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| Nickname | Queen Pen |
|---|---|
| Full name | Lynise Walters |
| Date of birth | 09/24/72 |
| Country | African American |
| Genre | Hip Hop |
| Members | Teddy Riley |
| Years active | 1994-Present |
| Lynise Walters | |
| Spotify | Nefu Da Don |
| @queenpenbk |
Lynise Walters (born 1972), better known by her stage name Queen Pen, is an American rapper, singer, and novelist. She also has experience as a record producer, and has received a Soul Train nomination for Best New Artist. She has dealt with some controversy in relation to her use of lesbian themes—it being a taboo within hip-hop—in some of her music. Walters has written eight novels.
Career
Her music career launched after she became a protégé of Teddy Riley, a record producer and member of the R&B group Blackstreet in the mid-1990s. Although she was not listed on the song, she was a featured artist alongside Dr. Dre in Blackstreet's 1996 hit, "No Diggity". She signed to Riley's Lil' Man label, and released My Melody (1997), her solo debut album, produced by Riley.
Her first album produced the charted singles, "All My Love", "Man Behind the Music", and "Party Ain't a Party". Queen Pen earned a 1998 Soul Train nomination for Best New Artist. She also gained notice from her song "Girlfriend" featuring wikipedia.org/wiki/Meshell_Ndegeocello" title="Meshell Ndegeocello">Meshell Ndegeocello, where she explored same-sex affairs.
She took a three-year hiatus from rapping, and returned with Conversations with Queen (2001), her second album. She is now a novelist. Her sons Donlynn and Quintion Walters are also rappers who go by the stage names of Nefu Da Don and Q Nhannaz.
Personal life
After the release of the single, "Girlfriend", that contained themes that were taboo in the hip-hop community at the time, some media sources presumed Queen Pen to be gay or bisexual. During the song's release, Pen remained coy about her sexuality and would not disclose it unless it was going to be a "front page" story. She also added that if she told the press she was straight, she would be viewed as a liar; in turn, if she were to say she was gay, she would be viewed as someone trying to get publicity. In 2001, Pen officially disclosed to the press that she was neither gay nor bisexual.
Controversy
Feud with Foxy Brown
In 1998, a dispute between Foxy Brown and Queen Pen developed over Pen's controversial lesbian-themed single "Girlfriend." Brown, who took offense to the song's subject, spewed homophobic remarks at both Pen and former rival Queen Latifah via her diss track "10% Dis". In response, Pen reportedly confronted Brown while barefoot in the lobby of Nevada's Reno Hilton during the Impact Music Convention and tried to slap her and chase her down an elevator. The fight was broken up by producer Derek "DC" Clark and Brown's associates Noreaga and Cam'ron. Later, Queen Pen happened upon Foxy Brown again when Brown was accompanied by ex-lover Kurupt. Again, the conflict was subdued before any further physical contact occurred.
In late 1998, Brown released another diss track titled "Talk to Me", which contained more homophobic remarks directed at Pen and Queen Latifah. In 2001, Pen responded to the aforementioned diss track with her record "I Got Cha," in which Pen called Brown as a "bum bitch," and later made remarks about her being funny and fake "like a drag queen." Although Pen insisted the song was not about Brown, she responded in an MTV interview: "You make a record about me, I make a record about you. Sooner or later I'm going to have to punch you in your face." Shortly after the track's release, the feud began to die down, and by July 2006, both Pen and Brown reconciled during an attendance at Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit.
The Comeback Queen pen released an Ep titled "Testimony" in 2021
Novels
- Situations: A Book of Short Stories (2002)
- Blossom: A Novel (2007)
- Crossroads (2010; online)
- The Third Wheel (2018)
- The Baddest of Them All (2019)
- Should've Thought Twice (2020; with Queen T)
"Urban Fairytale" series
- Dust 2 Diamonds: An Urban Fairytale (2018)
- Lil Red Ryder: An Urban Fairytale (2019)
- Rebel & Her Beast: An Urban Fairytale (2019)
Discography
Albums
- My Melody (1997)
- Conversations with Queen (2001)
Singles
- "All My Love" (1997) – US Rhythmic Top 40 #14, US Hot Rap Singles #11, US Billboard Hot 100 #28, UK #11
- "Man Behind the Music" (1997) – Hot Rap Singles #7, Billboard Hot 100 #84, UK #38
- "Party Ain't a Party" (1998) – Rhythmic Top 40 #32, Billboard Hot 100 #74
- "It's True" (1998) – UK #24
- "I Got Cha" (2001)[16]
Sources: Wikipedia & Tony
