When the sitcom Living Single debuted on Fox in 1993, it instantly became a cultural landmark, offering a fresh, funny, and sophisticated look at the lives of four Black professional women in Brooklyn. A key component of its immediate success was the theme song, “We Are Living Single,” a confident, unforgettable blend of hip-hop, R&B, and jazz. What few realized at the time was that the song existed solely because the show’s star, Queen Latifah, defied the production team by refusing to let them hire a professional singer, insisting on writing and performing the theme herself. As a successful, Grammy-winning rapper and musician with several major albums already under her belt, Queen Latifah (whose real name is Dana Owens) saw her work on the show as an opportunity to bridge her two careers. While her co-stars were focused solely on their acting roles, Latifah viewed the entire production as her artistic domain. When the show’s producers planned to commission a song from an outside source or hire another artist, Latifah stepped in and laid down the law. “Obviously I come from music, and this is my show, in my mind. I’m like, ‘I gotta do this theme song.’ These theme songs are, like, what resonate in your minds,” she later recounted. Her belief was that the show’s intro needed to be an authentic reflection of the vibrant, independent spirit she and the cast were portraying. Latifah’s self-made theme song went through a critical evolution that proved her artistic instincts were flawless. The show’s original working title was My Girls, and Latifah had written and recorded an earlier, “very soulful” theme to match that title. When the title was changed to Living Single, Latifah went back to the studio. She teamed up with rapper and producer Def Jef to rework the concept, crafting the now-iconic beat, and Latifah wrote the final rhymes, including the legendary opening line: “Check, check, check it out!” The final product, which combined Def Jef’s hip-hop beat with Latifah’s mix of rapping and melodic vocals, was the perfect soundtrack for the 1990s and became synonymous with the show’s lively energy. The theme song, which defined the show’s opening for its entire five-season run (1993–1998), became one of the most beloved and instantly recognizable sitcom theme songs of the decade. Queen Latifah’s insistence on taking creative control over the music—a unique power move for a sitcom actor—paid off handsomely, turning an intro meant for a hired gun into an undeniable piece of her own multi-faceted legacy.