Host Queen Latifah Reflects on Her Career in Her American Music Awards 2026 Opening Monologue

Queen Latifah kicked off her 2026 American Music Awards hosting gig with an unforgettable monologue fit for royalty.

The rapper and actress, 56, opened the Monday, May 25, awards show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

“I gotta say, it feels so good to be back here hosting the AMAs after 31 years,” Latifah said as she addressed the crowd. “You believe that? Some of BTS wasn’t even born, that’s crazy. That Black don’t crack baby! And if you would have told me 31 years ago I’d be back on that stage, a stack of awards, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a career thats taken me from music to film, I probably would’ve looked at you and said, ‘Who you calling a trailblazer?’”

She also shared a message in honor of the country’s military vetereans, as the awards show fell on Memorial Day.

This is not Latifah’s first time helming the AMAs. She previously made her cohosting debut alongside Tom Jones and Lorrie Morgan during the January 1995 awards show.

“I am excited to return to the American Music Awards stage to host this year,” she said in an April press release. “It’s been an incredible year for music and there is no better place to celebrate than in Vegas.”

Dick Clark Productions CEO Jay Penske was equally excited about Latifah returning to her hosting role after 31 years.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Queen Latifah back as host of the American Music Awards,” Penske said at the time. “A true powerhouse and trailblazer, she brings a dynamic presence and deep connection to both fans and fellow artists, making her the perfect choice to lead a night of celebrating the biggest names and most defining moments in music.”

While Latifah has focused more on acting in recent years, she is also known for her influential hip-hop career. Nearly two decades after her most recent studio album, 2009’s Persona, she exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2025 that she is “finding my pen again.”

“We’re going to see what comes of that,” she teased of her potential return to music. “I’m pretty open. There’s rap artists that I would love to get down with. There’s also rock artists.”

Although Latifah acknowledged that “a lot of music is different” now than when she started out in the 1980s, she is willing to experiment with her sound.

“I want to do some house music. I’ve made house music since the first album,” she explained. “I definitely want to step into that space and have some more fun. I could do reggae. I mean, there’s so many things I feel like I can step into — and of course, more jazz.”

As for possible collaborations, Latifah shouted out several popular artists she hopes to work with at some point in the future.

“I love Doechii. I would do anything with Doechii,” she told Us. “She is dope. She sounds like she’s from my era. She drew from all the great rappers of my era, for sure, and she produces. She can do no wrong in my eyes.”

After joining Megan Thee Stallion during her 2025 Coachella set, Latifah noted, “We don’t have a record together so that could always be fun.”

Latifah is also eager to hit the studio with Missy Elliott again following their 2009 track, “Fast Car.”

“I would love to work with Missy again,” she shared. “[Missy and I] have a couple of records that we have never put out through the years. I have so much music that I haven’t put out that I need to put out. I already have half the collaborations that I would’ve wanted to do.”