I bought this album after listening to audio samples & I have to say that I was impressed! Released in 1998, I surprised that I did not heard about it sooner. The lines between Hip-Hop and R&B?Soul are very blurred to the point that on most tracks your cannot tell which is a R&B or Hip-Hop song. This album is perfect for the music listener that wants music of substance, intelligence, & meaning. This album will tantilize you with such tracks as the striking "Bananas (Who You Gonna Call?)" which is also the first single from the album. It is followed by "Court Is In Session" which her flow is excellent on. The music is very unusual for a hip-hip album. "No/Yes" is another superb track. Other highlights & favourites of mine are: "Parlay", "Paper", "What Ya Gonna Do", "It's Alright", "Brownsville", & "Life". The photographs are very unusual too, the type photography Grace Jones has on most of her albums.
Get this album if you don't already have it! You will not regret it!

"Order In The Court" is another Latifah Masterpiece. The album is a bit different than her past 3 rap albums.
A. She sings a lot more
B. There are a lot of samples From Cherelle, Isley Brothers, Sade, ETC.
My take on some tracks

1. It's Alright - A classic track, where QL Sings about feeling safe with her lover, written by Faith Evans, sampling the Alicia meyer's Classic "I want to thank you". Also, From The Nothing to Lose soundtrack. On the album Version, Lil' Mo replaces Evans' background vocals. While, either way it's a great song, Evans provided much better background vocals for the soundtrack. Should have kept it that way
2. let Her live [Featuring Next] (Japan/France Bonus Track) - A classic which samples "That Girl" By Stevie Wonder. A mistake removing the track from America. While a hot track, it's kind of conceited. Latifah raps about how hot she is, as Next's chorus, based on Wonder's lyrics go "That girl know that she so hot, that she can blow ya spot"
3. Life- A classic rap about Life's struggles over a sample of a looped portion of "You're not the man" By Sade - The Best Track on the album
4. Keep Your Head to the sky (Japan Bonus Track) - An inspirational rap over a sample of "Saturday Love" By Cherelle. A Mistake removing it from America because it's the second best track on the album.
5. No/Yes - A classic rap about whether or not to have sex over a sample of "passion Play" By The Sugarhill Gang
6. Turn you on - Pretty Much A hot rap remake of "I didn't mean to turn you on" By Cherelle. Also samples the song. Latifah's rap pretty much stay true to the meaning of Cherelle's original.
7. Bananas (Who you gonna call?) - Latifah's on fire and ready to fight! She's lyrically crushing her competition in this song.

While it's a 5 star album, it doesn't top 1993's Black Reign, her best rap release, in my opinion. A must own for Latifah fans.

Latifah released a single a few years back, I'm not sure what the name of the song was or the exact year it was released, I just remember the video and the phrase "elements that I'm among" being part of the chorus. If this sounds familiar to any of you die-hard Queen fans I would appreciate your input on how to get this song on cd. Thanks!

If it's order she wants, then it is order she'll have. This experimental release from Queen Latifah deals with matters ranging from God to money and power to sex. It's a more mature album showcasing Queen's singing ability which is something that might become more dominant in her career and shows her growth as an artist in general.

Everything about this album, from the photagraphy which is awesome, to the lyrics which bridge early 90's Hip Hop with the more recent, down to the production is very well done. This is not for your average shoot-em-up Hip Hop heads, but for those who understand that in order to grow as an artist, one must try new things to see how it fits.

The Rap tracks, of which there are few, are strong. Especially "Bananas (Who You Gonna Call?)" which is supported by one of the baddest beats I've ever heard. The R&B songs tend to get soulful which is something that I don't think she should have played with too much, but she gave an overall great performance on each. "Paper" samples the classic Marvin Gaye track "I heard It Through The Grapevine" and is expertly re-mixed by Wyclef Jean who lends his vocals sutbly throughout the track. The vocals on this track tend to be playful yet authoritative, letting you know sweetly that if you try to take her 'paper' that certain things will happen... we will not go into detail on that one. "It's Alright" is another of the standout tracks on the album on which Queen sings. A very melodic track kind of sunsual but very good to listen to.

Best tracks (to me) are:
1. Bananas (Who You Gonna Call?)(startling at first, but turns into a ground shattering track)
7. Parlay (a chilled out song, with laid back rhymes)
8. Paper (best track on the album, very addictive)
10. It's Alright (borders along the lines of slow jam and mid-tempo)
14. Life (a song about... life)

Basically, Queen Latifah stepped out of the box on this one. A highly commendable record.

I think this is an outstanding cd.I don't understand why it didn't get more air time on the radio. I love every song on the cd. All hail the Queen. Queen,if you happen read this,stop by if you are in the Maryland/DC area. Looking forward to your next cd. P.S. I have read your book too,and I enjoyed it.