From Register Staff

In one of only three West Coast appearances this summer, Grammy Award winner Queen Latifah performs tracks from her latest CD, “The Dana Owens Album” at the Napa Valley Opera House this summer. Following up her role in “Chicago,” one of hip-hop’s founding females performs jazz and pop standards, including a smoldering version of Al Green’s “Simply Beautiful.”

Tickets for the July 12 show are $93 and $98 and go on sale Wednesday.

The woman behind the moniker Queen Latifah is Dana Owens, who was born in New Jersey in 1970. Both her father and older brother were police officers. After a brief stint as a Burger King employee, she soon found herself making waves in the hip-hop music scene. After working as the human beat box with the rap group Ladies Fresh, she was just 18 when she broke through with a style that drew from jazz, reggae and soul traditions, from beats produced by D.J. Mark the 45 King. Her debut single, “Wrath of My Madness,” was released in 1988. A year later, her first album, “All Hail the Queen,” enjoyed favored reviews, “an old, wise head was evident on the top of her young shoulders.”

Queen Latifah emerged as one of the most significant artists in rap recording. In a recording media characterized by the belligerence of the gangster culture, she established herself as a pillar of female strength and developed a reputation as a role model for her generation.

She next released “Nature of a Sista” and “Black Reign,” which contained the hit single, “U.N.I.T.Y.,” for which she won a Grammy. Her fourth hip-hop album, “Order in the Court” was released in 1998.

Well-known for her role of Mama in “Chicago,” Queen Latifah has appeared in numerous movies and has starred in movie remakes of “Taxi,” “Last Holiday” and “Hairspray.” Currently, she is filming “The Perfect Christmas.”

Queen Latifah           

Napa Valley Opera House

Thursday, July 12, 8 p.m.

Tickets: $93, $98

Box Office: 226-7372, www.nvoh.org