Rapstress Eve Jihan Jeffers grew up singing in Philadelphia and began
rapping in a local female group using the moniker Eve of Destruction
before going solo. Growing up in the tempting town found Eve on the
dark side in her teenage years.
“I was a goddamn delinquent,” a reflective Eve explains, “I didn’t
even think I was going to graduate from high school.” Eve soon found
herself dancing for extra money, which left her depressed and her
dreams deferred.
It was an encounter with Harlem rapper Mase who encouraged Eve to
abandon the strip club for the microphone. A few years later, a few
friends set up a meeting for Eve with the infamous Dr. Dre who was
impressed by Eve’s freestyle and would fly her out to Los Angeles to
record her demo. After 8 months of her project being shelved, a
chance meeting with DMX found Eve battling the other Ruff Ryders for
her spot in the game. Holding her own, the CEOS of Ruff Ryders, Dee
and Wah were convinced and decided to bring Eve on board as the First
lady dubbing her a ‘Pitbull in a skirt.’
In 1998, Eve was introduced to the world on Clue’s ‘Professional‘
album, and the Ruff Ryders Compilations, but it was her debut album,
‘Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders’ First Lady‘ that broke records as the
first female rap artist to enter the Billboard 200 at number one.
Eve’s single’s, ‘Gotta Man‘, and ‘What Ya’ll Want‘ displayed Eve’s
tomboy raps combined with a feminine touch. The lady’s loved Eve
because she wasn’t afraid and spoke for many of them through her
songs. But it was the hard-hitting ‘Love is Blind‘ addressing
domestic abuse that proved Eve was a lyricist with a mission.
Her 2nd platinum album Scorpion spawned the hit ‘Who’s That Girl’ and
the surprise collaboration with Gwen Stefani over a classic Dre beat, ‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind‘
became a huge pop success and garnered Eve a Grammy Award. Eve’s 3rd
release Eve-Olution went gold and revealed a softer-side of Eve
alongside Alicia Keys for the smash ‘Gangsta Lovin.’ Eve featured on
tons of radio songs and became the go-to-girl for features and
collaborations. She won many other prestigious awards and seemed to
be everywhere at once. Eve went from the fearless Philly-fighter to a
fashion trendsetter, and soon she was in all of the high end magazines
and designed her own clothing line, Fetish.
Eve went on hiatus from hip hop in 2003 and decided to showcase her
acting abilities in the movie Barber Shop. Eve’s acting talents were
well received and she went on to appear in a slew of films including
Charlie’s Angels, Third Watch, The Woodsman and many television series
including Glee and even starred in her own sitcom, Eve, from
2003-2006.
Eve has been able to turn her life around since her delinquent days in
Philly. Her lyrics are uplifting and direct, teaching women everywhere
not to give up on their original plans. Eve Jeffries will always be
our pitbull in a skirt and has showed us we can survive any situation
and blossom into the woman we want to be.
–Courtney Brown (@CourtneyBrown)
