Eve Biography — Hip Hop Scriptures

Eve Digital Biography

Eve was one of a new breed of tough, talented, commercially viable female MCs to hit the rap scene during the late ’90s. Though she could be sexy when she chose, she wasn’t as over the top as Lil’ Kim or Foxy Brown, and as part of the Ruff Ryders posse, her production was harder than Da Brat’s early work with Jermaine Dupri. In the end, Eve came off as her own person; a strong, no-nonsense street MC who could hold her own with most anyone on the mike, and was finding success on her own terms. She was born Eve Jihan Jeffers in Philadelphia on November 10, 1978, and started out as a singer in her early teens, performing with an all-female vocal quintet. She was also honing her skills as a rapper in impromptu battles with friends, and before she left high school, she formed a female rap duo called EDGP (pronounced “Egypt”), adopting the name Gangsta. EDGP performed at local talent shows and club gigs, often to the detriment of Eve’s dedication to school. When the group broke up, she went solo and changed her name to Eve of Destruction; she also moved to the Bronx in the wake of her mother’s remarriage, and worked for a time as a table dancer at a strip club. Unhappy with this direction, she decided to give rap another shot after being encouraged by Mase.

Through some of her friends, Eve scored a meeting with Dr. Dre in Los Angeles, and surprised him by turning it into an audition. Dre liked what he heard and signed her to a one-year deal with his new label, Aftermath. Eve recorded a few tracks, including one, “Eve of Destruction,” that ended up on the Bulworth soundtrack in 1998. However, Aftermath was searching for a direction at the time, and Eve wound up lost in the shuffle. Her contract expired without an album even in the works, but fortunately, she’d met DMX when the rising new star was in Los Angeles promoting his smash debut, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot. Eve passed a battle-rap audition to join DMX’s Ruff Ryders posse, and in 1999 she contributed to their label’s Ryde or Die, Vol. 1 compilation. Thanks to DMX’s star power, it entered the charts at number one, and Eve’s track, “What Ya Want,” was released as a single. It hit the R&B Top Ten, and Eve built more anticipation for her debut album with high-profile guest spots on the Roots’ “You Got Me” and the Blackstreet/Janet Jackson duet “Girlfriend/Boyfriend.”

Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryder’s First LadyEve’s first full-length was titled Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders First Lady and released in September 1999. With Ruff Ryders the biggest name in rap, the album was an instant smash; it entered the charts at number one — the first time a female rapper had ever accomplished that feat — and went on to sell over two-million copies. Eve also scored hits with the R&B Top Ten “Gotta Man” and the anti-domestic violence track “Love Is Blind,” and guested on Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott’s hit “Hot Boyz.” After touring in support of the record, Eve returned to the studio and delivered her follow-up, Scorpion, in early 2001. The album received strong reviews and topped the R&B charts, while debuting at number four on the pop side. Lead single “Who’s That Girl?” had some chart success, but it was the follow-up, a duet with No Doubt’s Gwen Stefani called “Let Me Blow Ya Mind,” that really broke Eve on the pop charts. The song rocketed to number two and went on to win a Grammy in the newly created category of Best Rap/Sung Collaboration; it also helped Scorpion go platinum.

Eve-OlutionEve next set about establishing a movie career; she made her box-office debut in the Vin Diesel action blockbuster XXX, which was released in the summer of 2002. Not long after, she was also seen in a prominent supporting role in the Ice Cube comedy Barbershop. Amid all this activity, Eve released her third album, Eve-Olution, in August 2002. It debuted in the Top Ten and found Eve returning to the soul singing of her youth on a surprising number of tracks. The single “Gangsta Lovin’,” which featured guest vocals from Alicia Keys, was a number two smash on both the pop and R&B charts, and the follow-up “Satisfaction” was nominated for a Grammy. In early 2003, Eve signed with the UPN network to produce and star in a multiracial sitcom about a fashion designer, and she continued acting in movies, with roles in Barbershop 2, The Cookout, and The Woodsman. A full return to music was attempted in 2007 with Here I Am, an album featuring productions from Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, and Pharrell, but after a couple singles were serviced to radio, the album was shelved by Eve’s label Interscope. A starring role in the film Whip It and a recurring character on the television show Glee kept her busy until 2013 when Lip Lock landed. The album featured guest shots from Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliot, and Juicy J, and was released by Eve’s label, From the Rib.

2013–2015: Lip Lock and label change

In November 2012, Eve released a series of weekly remixes on YouTube called EVEstlin’ Tuesdays, in which she added freestyle rap verses on 2012 hit singles, such as Rihanna’s “Diamonds” and Miguel’s “Adorn”.

The album’s first official single, “Make It Out This Town”, featuring Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship was released on February 23, 2013. In an interview with Rap-Up TV, Eve confirmed that the second official single would be “Eve” featuring Jamaican reggae artist Miss Kitty. The music video for the song was shot in London in February 2013 and premiered on BET on April 29, 2013. On May 14, 2013, Lip Lock was released under her own label From The Rib Music and distributed through Sony/RED. The album debuted at number 46 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album features collaborations with Juicy J, Dawn Richards, Claude Kelly, Pusha T, Chrisette Michele, Nacho, Gabe Saporta, Propaine, Missy Elliott, and Snoop Dogg. She appeared in the post-apocalyptic action comedy Bounty Killer and the horror thriller film Animal (2014). In 2014, Eve appeared in two episodes of the Oxygen reality television series Sisterhood of Hip Hop. She portrayed Amaya in Lifetime’s romantic comedy television film With This Ring (2015) alongside Jill Scott and Regina Hall.

2016–present: Television projects

In April 2016, it was announced that Eve would join Gwen Stefani on her This Is What the Truth Feels Like Tour. The tour began on July 12, 2016, in Mansfield, Massachusetts at the Xfinity Center and continued throughout North America before concluding on October 16, 2016, in Inglewood, California at The Forum. In 2016, she hosted VH1’s annual event Hip Hop Honors, which honors old school and golden age hip hop rappers and contributors for their long-term influence and importance in the history of hip hop culture. In 2017, she portrayed Cecile James in two episodes of VH1’s satirical comedy-drama television series Daytime Divas. On November 14, 2017, Eve became a co-host of the CBS Daytime talk show, The Talk, replacing Aisha Tyler. On May 7, 2018, Sheryl Underwood revealed that Eve is working on new music and will be performing a song from the album on The Talk at an undisclosed date. In 2018, she appeared in several television shows, including Jane the Virgin, Empire, Celebrity Family Feud, and Happy Together.

On July 12, 2019, Eve released her first single in six years titled “Reload”, featuring Jamaican dancehall artist Konshens. In November 2019, Eve and Gwen Stefani performed “Rich Girl” on NBC’s competition series The Voice. The special performance celebrated Stefani’s debut solo album’s 15th anniversary. Eve hosted the 47th annual Daytime Emmy Awards with Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Marie Osmond on June 26, 2020. She received a second Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host along with her The Talk co-stars in 2020. On the November 2, 2020, episode of The Talk, Eve announced that she would be leaving the show at the end of the year due to the impending lockdown restrictions preventing her from returning to the US, and plans to expand her current family.

On March 6, 2021, Eve released a 20th anniversary re-release of her album Scorpion with four new remixes.

On March 8, 2021, it was announced that Eve was to join the cast of American Broadcasting Company’s music series “Queens”, alongside Naturi Naughton and Brandy. In May 2021, it was announced the show was being picked up for a full series, followed by the first official trailer, released on May 18, 2021.

Other ventures

Eve has graced the covers of numerous magazines, including Essence, Teen People, Allure, Rolling Stone, Paper, Philadelphia Style, Giant, Blaze, Vibe, Inked, XXL, and Ebony. She has appeared in commercials and music videos throughout her career. She has appeared in television commercials for Clarica, Pepsi, and Sprite. Her print ads include Tommy Hilfiger and MAC Cosmetics’ Viva Glam campaign.

In 2003, she launched a clothing line titled Fetish which was targeted towards female consumers of an urban demographic. She ended her clothing line in 2009.

Personal life

Eve divides her time between London, Los Angeles and New York. She began dating Maximillion Cooper in 2010. The couple became engaged on December 25, 2013, and married on June 14, 2014, in Ibiza, Spain. Eve has four stepchildren, all from Cooper’s previous marriage to businessperson Julie Brangstrup.

Controversies

In 1999, a dispute between Eve and New York City-based rapper Foxy Brown, began to build up in the midst of Brown’s alleged affair with Eve’s former mentor DMX. Additional tensions surfaced when Eve “subliminally dissed” Foxy Brown and Lil’ Kim on her records “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” (2001) and “Double R What” (2002), where she criticized the two for having ghostwriters and further solidified that she, “writes [her] own songs”. In December 2002, Foxy Brown responded to the disses via her unreleased record “Get Off Me”, in which she compared Eve to a yorkie terrier, dubbed her a “jealous bum bitch” and criticized her Alicia Keys-assisted single “Gangsta Lovin’”. That same year, Brown reportedly disapproved of Eve and former friend Charli Baltimore’s “Philly’s Finest”, a remake of Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G.’s “Brooklyn’s Finest”, in which she felt the two Philly-bred female rappers were “disrespectful”. Brown also stated that when she and Lil’ Kim debuted on the music scene, “everybody all of a sudden wanted a female in their crew”, adding that Eve wasn’t doing that for DMX and Ruff Ryders, simply because it was “just not believable”.

In December 2002, during her interview with Miss Jones, Eve responded to Brown’s diss record (“Get Off Me”), stating that she was glad she could be “an inspiration” for Brown’s ghostwriter. Eve also revealed that she had known Brown since 1997 and dubbed her a “wankster” and a “miserable jealous bitch”. Eve lastly added, “Ain’t my fault [Foxy] been out since ’96 & her bank account look the same. Do you ma. You look weak. Do you.” In April 2003, during her interview with Wendy Williams, Foxy Brown revealed that she hated Eve and cited her as the prime reason why she broke up with Kurupt because Eve “snitched” about the alleged affair between her and DMX. Brown later made derogatory comments about Eve throughout the interview, calling the rapper a “poorly dressed nappy headed blond chick”. Brown also added that she was “sick and tired” of Eve subliminally dissing her and Lil’ Kim on records because she and Kim “changed the game of hip-hop for female rappers”. In September 2003, Eve dissed Brown on a record titled “We’re Back” from former mentor DMX’s album, Grand Champ.

In November 2017, on the show The Talk (which Eve co-hosts) when discussing if someone ruined a moment for them, Eve brought up Foxy Brown (although not by name) during the discussion. Eve describes an incident where Brown planned to sabotage her show at a club in Chicago during her time performing club rounds. The promoter calls Eve to tell her “one of her friends called and wants tickets to [her] show.” It turned out to be Foxy Brown, with whom Eve was not friends. Despite Eve’s pleas to the promoter to not give Brown a ticket (she admitted she knew something was going to happen if he did it), the promoter told Eve that he has to give Brown a ticket “because she’s bigger than you and I don’t want to mess up this relationship.” When Eve got ready for the show she believed Brown would not come to her performance, which Brown did. During her performance, Brown’s appearance in the balcony behind Eve prompted the crowd to scream Brown’s name rather than Eve’s. Eve admitted this made her want to cry, but she said “[But] the rapper in me and the Philly in me was like ‘Oh you want to battle me?’ You know, like on stage — and she didn’t want to battle me at all; she just wanted to mess up my show.” This discussion prompted her fellow co-hosts Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Sara Gilbert, and Sheryl Underwood as well as top talker Sean Valentine to find out who Eve was talking about. Eve said at the end of her discussion that she’s “much happier in [her] life than [Brown] is right now.”

(sources: allmusic.com, Wikipedia)

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