![]() ![]() As she began work on her third album, Latifah went to producers who had a grittier sound. On Nature Of A Sista, Latifah hadn't worked very much with her former musical mentor, Mark "The 45 King." He'd been the guiding light for the Flavor Unit in the early days, but his drug abuse and indifference led to Latifah moving on to work with Soulpower Productions, known for more club-friendly sounds. She wasn't just making records anymore she was now making moves. Since 1991, what had begun as simply a Hip-Hop crew had evolved into a full-fledged management and entertainment company. She'd made the move from Tommy Boy to Motown Records, giving her career a fresh start at the iconic label and she'd also revamped Flavor Unit as a brand. And on the music front, change was on the horizon. A sitcom about four friends living together in New York City, Living Single was new territory for the fledgling actress, but she'd agreed to join the cast which also included TV veterans Kim Fields ( The Facts Of Life), Kim Coles ( In Living Color) and Erika Alexander ( The Cosby Show).īut Latifah was still very focused on her day job of being one of the most prolific women in Hip-Hop. On top of grieving the loss of her brother, Latifah had been offered a new TV show. Things were pulling her in a myriad of directions. Of course, record sales and reviews were the furthest thing from her mind, as she looked to pick up the pieces after the death of her beloved Winki. Sista had featured Latifah pushing into R&B and house music territory sounds that she'd dabbled in on her first album, but now critics were saying that she'd made a watered-down, crossover-focused project. Salt-N-Pepa was enjoying platinum sales, but no solo female artist in Hip-Hop had ever seen a gold-selling album. Her 1991 album Nature Of A Sista hadn't been as successful as her debut All Hail the Queen, and even that album had failed to land Latifah a gold certification. “After my brother passed away, that ruined my world. “I was supposed to be with him that day on the motorcycle, but one of my friends had to move, so we were moving all day,” she explained to Angie Martinez in 2019. Born Dana Owens, she and her brother Lance (aka "Winki") loved riding, and his death shook her to the core. Her brother Lance Owens, a policeman in East Orange, N.J., was killed in an off-duty accident when his motorcycle collided with a car while he was making a turn. ![]()
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