Eve (rapper)

Eve Jihan Cooper (' Jeffers; born November 10, 1978) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actress. Her debut studio album, '' Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady'' (1999) peaked atop the ''Billboard'' 200 (making her the third female rapper to do so), received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and spawned the hit singles " What Ya Want" (featuring Nokio), " Love Is Blind", and " Gotta Man". That same year, she guest featured on the Roots' Grammy Award-winning single " You Got Me", as well as Missy Elliott's single " Hot Boyz", both of which peaked within the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Eve's second studio album, ''Scorpion'' (2001) was released to similar success. Its lead single, " Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (featuring Gwen Stefani) peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and won her the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, as well as an MTV Video Music Award. Her third album, '' Eve-Olution'' (2002) found continued success and yielded the single " Gangsta Lovin'" (featuring Alicia Keys), which likewise peaked at number two on the chart. It also spawned the Dr. Dre-produced single " Satisfaction", which, along with her 2007 single "Tambourine" (featuring Swizz Beatz) and guest performance on City High's 2001 single " Caramel", peaked within the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. She also guest featured on Gwen Stefani's Grammy Award-nominated 2004 single " Rich Girl", which received double platinum certification by the RIAA. After parting ways with Interscope Records, Eve released her fourth studio album, '' Lip Lock'' (2013) as her first independent project.

As an actress, she starred as Terri Jones in the comedy drama films ''Barbershop'', '' Barbershop 2: Back in Business'', and '' Barbershop: The Next Cut'', and played the lead role of Shelley Williams on the UPN television sitcom ''Eve''. Eve also had supporting roles in the drama film '' The Woodsman'' (2004), the comedy film '' The Cookout'' (2004) and the horror film ''Animal'' (2014). From 2017 to 2020, she co-hosted the CBS Daytime talk show '' The Talk'', where she was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards.

Early life

Eve Jihan Jeffers was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Julie Wilch, a publishing company supervisor and Jerry Jeffers, a chemical plant supervisor. Eve lived in West Philadelphia until age 13 when her family moved to the neighborhood of Germantown. She graduated from Martin Luther King High School in Philadelphia.

At the age of 18, she worked as a stripper until rapper Mase convinced her to quit. In 1999, Eve discussed stripping in an interview with ''Rolling Stone'', saying "that was a hustle, too; there's a song about it on my album, 'Heaven Only Knows.' But I don't regret it – I was eighteen and confused, going through personal problems. I did it for about a month, and I was glad I did it. It helped me find Eve, helped me get serious. It was depressing – a lot of those girls have three or four kids. I'd sit there and be like, 'Eve, you don't belong here, this is not your world.

Eve's first musical interest was singing. She sang in many choirs and even formed an all-female singing group (Dope Girl Posse or EDGP) with a manager. This group covered songs from En Vogue and Color Me Badd. The group's manager suggested that they should start rapping, and Eve stuck with it. After the group split up, Eve began working on a solo career under the name "Eve of Destruction".

Career

1998–2001: Beginnings, debut album and breakthrough

In 1998, Eve appeared on the ''Bulworth'' soundtrack as Eve of Destruction while signed to Dr. Dre's record label Aftermath Entertainment. She appeared on DMX's song "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" (Remix) from his album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' and The Roots' single " You Got Me" from the band's fourth album ''Things Fall Apart''. Eve also provided background vocals on The Roots' song "Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New" from ''Things Fall Apart'' and is credited as Eve of Destruction. Eve's first single, " What Y'all Want", featuring Nokio the N-Tity of Dru Hill, was released in June 1999. The song peaked at number 29 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and at number one on the Hot Rap Songs chart. "What Ya'll Want" was included on the compilation album '' Ryde or Die Vol. 1'' (1999).

Her debut album called '' Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady'' was released on September 14, 1999, by Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Interscope Records. It sold 213,000 copies in the first week. The album has sold over 2 million copies (according to SoundScan) and is certified Double Platinum. The album features singles such as " Gotta Man" and " Love Is Blind". "Love Is Blind" was written when she was 16 and based on her 17-year-old best friend's relationship with a 35-year-old abusive man by whom she became pregnant. All of the songs on the album were written by Eve herself.

Eve became the third female hip-hop artist to have her album peak at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, Lauryn Hill's debut album, '' The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'', being the first to top the chart in 1998 and Foxy Brown's second album, '' Chyna Doll'' achieving the feat earlier in 1999. In November 1999, Eve was featured on Missy Elliott's single " Hot Boyz (Remix)" along with Nas, Lil Mo, and Q-Tip. The remix broke the record for most weeks at number-one on the US R&B chart on the issue dated January 15, 2000; as well as spending 18 weeks at number one on the Hot Rap Singles from December 4, 1999, to March 25, 2000.

Eve does not like being referred to as a "Pop Princess". Her second studio album ''Scorpion'', was released on March 6, 2001. She appeared on the cover of ''Jet'' magazine, which referred to her as the " Queen of Rap". The album's first single, "Who's That Girl" peaked at number 47 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number six in the United Kingdom. It was also number 97 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. The second single, " Let Me Blow Ya Mind" with Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the US Mainstream Top 40 chart. It won a Grammy Award in 2002 for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, which was a brand new category at the time. The song was listed at number seven on the 2001 Pazz & Jop list, a survey of several hundred music critics conducted by Robert Christgau. A remix of "Love Is Blind" featuring singer Faith Evans also appeared on the album. In 2001, Eve won the BET Award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist. In November 2001, she appeared as a contestant on the game show ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'' and won $32,000 for her charity.

2002–2012: ''Eve-Olution,'' collaborations and acting roles

Eve's third album, '' Eve-Olution'', was released by Ruff Ryders Entertainment on August 27, 2002, and peaked at number six on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album's first single, " Gangsta Lovin'", with Alicia Keys, became her second consecutive number-two hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as her third consecutive top ten hit in the United Kingdom. The second single, " Satisfaction" was moderately successful in the United States, reaching number 27 and 22 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. ''Eve-Olution'' has sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. and was certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

In 2002, Eve appeared on the remixed version of Michael Jackson's "Butterflies". She appeared in the action film '' XXX'' (2002) and all three ''Barbershop'' films ('' Barbershop'','' Barbershop 2: Back in Business'', and'' Barbershop: The Next Cut''). In 2003, Eve starred as a fashion designer called Shelly Williams in the television sitcom, ''Eve''. The show followed two sets of male and female friends attempting to navigate relationships with the opposite sex. The show aired for three seasons on UPN from September 15, 2003, to May 11, 2006. Eve guest starred as Yvette Powell in an episode of NBC's crime drama television series ''Third Watch''. In 2004, she appeared in two films, '' The Woodsman'' and '' The Cookout.''

In 2005, she appeared on Gwen Stefani's song " Rich Girl", which peaked at number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in March. In the United States, "Rich Girl" was certified gold, and it received a nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 47th Grammy Awards. The same year, she appeared on the official remix of Amerie's number one U.S. R&B single, " 1 Thing". She also appeared on Keyshia Cole's single " Never" and Teairra Mari's official remix for " No Daddy". In 2007, Eve appeared on Kelly Rowland's single " Like This" which reached the top-ten in Ireland and the United Kingdom, the top-twenty in Australia and New Zealand, as well as number 30 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. In July 2007, Eve made a guest appearance on Maroon 5's second single " Wake Up Call" on Live ''45th at Night''. In late 2008, she performed "Set It On Fire", which became available on the '' Transporter 3 soundtrack''. In April 2009, Eve and Lil Jon appeared on the song " Patron Tequila", the debut single of girl group Paradiso Girls.

She played Ophelia Franklin in the British drama film '' Flashbacks of a Fool'' (2008). In 2009, she landed a role as Rosa Sparks in the comedy-drama film '' Whip It'', opposite Elliot Page and Drew Barrymore. It received generally positive reviews from critics but did not perform well financially, having made $16.6 million worldwide against its $15 million budget. Also in 2009, she portrayed La-La Buendia in an episode of CBS' crime drama series ''Numbers'' and appeared in two episodes of Fox's musical comedy-drama series ''Glee'', appearing as Grace Hitchens. She portrayed Latisha in the crime thriller film '' 4.3.2.1.'' (2010) alongside Emma Roberts and Tamsin Egerton. Eve hosted the 2010 MTV Africa Music Awards.

In March 2010, Eve was featured on the official remix of Ludacris' song " My Chick Bad".Ludacris