Grammy-winning singer Usher launched his first-ever Las Vegas residency show in July 2021. A year later, in July 2022, he moved it from Caesars Palace at The Coliseum to the Park MGM in the form of a new show, “My Way: The Vegas Residency” named after his 1997 breakout album My Way. Since then, fans have been flocking to the Park MGM to see the “OMG” singer perform his greatest hits. One of those admiring supporters was none other than Queen Latifah.
Latifah celebrated her birthday on March 18 at the Park MGM’s Dolby Live theater. When Usher got wind that the legendary hip hop pioneer was in the audience, he stopped the show to give Queen Latifah her flowers — literally. The “My Boo” singer went up into the crowd and personally presented the New Jersey-bred MC with a massive bouquet of red roses and a gift box as her hit single “U.N.I.T.Y.” played over the speakers. “Giving the queen her flowers,” he captioned the video posted to his Instagram Stories. Everyone in attendance was thrilled at the presence of such a special guest, cheering as the Confessions crooner gave her a hug before making his way back to the stage. See the touching moment below.
Throughout her career, Queen Latifah has established herself as much more than just a raptress. She’s a talented actor and business mogul as well with a Primetime Emmy Award to her name and a hit TV show currently in its third season, “The Equalizer.” She also serves as an executive producer on the CBS series. In the past, she had her own talk show and her beloved cosmetics line, CoverGirl Queen Collection.
Usher is the latest artist to honor the Queen for her contributions to music and culture. Over the years, women in hip hop like Lil’ Kim, Missy Elliott, and Megan Thee Stallion have cited Latifah as an influence and a trailblazer in the industry. Lizzo, a fellow Grammy Award winner, heaped praise on Latifah in a November 2022 interview with Nardwuar. Check it out below.
“Queen Latifah is like the first person that I saw in media that looked like me — I mean literally to the point people where people were like, ‘You look like Queen Latifah,’ when I was a kid,” the “About Damn Time” singer admitted. “It was very important to see someone like her be a mogul, rapper, singer, actress, TV host, clothing line, all of it. Look how beautiful she is.”