U.N.I.T.Y.
"U.N.I.T.Y" is a Grammy Award-winning song by rapper/actress Queen Latifah's 1993 album, Black Reign. The single, released on January 6, 1994, spoke out against the disrespect of women in society, addressing issues of street harassment, domestic violence, and slurs against women in hip-hop culture.
Because of its message, many radio and TV stations would play the song without censoring the words "bitch" and "hoes", which appear often in the lyrics, particularly the chorus and the line "who you callin' a bitch?!" that ends each verse. The song samples "Message from the Inner City" by The Crusaders. The song was also featured on Living Single, Latifah's series which aired in the same year.
There is another version which gained airplay called, "U.N.I.T.Y. (Queen Ruff Neck Boot)", which has a similar beat to the album version, reducing most of the jazz sample replacing it with a hip-hop beat. It can found as a clean version on "20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Queen Latifah" & "Hip-Hop: Gold".
The song won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. It remains Latifah's biggest hit single in the USA to date, and her only one to reach the Top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Read more about U.N.I.T.Y.: Music Video, Chart Performance, Remix, In Other Media
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