That Time Mary J. Blige and Lauryn Hill Went on Queen Latifah’s Show

There's a new queen of daytime television. And it's her second go at the crown.

By Jamilah King Sep 17, 2013

Queen Latifah’s new talk show debuted Monday on CBS. It’s Latifah’s most recent run at daytime success; her first talk show made its run in 1999. This time things will be different, she says, because the show is her top priority. "The first time around [in 1999], it wasn’t my number-one passion, which then was to become a great actor and producer," Latifah told Glamour in an interview in which she also spoke about the injustice she felt after George Zimmerman was acquitted of Trayvon Martin’s murder. "Now I’ve accomplished a lot of goals; I’m ready to be stable and look at starting a family."

No word yet on how Latifah will tackle race on the show, but she’s certainly not shy about talking publicly about racism in America.

Latifah kicked off the new show with John Travolta and Willow Smith. A couple of other fun facts: her DJ is MC Lyte and Lenny Kravitz designed her set, which she’s nicknamed "Big Sexy." She says that her dream guests are the Obamas ("Their daughters are getting older now, hitting puberty; I’d want to ask what it was like having "the talk," she told Glamour). But since the Queen is, well, the Queen, it’s worth taking a look back at that first show nearly 15 years ago, and a pretty classic performance by Mary J. Blige and Lauryn Hill.