![\"Queen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/QLNCAT2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nGREENSBORO, N.C. \u2014 Queen Latifah brought HBCU pride, humor and hard-earned wisdom to North Carolina A&T on Saturday, telling the Class of 2026 to believe in themselves before the world catches up.<\/p>\n
Standing before graduates in Greensboro, the entertainer, entrepreneur and hip-hop icon said she had only a few minutes to offer life advice. She used that time to center one major theme: faith that looks unreasonable to everybody else.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to have delusional amounts of faith to achieve what she achieved,\u201d Queen Latifah said, recalling a conversation about success. \u201cSo you have to be delusional beyond your wildest dreams, beyond faithful, beyond believing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Queen Latifah brings HBCU crowd a message of belief<\/p>\n
Queen Latifah tied that message to her own story.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was I delusional with faith? Well, it started off with me being 16 and calling myself Queen Latifah,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then at 18, to call my album All Hail the Queen. I mean, like from jump.\u201d<\/p>\n
She reminded North Carolina A&T graduates that her path did not begin with money, fame or certainty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis little girl from East Orange, New Jersey,\u201d she said, \u201chad to take two buses and two trains just to get into the city, sneaking my way into music clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she had \u201c$1.50\u201d to eat each day, often buying \u201ctwo 50-cent hot dogs and a drink.\u201d But even then, she carried herself like the person she planned to become.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a little bit of money I had, I was presenting myself the way I saw myself,\u201d she said, \u201cwith all the power, all the poise, all the presence and all the purpose of a young Black queen making hip-hop music.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then came the line that anchored the speech.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to believe in myself more than anyone else did in order to pull that off,\u201d Queen Latifah said. \u201cAnd so you have to believe in yourself more than anyone else does.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
North Carolina A&T graduates told to protect their purpose<\/p>\n
Queen Latifah also told graduates to be careful about who they bring into their future.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnow that you have to bring people along who believe with you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She recalled being told by an agent that she would \u201cnever be a movie star.\u201d That doubt did not stop her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you believe, we can step forward together,\u201d she said. \u201cBut if not, I got to leave you behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Queen Latifah said courage also means knowing when to say no. She remembered turning down a \u201cvery lucrative\u201d TV project because it did not feel right. That decision eventually cleared the way for Chicago, which earned her an Academy Award nomination.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t be [yourself] by saying yes to everybody, yes to everything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her closing message to North Carolina A&T was both personal and powerful.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe enough to call yourself something that the world hasn\u2019t called you yet,\u201d Queen Latifah said. \u201cBe brave enough to walk down that road that no one else can see.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, of course, she left the HBCU graduates with a royal charge.<\/p>\n
\u201cFind a way to find your crown,\u201d she said, \u201cand put it on and rock that thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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