Eve

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Eve Jihan Jeffers (born November 10, 1978),^[1] who performs under the mononym Eve, is an American recording artist and actress, and has sold millions of albums during her musical career. Her first three albums have so far reached 7 million copies sold world wide. In 2003, she became the star of her own TV show, Eve, which lasted for 3 seasons. The rapper/singer/actress has also achieved success in fashion as she started a clothing line titled "Fetish." She ranked number 48 on VH1's "50 Greatest Women Of The Video Era" show list.

Early life

Eve was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Oscar Bojangles, a publishing company supervisor, and Jerry Jeffers, a chemical plant supervisor.^[2] She adopted the name Gangsta in high school as part of an all-female group called EDGP (pronounced Egypt), and went solo as Eve of Destruction.

During her early years in Philadelphia, Eve's first musical interest was singing. She sang in many choirs and even made an all-female singing group (Dope Girl Posse or D.G.P.) with a manager. This group covered songs from En Vogue and Color Me Badd. After the group's manager saw the rap group ABC, they suggested that the group raps and Eve stuck with it. She then went on to form a rapping group. After the group split, Eve began working on a solo career under the name "Eve of Destruction." She spent the better part of her days perfecting her craft, much to the detriment of her education. She stopped attending class and barely graduated high school. After her mother remarried, Eve moved to New York and began working as a dancer in a Bronx strip club. It was as a stripper that Eve met rapper Mase. Mase encouraged her to stop disrobing and start rapping on a professional level. http://www.mahoganycafe.com/evejeffers

Eve is featured (along with Erykah Badu) on the song "You Got Me" by The Roots, from their 1999 album Things Fall Apart. She also provided background vocals on the song "Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New" from the same album. In the album's liner notes, she is referred to as Eve of Destruction.^[3]

Career

1998-1999: First Lady of Ruff Ryders

Eve first appeared on DJ Clue's The Professional, along with other Ruff Ryders' compilations. Her next single, "What Ya Want", featuring Nokio of Dru Hill, didn't do so well on the charts, so she collaborated with The Roots, Blackstreet and Janet Jackson, which further expanded her fan base. Her 1999 debut, Ruff Ryders' First Lady, was an unprecedented success, becoming the second hip-hop album by a woman to enter the Billboard 200 at number one (the first was by Brooklyn rapper, Foxy Brown).

2000-2001: Eve

The follow-up to Ruff Ryders' First Lady, Scorpion, was released in 2001. Its first single, "Who's That Girl" guaranteed the rapper first international success. The second single, "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (with Gwen Stefani of No Doubt) and produced by Dr. Dre co-written by Stevie J.), became a pop success, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and Eve eventually went platinum.

One of the record's strengths, cited in several reviews, was Eve's exploration of her singing voice in addition to her rapping skills. "I was a singer before I started rapping," Eve said in a Ruff Ryders press release, "so on this album I wanted my audience to hear more of my vocal skills".^[4]

2002-2004: Eve-Olution

Eve's third album, Eve-Olution, was released in summer 2002 (see 2002 in music) and peaked at number six on the Billboard 200. In the meantime, the album's first single, "Gangsta Lovin'", with Alicia Keys, became another number two hit. The second and final single, "Satisfaction", only saw moderate success again. Eve-Olution went gold and became Eve's worst-selling album to date. One high point for her during that year, was her recording the song entitled "All Grown Up" for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) personality Stephanie McMahon. Nonetheless, by the end of 2003, Eve was featured on Mary J. Blige's single, "Not Today" and had secured a deal with UPN for a self titled sitcom in which she starred as a budding fashion designer, though the series enjoyed only short lived success.

2006-2008: Guest singles

In 2005, the rapper appeared on Gwen Stefani's top ten hit "Rich Girl", which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in March. The same year, she appeared on the remix of Amerie's number one U.S. R&B hit, "1 Thing" the Hitch soundtrack. Eve also was featured in Keyshia Cole's song Never as on the Barbershop 2: Back in Business Soundtrack and The Way It Is along with the official remix for Teairra Mari's second single No Daddy.

In 2007, she appeared on Kelly Rowland's single "Like This". The Punk Cabaret band One On None covered Eve's 1999 song "Love Is Blind". In July 2007, Eve made a guest appearance on Maroon 5's second single Wake Up Call on Live @ 45th at Night, it is unknown if this will be an official remix or if it will even be recorded. In late 2008, she sung the song "Set It On Fire", which was featured on the credits for the movie Transporter 3 and is available on the Transporter 3 Soundtrack.

2009-present: Flirt

In an interview with the New York Post’s PopWatch blog, the West Philly MC blamed her disc’s repeated setbacks on her “whole music label situation” with Interscope, but said it should finally surface this spring or summer. Initially set to hit stores in 2007 under the title Here I Am, Eve said the LP has undergone many changes. “It won’t be called ‘Here I Am’ anymore,’ she said. “Now it’s called ‘Flirt.’” In addition Eve says the music will be a lot more positive then her original effort. “I had to get in there and put in some upbeat music that I wasn’t depressed about,” she said of the new tracks. “It’s fun, it’s sexy, it’s totally me. Imagine if ‘Tambourine’ had kids — that’s what the CD sounds like.” Despite the constant rescheduling and the new musical direction of the album, the former Ruff Ryder is confident that she won’t disappoint. “I am truly, truly sitting on some amazing music.”

Those rumored to be involved with the album are Timbaland, Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, Swizz Beatz and Scott Storch. Slated to make guest appearances are Adam Levine, Sean Paul, Swizz Beatz, Shakira, and possibly Gwen Stefani.^[5]

The first single "Tambourine" from Here I Am was released in April 2007. The second single was "Give It to You" featuring Sean Paul, a reggae-influenced breezy mid-tempo song^[6] Eve has stated that the third single may be a song called "All Night Long". This song is an 80s-pop influenced song that Eve sings rather than raps.^[7] "All Night Long" was produced by Pharrell and finds Eve singing, something the rapper had previously been reluctant to undertake despite persuasion from her label. Eve has more recently featured in The Paradiso Girls debut single "Patron Tequila".

Acting career

Eve appeared in xXx with Vin Diesel, both Barbershop and Barbershop 2: Back in Business with Ice Cube, The Cookout with Queen Latifah and Meagan Good, and The Woodsman with Kevin Bacon in mid 2004. She voiced Major Jones in the video game XIII, as well as one of the villains of the short-lived Spiderman cartoon on MTV. She is currently appearing in the nostalgic drama Flashbacks of a Fool alongside current James Bond actor Daniel Craig.

In 2003, Eve starred in the UPN television sitcom, Eve, as a fashion designer named Shelly. The show lasted three seasons until it was cancelled May 2006. She was a guest star on an episode of Numb3rs in 2009. ^[8]

It has been announced that Eve has signed on for a guest-starring gig on Glee, TVGuide.com has confirmed. The rapper will play the coach of a competing glee club for one episode. She joins previously announced guest stars Kristin Chenoweth, Victor Garber and Josh Groban.^[9]

Discography

• Ruff Ryders' First Lady (1999)
• Scorpion (2001)
• Eve-Olution (2002)
• Flirt (2009)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

• BET Awards
  • 2001, Best Female Hip-Hop Artist (Winner)
• American Music Awards
  • 2003, Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist (Nominated)
• NAACP Image Awards
  • 2000, Outstanding New Artist (Winner)
• Black Reel Awards
  • 2005, Best Actress (Independent): The Woodsman (Nominated)

• Grammy Awards
  • 2003, Best Female Rap Solo Performance: "Satisfaction" (Nominated)
  • 2002, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" w/ Gwen Stefani (Winner)
  • 2002, Best Rap Album: Scorpion (Nominated)

• Image Awards
  • 2005, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series: "Eve" (Nominated)
  • 2004, Outstanding Music Duo or Group (with Mary J. Blige) (Nominated)
  • 2003, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Barbershop (Nominated)

• Lady of Soul Awards
  • 2001, Best Music Video: "Who's That Girl" (Nominated)
  • 2000, Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist: "Gotta Man" (Nominated)
  • 2000, Best R&B/Soul Female Solo Album of the Year: Let There Be Light (Nominated)
  • 2000, Best Music Video: "Love Is Blind" (Nominated)

• MTV Movie Awards
  • 2003, Best Female Breakthrough Performance: Barbershop (Nominated)

• MTV Video Music Awards
  • 2007, Best Choreography: "Tambourine" (Nominee)
  • 2001, Best Female Video: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" with Gwen Stefani (Winner)
  • 2001, Viewer's Choice: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" with Gwen Stefani (Nominated)
  • 2001, Best Hip-Hop Video: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" with Gwen Stefani (Nominated)
  • 2000, Best Rap Video: "Love Is Blind" (Nominated)

• MOBO Awards
  • 2001, Best Hip-Hop Act (Nominated)

• Soul Train Awards
  • 2000, Best New R&B/Soul or Rap Artist: "Gotta Man" (Nominated)
  • 2000, Best Music Video: "Hot Boyz" with Missy Elliott, Nas, & Lil' Mo (Nominated)

References

External links

• Official website
• Eve at the Internet Movie Database