Rapper-turned-superstar actress, Queen Latifah, has a lot to smile about for Christmas. For her it’s going to be The Perfect Holiday. Yes, that’s the name of the new movie that she both produced and narrates, and it opens in theaters Wednesday (December 12). But on top of that, her latest album, Trav’lin’ Light — where she sings — has been nominated for a Grammy. Despite all the success in both Hollywood and music, Latifah is planning a return to her roots — hip-hop.

But, like her past rap records, it won’t include the stereotypical topics of today’s rap records, she tells CNN in a recent interview. Some of the kids may not follow that, but maybe the older crowd will, she says. No one has had the opinions that I’ve had and made the music that I’ve made, Latifah said in regard to her rap career. I think there are a lot of thirtysomethings out there who just want good quality hip-hop.

According to the actress/rapper, her music has always craved its own path, which was never a result of following others, and she doesn’t plan to do that now. I’m of the generation of hip-hoppers that you’ve got to have the balls to do something different, she explained. You’ve got to have the courage to challenge the status quo. That’s what the fun of hip-hop is: It’s spoken. We are speaking over hot beats. We can talk about anything we want.

Instead, she plans to talk about relevant topics happening around the world — something she says artists shouldn’t be afraid to do. If we were a little more on our game then there would be a lot of records out right now about the election, about the war in Iraq, about AIDS in Africa and America, about poverty around the world, Queen Latifah said. We used to be able to talk about that and not be looked at as corny. Her trait of not following trends has worked in the past too.