Queen Latifah’s Advice to Teyana Taylor: “Enjoy the moment”

Queen Latifah knows a thing or two about being Hollywood royalty. The acclaimed rapper/actress/singer/producer has found success in a variety of lanes, and she recently spoke about another multi-hyphenate currently enjoying a banner year: Teyana Taylor. In an interview with Billboard, Latifah shared some words of advice for the Oscar-nominated triple threat, on the heels of Taylor’s nominations at this year’s BET Awards. 

“I play her albums, like, religiously,” the Grammy winner revealed when asked about Taylor’s success. “Like, her music goes everywhere I go, and has for years. And everything she does, even if she’s opening up a nail salon in Harlem, she does everything with a certain style. She just did a collab with [Michael] Jordan, she gave me some sneakers, you know, we had the All-Star Game together, we were at a Thom Brown fashion show together.”

Latifah went on to say that she wants Taylor to bask in the moment, and really take in all that is happening to her without becoming cynical about the grind of it all. 

“I’ve been trying to support her, but, like, give her her space at the same time,” Latifah said. “Because being nominated for every single thing in the world on the planet is not easy, and she has done it with such an amazing style and flair, and making it her own, which she always does, that I’ve just gotten to enjoy watching it all happen for her. But she knows I’m here if she ever needs to talk. All I’ve told her to do is just enjoy the moment, because this is not something that happens very often, so make sure you stop to enjoy this. Make sure you stop to just enjoy this thing, and not let it just all be the grind of what it is when it all happens, because it can be. It’s quite a grind, but it’s also a grind that you not might not see very often. You [should] actually have a party at one of these parties you’re at, enjoy it.”

It was announced in April that Latifah is to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame this fall. She’s also set to host the 2026 American Music Awards, and she shared her thoughts on what it takes to successfully host an awards show. She previously hosted the Grammys, the NAACP Image Awards, the BET Awards and co-hosted the AMAs back in 1995. 

“I think you just have to be able to relate to an audience,” she says. “I know a lot of really huge stars who are pretty camera-shy. They can be still quite shy when it comes to relating to people, and definitely a room full of people. I think you have to be able to allow for a certain amount of spontaneity, because it’s live and you don’t know what might happen. So you sort of have to feel comfortable at the helm.”

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