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Eve Jihan Jeffers (born November 10, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), better known as Eve or E-V-E, is a Grammy-award winning American rapper, singer, and actress. She adopted the name Gangsta in high school as part of an all-female group called EDGP (pronounced Egypt), and eventually went solo as Eve of Destruction.

Career

Eve is an actress and rapper who has sold millions of albums during her musical career. Eve's first three albums have so far already reached over 4.8 Million copies sold in the U. S. alone. She has been awarded 1 Grammy Award over the years. In 2003 Eve became the star of her own TV show, Eve, which lasted for 3 seasons. Eve has also achieved success in fashion as she started a clothing line titled "Fetish." She also loves military guys.

Music

Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady

Eve's first musical interest was singing. During her early years, 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 a period of working as a stripper, Eve returned to hip-hop at the encouragement of rap superstar Ma$e; she recorded "Eve of Destruction", which appeared on the soundtrack to Bulworth in 1998 (see 1998 in music). Her label, Aftermath Records, found itself in financial trouble and Eve was soon without a record contract. She had, however, befriended DMX and appeared on a remix of his hit single "Ruff Ryders Anthem" from his multi platinum selling debut album, It's Dark and Hell is Hot, 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, Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady, was an unprecedented success, becoming the second hip-hop album by a woman to enter the Billboard 200 at #1 (the first was by Brooklyn rapper, Foxy Brown).

Scorpion

The follow-up, 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 hip-hop genius Dr. Dre, became a pop success, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and Scorpion 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."

Eve-Olution

Eve's third album, Eve-Olution, was released in summer 2002 (see 2002 in music) and peaked at #6 on Billboard. In the meantime, the album's first single, "Gangsta Lovin'", with Alicia Keys, became another #2 hit. The second and final single, "Satisfaction", only saw moderate success again. Eve-Olution was a flop and became Eve's worst selling album to date. Afterwards, Eve closed out 2003 by signing to UPN for a television show about a fashion designer titled, Eve, and a feature on Mary J. Blige's single, "Not Today".

In 2005, the rapper appeared on Gwen Stefani's top ten hit "Rich Girl", which peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March. The same year, she appeared on the remix of Amerie's #8 US Hot 100/#1 US R&B single from the Hitch Soundtrack, "1 Thing".

Here I Am

Currently, Eve is working on her fourth solo album Here I Am. Those rumored to be involved with the album are Timbaland, The Neptunes, Swizz Beatz and Scott Storch. Slated to make guest appearances are Adam Levine, Shakira, and possibly Gwen Stefani.

In 2007 she appeared on Kelly Rowland's single "Like This", while Punk Cabaret band, One On None, covered Eve's song "Love Is Blind".

In April 2007, Eve released her first single "Tambourine" from her new album Here I Am, which comes out August 7, 2007. The second single has been announced as Give It To You" featuring Sean Paul. This song is reggae-influenced breezy mid-tempo song. 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.

"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.

" made me sing a whole song. I finally got up the nerve I feel like I was bullied into it," she jokes. "But it's one of my favorite songs on the album. I was really stressed about it but it was fun to do. I consider myself somebody who can maybe hold a note on a good day. I sang hooks before, which is super easy, but I had to get out of my comfort zones."

Reggae artist Sizzla is also featured on a song and Eve is currently lining up another reggae cameo. "I listen to reggae all the time. It's always been my favorite music because of the melodies," she says. "I also listen to a lot of Brazilian music a little bit of rock, so I wanted to bring all those elements, along with hip-hop."

On July 8, a track called "I'm Caught Up" leaked onto the internet. The song sounds somewhat like how Eve described "Give It To You", a mid-tempo with a spanish beat. However, the leaked track contains no rapping by Sean Paul and is quite short. It also isn't reggae-style like it was said to be. It is suspected to be an album teaser.

Acting

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 also voiced Major Jones in the video game XIII. She also voiced one of the villains of the short-lived Spiderman cartoon on MTV.

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.

DUI arrest

On Thursday, April 26th, 2007 Eve was arrested due to suspicion of driving under the influence after she crashed her gold Maserati into a divider on Hollywood Boulevard. The crash happened at 2:45 a.m. and two other people were in the car at the time of the crash. Eve was visibly upset after getting out of the car. She was then transported to the Los Angeles County Correctional Facility and was held on $30,000 bail. She received a visit from actor Sean Penn while in jail and was let out later that morning. She was due back in court May 30, 2007. Eve has been told she must wear an alcohol-detecting ankle bracelet for 45 days after she pleaded no contest to drunk driving in a Los Angeles court. The singer/rapper must also attend 10 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, a three-month alcohol education programme and appear in court to verify that she is using the alcohol detection monitor.

Discography

Albums

• Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady (1999) #1 U.S. (1.8 million copies sold)
• Scorpion (2001) #4 U.S. (1.4 million copies sold)
• Eve-Olution (2002) #6 U.S. (630,000 copies sold)
• Here I Am (2007)

Singles

Guest appearances

Awards/Nominations

• American Music Awards
  • 2003, Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist (Nominated)
  • 2000, Favorite R&B/Hip-Hop New Artist (Nominated)

• BET Awards
  • 2003, Best Female Hip-Hop Artist (Nominated)
  • 2001, Best Female Hip-Hop Artist (Winner)

• BET Comedy Awards
  • 2005, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: "Eve" (Nominated)
  • 2004, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Box-Office Movie: Barbershop 2: Back in Business (Nominated)

• Black Reel Award
  • 2005, Best Actress Independent Film: The Woodsman (Nominated)

• Grammy Awards
  • 2006, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: "Rich Girl" w/ Gwen Stefani (Nominated)
  • 2003, Best Female Rap Solo Performance: "Satisfaction" (Nominated)
  • 2002, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: "Blow Ya Mind" w/ Gwen Stefani (Winner)
  • 2002, Best Rap Album: Scoprion (Nominated)

• Image Awards
  • 2005, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series: "Eve" (Nominated)
  • 2004, Outstanding Music Duo or Group shared w/ 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
  • 2001, Best Female Video: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (Winner)
  • 2001, Viewer's Choice: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (Nominated)
  • 2001, Best Hip-Hop Video: "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (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 New Artist: "Gotta Man" (Nominated)
  • 2000, Best Music Video: "Hot Boyz" (Nominated)

References

2. Eve Drafts Top Producers For 'Here I Am'

External links

• Official Site
• Official Site RSS Feed
• Eve at Geffen Records
• Eve Interview 2007

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• Eve at IMDb
• EveJeffers.com - A EVE FANSITE
• Eve at MySpace

• 1978 births
• Living people
• African American musicians
• African-American actors
• American rappers
• People from Philadelphia
• American television actors
• American film actors
• Female rappers
• Grammy Award winners
• Ruff Ryders artists
• Aftermath Entertainment artists
• Philadelphia rappers
• Pennsylvania musicians
• American Muslims