Oscar nominated rapper/actress Queen Latifah has been recruited to honor deceased actors and actresses during this year’s Academy Awards.
The entertainer will sing the standard “I’ll Be Seeing You” while movie clips and photographs of stars that have passed away in the last year are shown on a huge screen.
Latifah first attracted the attention of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences through her role as Matron “Mama” Morton in the Oscar-winning film adaptation of the hit musical Chicago.
The portrayal of Morton garnered the entertainer a best supporting actress nomination for her work in the 2003 feature.
As a result, Latifah joins Will Smith as the only rapper/actors to receive an Oscar nomination by the Academy.
Smith collected a nod for best actor for playing boxing legend Muhammad Ali in 2001’s Ali and his turn as homeless salesman turned stockbroker Chris Gardner in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happiness.
The Brad Pitt film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button leads all films for this year’s Oscar ceremony with 13 nominations, including Best Picture.
Pitt’s co-star, Taraji P. Henson, received a best supporting actress nod for her work as “Queenie”, a nursing home worker who discovers a baby who has the features of an old man on her doorstep.
She will square off against fellow first time Oscar nominee Viola Davis, who is being considered for her role as the mother of an abuse victim in the film Doubt.
Davis and Henson’s nomination mark the first time in several years that two African-American actresses have competed against each other in the same category.
History was made the first time when Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Avery were both nominated for best supporting actress for 1985’s The Color Purple.
The 81st annual Academy Awards will air live at 8 p.m. ET Feb. 22 on ABC.
