QUEEN LATIFAH Says `Talk Is Cheap Unless You Deliver'

Queen Latifah makes no qualms about her belief: "Talk is cheap unless you can deliver." And delivering is something the Queen has had no problems doing as a talk show host-or anything else for that matter.

Recently "Queen Latifah," her hot talk show, was picked up for a second season. In addition to the talk show, she continues to rap and act.

Yes, the Queen certainly stays hyped up and busy delivering it all. "I'm always tired, but when it's time to turn it on, I turn it on," she laughs to JET.

The 30-year-old performer, who describes her talk show persona as "a little bit young and crazy, but knows when to be serious about things," has kept her show so exciting that viewers are steadily tuning in each week.

"We try to bring a certain level of class and quality that I think all levels of people can relate to and respect. If they want to watch something trashy, they know where to go to get it. If they want something like really soft and kind of smooth, they know where to get that. But if they want some right in the middle, a something-for-everybody kind of thing, this is the place to be," points out Latifah.

Her guests have ranged from politicians Bill Bradley and Harold Ford Jr. to rappers DMX, Snoop Dogg, Foxy Brown and Eve to actors Whoopi Goldberg and Denzel Washington.

She has been recognized for showing the sensitive side of her celebrity guests, particularly the rappers, that has never been shown on TV before.

"I want people to understand that they are human beings and they were just normal people before they got in the business. Now that they are in this business, they have a certain amount of influence, and there is a way they can use that to get a message across," she explains. "For me these people are my peers. So they are just regular people to me with kind of an extraordinary job. I just kind of wanted to let the public see them as the normal people that they are."

Latifah's rap fans can expect to hear something from the Grammy Award-winning rapper "around November" when a new album hits record stores. The album hadn't been titled at JET press time, but she says she can't wait for her fans to hear it.

"The album is just tight. Missy [Elliott] hooked me up with two tracks. I did a duet with Mary [J. Blige] that is off the hook. I'm about to do things with [Lil'] Kim. You will definitely feel this album. It's going to give you some of the U.N.I.T.Y. vibe. It's kind of like the album Black Reign, but it's better and it's now. It's hot," she says enthusiastically.

And just because Latifah's won fame across the masses in television and film, she says that has no bearing on her keeping her rap music "natural and raw."

"You've got to separate my different personas. You might see me do things as an actress that you'll never see me do as a regular person or that you'll never see me do on the show. Or you might hear things in my music that you might not necessarily hear me say on the show ... I'm not a vulgar rapper, so it's not like you'll hear a bunch of cursing and stuff, but if I need to get my point across, I'll say whatever I need to say. I censor myself. I cut out what I don't think is necessary. The rest I've got to leave alone. I've got to let it be what it is and not homogenize."

Rap was her first love and for the most part, Latifah says, when she's on the mic, what you see is what you get.

"The rapper is me. You're gonna get me on this album. You'll probably get more of me on this album than you do on any other things. I kind of tone it down for television, but for my rap audience, I've got to deliver some different things to them. I allow myself more freedom when it comes to my music," maintains the performer.

As an actress she has won fame for performances in Set It Off, Sphere, Hoodlum, Living Out Loud and The Bone Collector. She says that while she enjoys acting, her schedule has left little room for her to do much of it this year. But she has managed to do something behind the scenes.

"I produced a movie with Sanaa Lathan called Finding Cassonova Brown. That should go this year," Latifah concedes. "That's the only thing I've got on the movie tip right now because everything else has been conflicting with my schedule."

One movie role she holds fondly was in The Bone Collector, which stars Denzel Washington. In it Latifah portrays Thelma, the private nurse to Washington's quadriplegic detective character, Lincoln Rhyme, in the thriller about a diabolical murderer who leaves cryptic messages at the scene of his brutal slayings.

She says aside from her acting coach, Washington gave her advice to sharpen her skills as an actress that she'll never forget. "He told me to be focused and not get caught up in what people are doing around me. He also taught me to be really thorough. That guy is really thorough," she says with great emphasis. Working so closely with the famed actor, who later appeared on "Queen Latifah," the versatile Latifah says that in addition to Washington's making an impression on her professionally, he also left an indelible impression personally.