Eve is cooking up a comeback. Ruff Ryders’ First Lady was in the studio putting the finishing touches on a new record with Snoop Dogg and her frequent collaborator Swizz Beatz.
“I’m COMIN SOON! COUNTDOWN! MAMA IN THE KITCHEN @therealswizz @SnoopDogg,” tweeted Eve along with a clip of the song, which she first spoke about a year ago.
The Philly rapper is getting ready to drop a buzz single from her first album in nearly a decade. “I’m probably gonna throw out a couple records before the radio single,” she told The Women of Hip-Hop. “I wanted to make sure that my core audience didn’t feel like Eve completely forgot about us and went to another side. I feel like this record is well rounded. It has enough of the hard street stuff, it has some radio stuff, but it also has some stuff that people can listen to when they’re feeling down.”
Listen to a preview of “Mama in the Kitchen” below.
It’s been nearly a decade since Eve released her last album Eve-Olution, but she is slowly inching her way back to music with her upcoming album Lip Lock. In an interview with The Women of Hip-Hop, the rapper-actress revealed her plans to release a buzz single later this month, with more music to follow.
Plus, find out what she thinks of the new wave of female MCs including Azealia Banks and Iggy Azalea, which five femcees she would put on a record, and her thoughts on the rivalry between Lil’ Kim and Nicki Minaj.
Kelly Rowland glowed in an orange gown while catching up with her fellow Destiny’s Child diva Michelle Williams at the 3rd annual ESSENCE Black Women in Music event held during Grammy Week. The “Motivation” singer and music industry veteran Sylvia Rhone were honored as movers and shakers.
MC Lyte played DJ and Kelly hit the stage, performing her smash single “Motivation” and reuniting with Eve for their 2007 collaboration “Like This.” Kelly, who is nominated at this weekend’s Grammys, was presented with a platinum plaque by “Motivation” hitmaker Rico Love.
Other attendees included LeToya Luckett, Ne-Yo, Dawn Richard, Melody Thornton, and Melanie Amaro.
Eve touches down with jet-setting verses on newcomer Alex 242’s debut single “Let ‘Em Know.” The Bahamian singer stays fly over the bass-heavy ladies’ anthem produced by Dallas Austin, who signed her to his label Rowdy Entertainment/Interscope.
The island gal, born Alex Christie, explained how she got her name. “[242 is] my area code,” she said. “I’m proud of it and I grew up there… I want everyone to know I’m from the Bahamas.”
She cites Lady Gaga, M.I.A., and Gwen Stefani among her influences. “My album is fused heavily with island music, pop laced with dubstep, and a little urban flare,” she shared.
The ladies got glamorous for a good cause. Solange, Eve, Estelle, Kim Kardashian, and Shontelle helped raise awareness for cancer research by attending the star-studded Angel Ball benefitting Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City last night. Solange posed with her mother Tina Knowles, Eve rocked a red pantsuit with fur collar, and Estelle and Shontelle wore shades of green. The legendary Patti LaBelle provided the evening’s entertainment as Naomi Campbell and others were honored for their contributions to the fight against cancer.
Eve hopped over to Australia for a series of shows. During her tour of the country, the rap diva visited a wildlife sanctuary on the Gold Coast where she fed kangaroos and bravely posed with a python around her neck. “Feeding Kangaroo’s and holding Koala Bear’s in the Gold Coast,” she tweeted.
After nine long years, E-V-E is finally ready to release her fourth album Lip Lock next year. “People will recognize what they loved about me from the more hardcore, Ruff Ryder days as far lyrical contact goes, but I think there will also be a nice bridge to where I am musically, now,” she recently told MSN’s Wonderwall. “Because I travel so much overseas, I think there will be a big influence of world music and dance music; not crazy club dance, just a more up-tempo, mid-tempo record.”
E-V-E took over NYC for a cause close to her heart. The rap diva, whose grandmother is a breast cancer survivor, provided the entertainment at Gotham Organization’s Open A.I.R. Summer Concert Series benefitting the National Breast Cancer Coalition. Perched on a rooftop overlooking the Empire State Building, she performed a full set of her hits including “Who’s That Girl?,” “Gangsta Lovin’,” “Let Me Blow Ya Mind,” and her anti-domestic abuse anthem “Love Is Blind.”
“I look like Cousin Itt right now ’cause of the wind,” joked a cheerful Eve before someone offered her their hat.
She continued with her verses from Kelly Rowland’s “Like This,” Gwen Stefani’s “Rich Girl,” and Missy Elliott’s “Hot Boyz,” rhymed over Lil Wayne’s “A Milli” beat, and closed with the Swizz Beatz-produced “Tambourine.”
Eve is plotting her return to the rap game next year with her oft-delayed fourth album Lip Lock. If you missed her live performance, replay it below.
Eve fired up her engine at the kickoff for the Gumball 3000 rally in London. Celebrities including Bun B and David Hasselhoff joined the raptress in the 3000-mile race that treks across 10 countries, wrapping in Istanbul, Turkey. This is Eve’s second year participating on behalf of Puma.
Ruff Ryders’ First Lady, whose fourth album Lip Lock is still awaiting a release date, addressed the ongoing feud between Lil’ Kim and Nicki Minaj during a visit to Tim Westwood’s BBC Radio 1Xtra show. “I need [Kim] to stop. If I was Kim’s friend, I’d be like, yo, ’cause she’s Kim, period. So she never has to feed [into the beef]. She shouldn’t. It’s bad. It’s not a good look,” said Eve. “If I was her friend, I’d tell her, yo, just come back bigger and better. The best way to get at people is to do you better than you’ve ever done you.”
