Queen Latifah Set for All-Star Sept. 'Dream Concert'

According to the Associated Press, Hairspray film star Queen Latifah will be among a score of headliners at an upcoming fundraising concert.

Joined by Garth Brooks, Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Carlos Santana, among others, Latifah will help raise money for a memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. that will be constructed along the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  The "Dream Concert" will take place at New York's Radio City Music Hall on September 18th.  Quincy Jones, Russell Simmons and Tommy Hilfiger will organize the event, which will feature Al Roker as a special guest presenter.

So far, $81 million out of the $100 million has been raised toward the completion of the King Memorial, which will be ready next year. "It is slated for a space on the Tidal Basin between the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials and will include a sculpture of King and 14 quotations from the slain civil rights leader," states the article.

Latifah currently stars as Motormouth Maybelle in the hit screen adaptation of Hairspray.  A bestselling music artist, she received an Oscar nomination for playing Matron "Mama" Morton in the film version of Chicago.  Other film credits include Stranger Than Fiction, the Ice Age films, Last Holiday, Beauty Shop, Taxi, Bringing Out the Dead, The Bone Collector and Sphere.  She also appeared on the TV series "Living Single."

Photo by Retna Ltd.