Philadelphia rapper, actress, and author Eve is addressing the viral excerpt from her new memoir in which she reveals JAY-Z called her and warned her about failed female rappers on the day her debut album dropped.
RELATED: Eve Recalls Stripping At 17, Quitting Because She Was ‘Lazy,’ Getting Signed To Dr. Dre And Ruff Ryders, And JAY-Z’s Warning About Failed Female Rappers
Earlier this month we previously shared that Eve was gearing up to release her memoir on September 17 called, ‘Who’s That Girl?‘ During her promo run, she shared a few excerpts with PEOPLE, including her revelation about suffering an ectopic pregnancy while filing her 2006 sitcom. She also shared an excerpt recalling stripping at 17 and quitting because she was “lazy.”
Eve, born Eve Jeffers, recalled leaving Philly to pursue a career in music in New York City, but the Grammy Award-winning artist soon realized that fame wasn’t as easily attainable as she’d hoped. So, she was left trying to figure out another hustle, no matter the job title.
Eve said she was living in New York and working at a retail shop and a strip club at 17 years old in the Bronx. Eve told PEOPLE, “In my head, I was thinking, ‘I need to be grown now, and it’s the quickest way I can get out of the house.’ But I was so bad at it. I was lazy.”
RELATED: From Ruff Ryders First Lady To Hip Hop Icon: Eve Unveils Memoir “Who’s That Girl?”
Eve continued to reveal she quit exotic dancing after just two months. But before doing so, she had a chance meeting with New York rapper MA$E, whom she met at the club. In conversations, he encouraged her to quit dancing and get focused on her rap career. Eve recalled, “When MA$E became a pastor, I was like, ‘Yeah, that makes sense.’ He was my prophet that day. I needed that extra push.”
Before relocating from Philly to NYC for her rap career, Eve had first started battle rapping male high school classmates in rap cyphers at just 14 years old. She had already figured that rapping wasn’t just a hobby, but something she wanted to pursue. Upon quitting the strip club, Eve was signed to music mogul Dr. Dre’s label Aftermath. But after only eight months, she was dropped.
She said, “I think it was a huge blessing in disguise. I needed to be humbled. I think a lot of the reason why I got dropped by Dre is that I was so, ‘When is it my turn? When are you going to put me on?’ So extra Philly feisty. I needed to be sent back home to be like, ‘OK, well, if you got this opportunity again, who do you want to be? What do you want to show the world?’”
RELATED: Eve Reveals She Suffered An Ectopic Pregnancy While Filming Her 2006 Sitcom: ‘For Years, I Never Grieved Losing My First Baby’
Soon enough, Eve found her home with the Ruff Ryders, a rap crew based out of Yonkers, New York. In order to prove herself to the crew, she had to battle every man in the room during her audition. She said, “I was like, ‘OK, this is a ride or die situation. I’m rapping for my life right now.’ I had to kill them all, lyrically.”
Having impressed The Ruff Ryders crew, she got signed and dropped her debut album ‘Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders’ First Lady.’ The album was released on September 14, 1999 by Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Interscope Records and featured hits like “Gotta Man” and “Love Is Blind.”
In her excerpts, Eve also recalled receiving a phone call from JAY-Z on the day of her debut album release, during which he attempted to warn her about failed female rappers. She said he congratulated her but also warned her not to get upset about numbers because female Hip-Hop albums don’t sell well.
RELATED: Eve No Longer Thinks About Race After Marrying Husband Maximillion Cooper
She said, “I wasn’t mad at him. If anything, it was just fuel.” And she was right because her debut album ended up going No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making her the third female rapper in history to hit the mark. However, despite the great feeling, she said, “I thought it was a sisterhood, and as soon as you get signed, everybody’s like, ‘Hey, Barbie!’ It was not like that. I remember feeling like, ‘Damn, this is freaking lonely, man.’”
Since sharing the excerpt about JAY-Z trying to warn her about failed female rappers, the comment has gone viral and now Eve is addressing the controversy. While appearing on The Breakfast Club on Tuesday (September 17), host Charlamagne Tha God asked Eve about the warning she received from JAY-Z. He said, “Unbeknownst to JAY-Z, he put a battery in your back, early!”
RELATED: Lil Mama Breaks Down In Tears Mid-Interview While Reflecting On Her Crashing JAY-Z And Alicia Keys’ 2009 VMAs Performance
Eve repeatedly said, “Yes,” and continued, “It’s funny ’cause that was one of those things where we were like, ‘Do we put this in there because we know how people react?’ But, it’s nothing bad about that. You know? It’s one of those things when… It was a very amazing phone call that I needed. I always felt like I was the underdog anyway and he wasn’t saying it out of malice or [being] mean. That wasn’t about that. It was facts, really.”
CThaGod added, “It felt like he was trying to temper your expectations.” Eve agreed, “Yes, exactly. But, I was like, ‘Hmm. Okay. Let me see. I’mma show you.’” She continued to clarify, “Yeah, it’s all good. It’s all good and it went on to be fine. And like I say in the book, we all have that person, that something, no matter what industry or whatever… We all have that one thing… Or someone says something and they don’t even f***ing know that you’re like, ‘Okay. I’mma use that [as motivation]. No problem.’”
#Socialites, be sure to check out the post below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after!
