All hail the queen! Wednesday (March 18) marked Queen Latifah’s 50th birthday, and her friends and fans took to social media to share heartwarming birthday wishes. The New Jersey emcee stepped into the music scene as a formidable rap force back in the late 1980s and has developed a career that has spanned all aspects of the entertainment industry. Her 1989 debut album All Hail the Queen gave us the feminist anthem “Ladies First” while her third project, Black Reign, had women worldwide yelling “Who you callin’ a b*tch?!” as they sang along to  “U.N.I.T.Y.”

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Queen Latifah operates a production company (Flavor Unit), has starred in multiple television shows (Living Single, The Queen Latifah Show, Single Ladies, Star), has been featured in various films (Set It Off, Hairspray, The Secret Life of Bees, Joyful Noise, Chicago, Just Wright, Girls Trip, Brown Sugar, Beauty Shop, Last Holiday) and can rap and sing the house down. Many of her famous friends showed her love on her 50th birthday, so we join in to salute and celebrate Queen Latifah, a rap icon. 

“Happy Birthday to the Queen!!! @queenlatifah has inspired me more than any other woman in the entertainment business,” Kandi Burruss wrote on Instagram. “She really has done it all & done it well! Everybody give @queenlatifah some bday love! ????.” Others like LL Cool J, Tiffany Haddish, Naughty By Nature, Monie Love, Lee Daniels, Kelly Rowland, and Jude Demorest gave her a shout out, including Common who penned an entire poem. Check a few of them out below.