No, but I want to be under the hood of everything.

[Angie Martinez]

You know, we think. You know what we think?

[Queen Latifah]

What?

[Angie Martinez]

We think that Cleo is inside of you. Like, that she has. She holds space inside of you. Cleo knows how to fix cars.

[Queen Latifah]

Cleo know how to do a few things. Don't you know how she know how to do a few things?

[Angie Martinez]

She's not inside of me.

[Queen Latifah]

I respect Cleo.

[Angie Martinez]

Is she not. Is that. Is that a myth that we have in our head?

[Queen Latifah]

No.

[Angie Martinez]

Like, is there any of her in you?

[Queen Latifah]

Yeah. Yeah, definitely.

[Angie Martinez]

I just saw clips because I've been. Was prepared. I was looking at a bunch of stuff and I was like, yo, no, no, you're so. And you're such a baby. Like, your skin looks so. You look like such a baby in that. I don't know. It just like, I was like, look at her. She looks so. I don't know. She looks like a baby and so good. You just, like, you wrapped your arms around that character in a way that was different.

[Queen Latifah]

I wanted to. That was the goal. I was like, y' all can't see because people don't see you as you. People don't always see what you can achieve, what you see for yourself. You know what I mean? And it's something I said to the graduates at North Carolina A and T. You have to to don't be afraid to drive down that road that the world doesn't see for you yet because you see it. You know, you see you have that vision, you have that imagination, you can see yourself like that. But the world may not be able to see you in that role yet. So now you gotta show em so that they in their small imagination can now see it in front of them. And so like there's so many things and so whatever I think of that I think I can do, I know I can do. I just need to put the work in to do it and make the time to do it. I need to figure that out.

[Angie Martinez]

But are pieces of you and all those Khadijah and Cleo definitely there are pieces of you, right?

[Queen Latifah]

Yeah, for sure. I mean Khadijah is me in so many ways because Yvette literally rode around in a car with me for weeks looking, studying my mannerisms and my ways and my lingo and, and writing for me, you know. Cleo is comprised of my aunt, some of my former classmates, like a few people that I actually know. I made her make sense by figuring out who she was because I know somebody, you know, in high school that was nice with the hands and was just knocking girls out for what? But that's one of the girls I found out lost her mother. So it was really like she didn't know what to do with those feelings and that anger. And so her friends who she loved and who loved her, all they had to do was point and she was gonna handle it. And I was like, that makes sense. Cleo is gonna go all out for her friends. She doesn't have parents. We'll never see Cleo's parents in that movie. These are her fa. This is her family. Her girls are her family. So she gonna go all out for them. It made sense. I had to make it make sense.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Amazon Health AI presents painful thoughts I

[Queen Latifah]

I can't stop scratching my downtown. Yeah, but I'm not itching to go downtown and tell a receptionist I'm here to talk about my downtown. Some things you'd rather type than say out loud.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

There's no question too embarrassing For Amazon Health AI chat your symptoms and get virtual virtual care 24. 7 Healthcare just got less painful. Support for the show comes from public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI, it all starts with your prompt from renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers. Growing growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S P500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comdisclosures the following

[Commercial Narrator]

ad is sponsored by Pets Best Insurance Services. You knew right away he's perfect. The one for you. Those puppy dog eyes, that cute little button nose. You don't even mind the drool. When you find your perfect match in a dog or cat, the love is unconditional. Your budget, on the other hand, has realistic limits. Help protect your heart and your wallet with pet insurance from Pets Best. With plans starting from less than a dollar a day, you can get up to 90% cash back on eligible vet bills. Pets Best makes it easy to pick a plan that works for you and your bank account. Find the perfect match for your perfect match@pet petsbest.com Pet insurance products offered and administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC or underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company or Independence American Insurance Company for terms and conditions, visit www.petsbest.com. policy products are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company, Independence American Insurance Company or Ms. Transverse Insurance Company and administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC. $1 a day premium based on 2024 average new policyholder data for accident and illness plans. Pets age 0 to 10 the next 30 seconds could save you hundreds on your car insurance.

[Queen Latifah]

At the Hartford, we're passionate about your protection. If you're 50 or over, AARP auto

[Commercial Narrator]

insurance from the Hartford gives you benefits that really matter and you could save

[Queen Latifah]

$597 when you switch. How's that? For a little peace of mind, visit trustheartford.com today the Hartford your protection is our passion.

[Commercial Narrator]

The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. Pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. AARP and its affiliates are not in Savings Ferry.

[Queen Latifah]

So good, so legend yeah, man. And we had premiere. We had an east coast premiere for that. I remember it was like the whole hip hop world was at that premiere. And I knew when that kiss came, it was. Everybody was like, oh, like the whole theater went crazy. The whole theater went nuts.

[Angie Martinez]

What did you feel like, though?

[Queen Latifah]

I felt crazy, but I was laughing because I went to see the movie eight times in the theaters. Because, listen, I was poor, shy, my mother. Everybody's like, okay, we gotta. This is here. This is gonna happen. I'm like, it's in the script. Sorry, it's in the script. It is what it is. It's not like I is missing. It's in the script. If I sign up to do this, I signed up to the script, so. But how else would you see me as an actor if I don't step outside of who you know me as, who I really. I have to stretch myself, you know, in order for. To even be considered for some other roles, I have to let you see me in a different way. So that is part of the thing.

[Angie Martinez]

Definitely part of your greatness, I'm sure. Acting greatness.

[Queen Latifah]

Greatness.

[Angie Martinez]

Boom.

[Queen Latifah]

Taking chances, Gotta take chances.

[Angie Martinez]

Hey, guys, you ever signed up for a phone plan thinking, wow, what a great price. And then a few months later, it's like, surprise, your bill is higher. We hate that. With Boost Mobile, you can pay $25 a month. Forever. That's unlimited talk, text and data starting at just $25 a month. There's no price hikes. There's no contract. And this is forever. Plus, Boost Mobile is now a legit nationwide 5G network. They invested billions building 5G towers across the country. So what you need to do is visit boostmobile.com or head to your local Boost store today and get unlimited talk, text and data for $25 a month. Forever. 5G speeds not available in all areas. After 30 gigabytes, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers will pay 25amonth as long as they remain active on the Boost Unlimited plan. We have a segment called Voice Note. It's our Boost Mobile voice note. Walden University. I don't know. They'll fix it later. So we have a second. It's called a voice note. It's usually a friend of the show, whatever. And so I ran into a friend, the mutual friend, and mentioned that you were coming on the show, and she just had a little note for you. So it's just a little quick voice note. And I thought she was perfect because I always hear stories, like I had said to you before about how you pour into people. And I remember a story about reading a story about you talking about how this woman had poured into you one time. So it's a quick little note, Voice note. But I'm gonna play it, and you

[Queen Latifah]

tell me, queen, queen, Queen. Thank you for so many things, and thank you for being my daughter. You know, when we did that show, Star, you're just such a wonderful person for so many reasons, so many things that you've done for me that you don't know. I know. And it's because you love me. And I love you, too, honey. Thank you. And happy Mother's Day. Oh, my God. Auntie Patty.

[Angie Martinez]

That was the legendary Patti LaBelle.

[Queen Latifah]

Patty, my chest, I feel it right here. A little weak.

[Angie Martinez]

What does that bring up for you?

[Queen Latifah]

Oh, my God. My whole life. She's been around my whole life. My whole life. If it wasn't for Patti LaBelle, you might not even know who I am at this point, because when I lost my brother at 22, people were walking up to me, like, sorry about your brother. Can I get an autograph? Like, one word. Oh, heard about your brother. Can I get all. Like, I was like, this business. People don't care about me. They don't care about how I feel. I was ready to, like, check out of this whole thing. And Patti LaBelle is one of the people who I talk to, who talk to me. She has lost sisters. She's been through it.

[Angie Martinez]

She lost four sisters, I guess. Yes. Yeah.

[Queen Latifah]

So her heavy D. A couple of people who have been through that were able to talk to me and, like, help reframe my thought, my thoughts at the time. And just what is the reframing? Just that I was gonna get through it, you know, it's tough just by understanding. Just, first of all, just by understanding that I'm feeling a pain that is unbelievable, you know, and there are no words for. But I pretty much started to get messages not to Just don't throw it all away. That I was gonna get through it. So don't throw it all away.

[Angie Martinez]

And she was one of those.

[Queen Latifah]

She was one of those. And she's been there, you know? She's been there, and we've. I mean, this is. My mother played her music in the house. They were mutual friends. She's from Philly, we from Jersey. Like, we're. There's. She's just been there my whole life, you know? And she loves you. I love her. I love her. And she a g. She rides motorcycles, too. Can cook.

[Angie Martinez]

No, not just can cook.

[Queen Latifah]

No, she can get down and Patty Pahas. Come on. She's.

[Angie Martinez]

She, she. I don't want to. I don't want to say it too soon, but she will be on an up and coming episode of the podcast.

[Queen Latifah]

I can't wait to see.

[Angie Martinez]

And I'm going to be honored to have her on. But she agreed to do the pod too, so we're going to have her on soon.

[Queen Latifah]

You have to have her on.

[Angie Martinez]

She sent that little voice note for you and I thought it was so dope. And I think it really speaks to like how you were talking about at the beginning of this interview. It's like full circle really, because you pour into people, they pour back into you. Patty is about to be 82 years old and she's still pouring in. She pouring into people. She pouring into you right now. I feel. You felt that? Just even that. Just a note of love, like just a. I see you. I love you.

[Queen Latifah]

Yep.

[Angie Martinez]

You know, like, but she said also that you poured into her and she said she don't know that I know. Do you know what she's talking about?

[Queen Latifah]

I don't know. Maybe something on star.

[Angie Martinez]

Did you get. Maybe you helped her get the role. I don't know. Something.

[Queen Latifah]

She said that I did anything for her. Yeah, Anything for her. And I'll make sure people treat her with respect. We gonna have a problem. You know what I mean? I love that. Seriously, like, this is like she is a national treasure, you know, so it's like we gotta take care of our queens and kings and treat them like such, you know, treat them as such and make sure they get the respect that they deserve. And you know, they changed the whole culture. So if she feels like she. I mean, I don't even know what to say. I'm so stuck over that. I was not expecting that.

[Angie Martinez]

You're not expecting Patty of what people?

[Queen Latifah]

I love her so much. I love her so much.

[Angie Martinez]

How could you not? She's such a good soul.

[Queen Latifah]

She is such a good soul. Her family, they keep her looking fly, like she looks so much flyer than it has to go around her.

[Angie Martinez]

Patty, to me, she's still on tour. She's got a full brand in Walmart, in Walmart, food brand. She's still relevant.

[Queen Latifah]

80s is on one. I can't wait to have my 80th birthday party.

[Angie Martinez]

Really?

[Queen Latifah]

Have you been to an 80th birthday party?

[Angie Martinez]

She had an amazing 80th.

[Queen Latifah]

These aliens are out of control. I'm telling you.

[Angie Martinez]

You have no fear about age or no issues with aging or any of that weird stuff. No.

[Queen Latifah]

And you know, a thousand people and if they there you rocking like it's, it's.

[Angie Martinez]

You can't wait.

[Queen Latifah]

I can't wait.

[Angie Martinez]

So 50 didn't hit you hard or

[Queen Latifah]

50, the whole world shut down. So I was like, yay, I'm home. Oh, it was Covid. I haven't been home in years. I was home for six months, like okay. With a newborn. I was like, okay, this is different. But. But it was for me, it was a break that I probably needed. The world had to stop because I was planning on having a 50 hour party. I was about to tear ish up. I had a plan world to teach you. But nah, I mean, no fears about

[Angie Martinez]

60 or 70 or.

[Queen Latifah]

I don't really look at time like that. You know what I mean? I just don't. I just know too many people older than me. I've always rolled with people older than me, at least four years older than me. And I've always had something to look forward to. And so to me, you know, my grandmother was like in her 80s and she was funny and spunky and laughing and enjoying life. And so not that she was without her challenges, but I wanted to be like her. I was like, this is how you live. You just keep living. You keep learning, you keep doing things. You know, maybe you don't do what you did in your 20s, but I don't want. I don't think I want to do everything I did in my 20s. 20s, hell no. Tore them 20s up, you know.

[Angie Martinez]

I know you did.

[Queen Latifah]

I do not want to go back to the 20s.

[Angie Martinez]

I know you did.

[Queen Latifah]

But if I don't leave the door open, I'm not, I'm not leaving it open for what I still have to learn, like you said.

[Angie Martinez]

Yeah.

[Queen Latifah]

And what I have to give because some of this, we gotta just pass it on, pass it along. And so, no, I'm gonna live as long as I can.

[Angie Martinez]

All right, we're gonna do our speed round of IRL questions in the. And we're gonna let you go because I know you have things to prepare for. I know that by the way, the AMAs are coming. Queen Latifah is our host for this year's American Music Awards.

[Queen Latifah]

What should I do?

[Angie Martinez]

You should do. Do you not have this planned already? You have this plan. You should just show up with that crown.

[Queen Latifah]

Yep. Bust the crown up left a little bit. Maybe I'll start straight even. Don't let that joint slink a little forward.

[Angie Martinez]

Like, this is fun for you at this Point. Right. Like, hosting the AMAs is like. Like, what is that? That's just you. Like, it's a music show. Yeah.

[Queen Latifah]

You know, I mean, how can it not be fun? I just want to see what everybody's gonna do. What you wearing? How you feeling? I just want everybody to have a great show. This one's for the people, you know, they get to vote for the winners. So I just want the audience to have a good time. I want it to look great on tv. I want it to look great in person. Oh, my God.

[Angie Martinez]

You're doing that. You're doing the Voice. You do like. You got a lot of shit coming up.

[Queen Latifah]

I do.

[Angie Martinez]

Okay. Irl, speed round, then you're bold, and then you're outta here. So you could go prepare for the Voice and for ama. On a scale of music on a hat. We can't because we have to clear it.

[Queen Latifah]

Then we don't gotta clear this, do we?

[Angie Martinez]

On a scale of 1 to 10, how happy are you today?

[Queen Latifah]

How happy am I today?

[Angie Martinez]

Yes.

[Queen Latifah]

10. Yay.

[Angie Martinez]

Do you run 10 normally? Do you run high normally?

[Queen Latifah]

Happy. What is happy? 10.

[Angie Martinez]

Okay, 10.

[Queen Latifah]

You gotta tell yourself first.

[Angie Martinez]

Guilty pleasure.

[Queen Latifah]

Guilty pleasure. I don't like the guilty part.

[Angie Martinez]

Okay. Pleasure.

[Queen Latifah]

Okay. Pleasure.

[Angie Martinez]

Biggest, greatest pleasure right now. What's giving you the greatest pleasure?

[Queen Latifah]

Ooh, those sweet smiles and laughs that I'm gonna get when I get home. Baby kisses.

[Angie Martinez]

I love that phrase.

[Queen Latifah]

Funny stuff.

[Angie Martinez]

What are you most proud of about yourself?

[Queen Latifah]

Most proud of. Wow. I think I'm most proud of all the people who I've helped through my career that would otherwise have been overlooked by using my power to empower other people. Pet peeves or triggers, people who are disrespectful to women.

[Angie Martinez]

Word.

[Queen Latifah]

Feel the weight of that. Okay. Stop the violence in hip hop. Why? Whoa, whoa. Yeah. Or children or old people or men. Basically everyone.

[Angie Martinez]

Don't be a bully and don't be an asshole. Basically.

[Queen Latifah]

I can't stand a bully. That's. Yeah. Don't put your bullying over Lisa. Can I get that on a T shirt?

[Angie Martinez]

Don't be a bully and don't be an asshole.

[Queen Latifah]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Angie Martinez]

It's good. There's a Hawaiian. What is it? Pono. I don't want to mess it up. There's like a Hawaiian term. When I went to Hawaii, they were like, pono. Is it keep it pono or keep it? Something like that. And I was like, what does that mean?

[Queen Latifah]

Guilty pleasure is a haka dance they do in New Zealand at traditional. It's like a Traditional dance chant that they do to celebrate things or if it's a wedding happening or somebody's coming home from somewhere. And everybody knows this, from the kids to the old people. And I'm telling you, I put that thing on, I got goosebumps right now. Hard day at work, running low on energy. I just put it on. And then somebody said, we gonna do it. We gonna dedicate a haaka to black people right now online. And I was like, let's go now. You have to watch.

[Angie Martinez]

That's your pleasure right now.

[Queen Latifah]

Yes, it's always.

[Angie Martinez]

It gives you joy.

[Queen Latifah]

It does. Pure joy.

[Angie Martinez]

What do you pray for most?

[Queen Latifah]

Oh, what do I pray for most? Forgiveness and family.

[Angie Martinez]

How often do you think about your legacy?

[Queen Latifah]

Not that often, really. I don't think about it that often when I'm reminded of it.

[Angie Martinez]

What do you want it to be or what do you want? Even if you walk out of a room, you leave here to. What do you want to leave people with? What do you want people to say about you or feel when you walk up?

[Queen Latifah]

I hope people feel like, you know, inspired in some sort of way. I hope they feel like there's something they could take from this conversation we've had and apply to their own lives in some sort of way, shape or form in a good way. And to give to other people, help other people. You never know when you're going to need some help yourself. So word that comes back around.

[Angie Martinez]

Hey, guys. Support for this podcast is brought to you by Walden University. Have you ever thought to yourself, what if I could go after what I actually want and I could really make a difference? Well, you are not alone. And this is exactly why I want to tell you about Walden University. For over 50 years, Walden has helped working adults like you get the W with the knowledge, the skills, and everything you need to build the future that you want. And you can make a difference where it matters most. If you've been waiting for the right moment, this is it. Head to waldenu. Edu and take that first step. Walden University set a course for change. Certified to operate by Shiv. One last question. In the bowl. You're gonna go in the bowl before we let you go home today. Can't wait to see you on the AMAs. Can't wait to see you on the Voice.

[Queen Latifah]

Put my hand in that bowl.

[Angie Martinez]

The bowl's a good bowl. Do you want me to pick it for you?

[Queen Latifah]

I swear, in that bowl. I don't need you to pick it for me. I want to. No.

[Angie Martinez]

All right. You'll pick your own.

[Queen Latifah]

You're sure?

[Angie Martinez]

Can we both pick one?

[Queen Latifah]

Yes, you pick one and you answer it.

[Angie Martinez]

Let me pick it. You did have, you know, what wasn't on. There was the Queen Latifah show at the be. You had a talk show. You could host this pod.

[Queen Latifah]

But I'm not. You're a better talk show host. So do keep doing this. I've been learning from you for many years.

[Angie Martinez]

What would you. What would you ask me as a talk show host?

[Queen Latifah]

When is one time when you thought you were gonna quit that you decided that you couldn't? Me? Yes. And what made you get up and keep going?

[Angie Martinez]

After my car accident, I was tired. I felt disconnected. I felt like I didn't wanna talk about the same shit I was talking about. I didn't.

[Queen Latifah]

I felt.

[Angie Martinez]

Felt. I just didn't feel useful in the way that I had been useful in the past. So if you're not useful in that way, then how do you. How do you show up? And then also, I was like. I was not well. My body was not good, right? You know, I was like struggling. So I was like, maybe I just. Maybe I'm done and maybe I should just. And then two. Number one, you know, you gotta pay. You gotta bills to pay, so you

[Queen Latifah]

still gotta figure out what work's gonna look like, right?

[Angie Martinez]

But then also. So I realized, God gives you those type of moments because you were a little stuck and you needed to be shaken up a little bit. Even though it feels harsh at the time, you're like, did it have to be this hard? You think, did it have to be like this? And they're like kind of, yeah, you gotta get hit. You up that. And then, you know, then it's uncomfortable. The transition into whatever the new version of you is about to be, right? And so. So yes, I had to go through that. And then once I got to the other side, I was like, wait, I do have some ideas. I do have some things I want to. And that's how the pod actually was launched. Because I wanted to have more meaningful conversations for somebody who's sitting home feeling that, right? To feel inspired by, like, when you get knocked down or you need to like you how you. That visual that you showed alone could literally pick somebody up today. You know what I'm saying? So that made me want to. Look how good you are. You asked me one question and I'm enjoying it.

[Queen Latifah]

Keep talking.

[Angie Martinez]

No, stop. You go in the bowl. Stop.

[Queen Latifah]

Look, I talk. Got to talk so much. She gave me the bowl.

[Angie Martinez]

You take the bowl.

[Queen Latifah]

She gave me the bowl.

[Angie Martinez]

Take the last question and then I have one in the bowl that's magic.

[Queen Latifah]

Did that.

[Angie Martinez]

What?

[Queen Latifah]

Got back up.

[Angie Martinez]

Thank you.

[Queen Latifah]

Seriously, you come with like such a different wisdom and a handle that is so, like so sure. It feels so sure. And maybe because I've been listening to you on the radio for many, many years, but it's just. And you've been in front of the mic, not just behind the mic. You know what I mean? You know what both sides are. And you're a parent, like, you got a lot to offer.

[Angie Martinez]

Thank you.

[Queen Latifah]

You know, everybody, you've been through a lot of things. So it's just like a certain handle that you have on this that to me just feels very relaxing to watch. Very easy to watch you talk to your guests. And I like the personal way you're able to do these interviews. I'd love to see you on a huge stage with a huge audience and lots of cameras.

[Angie Martinez]

Do you think there's a still place for that in the world?

[Queen Latifah]

But I don't think it would be any different than this. You know what I mean? It's the conversation that you're able to generate that's just. Is what everybody will be looking at anyway.

[Angie Martinez]

Thank you. I love you. Thank you.

[Queen Latifah]

Then you have a special room for Joe and his art. Art and me. Can I come in your room and do art?

[Angie Martinez]

Yes.

[Queen Latifah]

That's a good question. What is it? Tell me, if you had a chance to live forever, would you take it?

[Angie Martinez]

I think that's a great question for you.

[Queen Latifah]

That's a long ass time, right? What am I gonna do forever?

[Angie Martinez]

You did a lot of shit already.

[Queen Latifah]

Wait, do I gotta age in this forever or do I get to like stay right here?

[Angie Martinez]

So you have too many questions.

[Queen Latifah]

That's why I said I can't answer this question.

[Angie Martinez]

Can I ask you the question I like? I'm going to ask you the question I like from the bowl. I can't find it. I'm just going to read it to you. Ready? Well, this is my favorite one in

[Queen Latifah]

the bowl, so take it. A nice bowl. I'm going to.

[Angie Martinez]

Before you leave, first of all, I love you. Thank you for today.

[Queen Latifah]

I love you too, Ange.

[Angie Martinez]

You are a gift to us all. For real. We appreciate you.

[Queen Latifah]

It's mutual.

[Angie Martinez]

And I know you don't like people in your business. And you let me go in your business a little bit today.

[Queen Latifah]

No, we gonna cut all of that.

[Angie Martinez]

No, you better not.

[Queen Latifah]

So I hope you enjoyed everyone. Wife.

[Angie Martinez]

No.

[Queen Latifah]

First of all, So I don't know what she was talking about.

[Angie Martinez]

Don't. Don't get in trouble. Don't go home and get in trouble. Not.

[Queen Latifah]

AI. Not.

[Angie Martinez]

I was very gentle today. I didn't.

[Commercial Narrator]

I know.

[Angie Martinez]

I didn't violate in any way, did I? No, I didn't. Stop.

[Queen Latifah]

All right.

[Angie Martinez]

This is my favorite. I love this question for you. And I love this question in general. It's my favorite favorite.

[Queen Latifah]

If God were to text you right now, what would it say? Are you wearing your reading glasses?

[Angie Martinez]

Stop.

[Queen Latifah]

You know you wear reading glasses.

[Angie Martinez]

Put your reading glasses on.

[Queen Latifah]

Your reading glasses. That's the reason I invented reading glasses. Ooh. Oh. Was this here all that time?

[Angie Martinez]

It was, yeah.

[Queen Latifah]

Wow. Oh, wow. All the questions. Would you ask me that shit for real? You know I'm not answering that one.

[Angie Martinez]

What do you mean?

[Queen Latifah]

I'm just joking. First of all, she would say, I am a woman. I got too many jokes for this answer. By the way, who has the biggest sense of humor? Because God invented humor. So no worries.

[Angie Martinez]

So she gets it.

[Queen Latifah]

Oh, I gotta go. I got a child at home. That's what God just told me. Got it.

[Angie Martinez]

God.

[Queen Latifah]

Thanks.

[Angie Martinez]

Fine. That's right.

[Queen Latifah]

You got a child at home. You gotta go. I'm watching this child.

[Angie Martinez]

Okay, fine.

[Queen Latifah]

I got other people's channels to watch.

[Angie Martinez]

Okay, fine. We'll go.

[Queen Latifah]

I got other people's chads to watch.

[Angie Martinez]

Okay, fine. Fine.

[Queen Latifah]

That's what my guard had said. You want me to watch your child? How long. Do you know how expensive my time is?

[Angie Martinez]

There you go. No, you gotta go.

[Queen Latifah]

Thank you for letting me go.

[Angie Martinez]

That's what God said. That's it. That's yours.

[Queen Latifah]

Answer.

[Angie Martinez]

That's your answer.

[Queen Latifah]

God said, you're doing all right, kid. Pat on the back. Go home. Both of you girls did a great job.

[Angie Martinez]

We did. She did amazing. She's great, Latif, but in real life, she did great. She did great across the board. In life, on the pod, best all around.

[Queen Latifah]

Damn.

[Angie Martinez]

See what the. Amazing at the hall of Fame and all the voice.

[Queen Latifah]

All the things. Thank you.

[Angie Martinez]

I know we kept you.

[Queen Latifah]

This is Queen Latifah in real life.

[Angie Martinez]

Hey, guys, thanks for watching. Make sure you subscribe, like, comment and check out all of the other episodes we have on Andrew Martinez IRL podcast. Paramount plus is now the home of

[Queen Latifah]

all your BET favorites. What?

[Angie Martinez]

Yes. With all new episodes of Tyler Perry's Divorce System.

[Queen Latifah]

You've always liked a little drama, plus a whole new world of movies like Gladiator 2. Now I will control an Empire original series like the shy just make sure we protect each other and live sports like ufc. Welcome to the history books. New home, same family.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Your BET favorites are now on Paramount.

[Angie Martinez]

Subscribe now.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Here's the truth. You could literally be adored by everyone and then come home and still get completely ignored by your own Twitter cat. It's classic cat behavior, but new Shiba Premium Puree is a lickable treat that changes all that. They're protein rich, made with bone broth and have the smooth, creamy texture cats go crazy for, especially when it's hand fed. Yeah, it's more than a treat. It's a fast pass to favorite human status. So feed your cat Sheba and go from totally ignored to truly adored in just 12 days guaranteed or your money back. Learn more at Shiba.com Ryan Reynolds here

[Queen Latifah]

from Mint Mobile with a message for

[Angie Martinez]

everyone Paying Big Wireless Way too much.

[Amazon Health AI / Advertiser]

Please, for the love of everything good

[Angie Martinez]

in this world, stop with Mint. You can get Premium Wireless for just 15amonth. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying.

[Queen Latifah]

No judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway.

[Angie Martinez]

Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment

[Commercial Narrator]

of 45 for 3 month plan equivalent to 15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full [e-mail] this is Sophia Donner

[Angie Martinez]

from OK Storytime this summer. Find your next obsession on Prime Video and listen. We're not saying you need another obsession,

[Commercial Narrator]

but there could be a lot worse ones.

[Angie Martinez]

Steamy romance, addictive love stories, and the

[Commercial Narrator]

book to screen favorites you've already read

[Angie Martinez]

twice, so why not watch them a third time? Off campus. L the Love Hypothesis and more. Slow Burn Second Second Chances chemistry you can feel through the screen and it makes you wish you were actually in that movie. We've got binge worthy series can't miss movies perfect for when you're ignoring your own problems or procrastinating as one does. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. This is an Iheart podcast.

[Queen Latifah]

Guaranteed human.