A self-proclaimed “pit bull in a skirt,” Eve was one of the rougher commercially viable female MCs to emerge from the late 90s intent on rivaling hip hop divas like
Foxy Brown and ‘Lil Kim. 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 before turning to rap and forming a duo known as EDGP. Soon after she went solo under the name of “Eve of Destruction.” After a false start with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label, Eve met
DMX and joined the Ruff Ryders label. Ev
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e's debut album for the label-- Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders First Lady-- was 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’s follow-up album, Scorpion (2001) was an even bigger success, launching Eve into the pop stratosphere with a duet with No Doubt's
Gwen Stefani called "Let Me Blow Ya Mind." The song rocketed to number two and went on to win Eve a Grammy in the newly created category of Best Rap/Sung Collaboration; it also helped Scorpion go platinum.
Following her huge success in the record industry, Eve went about making a name for herself in the movies with big roles in such films as XXX and Barbershop. In the midst of this, she released her third studio album Eve-Olution (2002), which saw the singer returning to the soul songs of her youth. Like her previous albums, it too was a tremendous commercial success. 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. She crossed back into music in 2007, with the release of Here I Am under the guidance of
Timbaland and other top producers. Eve continues to alternate between singing and acting gigs, showing that true talent knows no bounds.
