- You've been pretty outspoken about your beginning
of your career, and being assigned
to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records.
And being dropped and having to start from the scratch.
Like how was that?
What was it like, you know,
building yourself up from the ground up
and just working through your dark moments?
- Yeah, I mean, in the moment it (beep) sucked.
But, (laughs) after I had some reflection,
I knew it wasn't meant for me.
(upbeat music)
- The cast of characters of rap music usually reads
as drug dealer, pimp, hustler, gangster, scholar,
teacher, and then women.
Female MC's have been separated as a subset.
Historically left as novelty items in rap.
As if gender separates your lyrical prowess.
But women have been controlling the mic
for as long as spoken word has been an art form.
Experimenting and shaping this genre of music
to tell unique stories that document the human experience.
♪ You niggas capitalize on lies ♪
♪ Surprise, open your eyes ♪
♪ Baby girl from Illadel ♪
♪ Here to enhance your lives ♪
- Those were the first lines from Eve's debut song,
Eve of Destruction, released in 1998.
These bars would exemplify the career
of one of the best MC's in the game.
That carried the torch for rappers
that fought bar for bar to stand out in a field
where their skills were doubted.
But they are here to stay.
And you?
You definitely gonna be mad you doubted them.
Today on Cocoa Butter's The Era,
we explore the style, lyricism, and stories
of women in hip hop, through the eyes of one of the best.
Eve, rap goddess, and the first lady of Ruff Ryders.
E-V-E!
- Hi!
- How you doin'? - How are you?
I'm good.
- So happy to have you here today.
- Thank you for having me.
- We could not talk about the '90s
without talking about your impact on the culture.
So, let's take it back to West Philly, shall we?
So growing up in West Philly, you were a choir girl?
- Yeah.
- You were singing, that was your first love.
- Yeah it was.
I sang for,
Yeah, I did, I sang a lot.
I sang in almost every choir.
Even before I started rapping,
I had a singing group.
And then I started rapping.
- What made you get into rap?
- It got me more attention.
(Chantal laughs) Literally, like,
because a lot of girls, especially in my neighborhood,
nobody was rappin' everybody was singin'.
So I was like, well lemme do what is the most impactful
but also, I always used to write poetry, anyway.
So it just felt like an easy transition, I guess?
- Yeah.
In a male-dominant industry,
how did West Philly prepare you for that?
- Oh my god, listen, if you know people from Philly,
Philly people are feisty.
- [Chantal] I like tough!
- Okay! - [Chantal] I'm scared
of y'all half the time.
- Philly people are feisty, (Chantal laughs)
Philly chicks are definitely feisty,
and I always say,
I would never want to be from any other city,
I love all cities, but Philly made me who I am.
Philly gave me the strength to go through all the things
that I went through to get where I am.
- What impact, if any, did the '80s female MC's have on you
when you were tryna get into the rap.
- I mean, listen, Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa,
MC Lyte, like they were my everything.
I loved them because they were in a male-dominated space,
but they were still very much strong feminine women.
And I was like, I like this, I feel like I can do that.
So, yeah, they meant everything to me.
(TV static)
- The '80s set the tone for originality, fashion,
and ladies holdin' their own.
As the years progressed,
women established themselves as unshakeable,
and MC Lyte became the first solo female rapper
to release a studio album with 1988's Lyte as a Rock.
♪ Must I say it again ♪
♪ I said it before ♪
♪ Move out the way when I comin' through the door ♪
♪ Me, heavy ♪
♪ As light as a rock ♪
You've been pretty outspoken about your beginning
of your career and being assigned
to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records,
and being dropped.
And havin' to start from the scratch.
Like, how was that and what was it like, y'know,
building yourself up from the ground up
and just workin' through your dark moments?
- Yeah, I mean in the moment,
it (beep) sucked. (Chantal laughs)
But, after I had some reflection,
I knew it wasn't meant for me.
It just wasn't meant to be.
You know, I went from a place of feelin' deflated
and being like I knew this wasn't gonna happen,
'cause you know, deep down I feel like
we all go for our goals,
but we always have that little voice that's like,
it's not gonna happen.
And when it doesn't, sometimes you can trick yourself
into thinking like, this wasn't meant for me.
But that second time around, was like,
I'm glad that didn't happen.
I'm happy that didn't happen.
- Absolutely, taught you a lot.
- It taught me everything.
- In 1999, Eve released her first album,
Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady.
While they were at the top of their game
with acts like DMX, The Lox, and super producer Swizz Beatz.
Eve gave you lyrical prowess on tracks like Dog Match,
going bar for bar with her label mate DMX.
Is it true that before you were signed with Ruff Ryders,
you had to battle rap the entire roster?
- [Eve] I did. - In order to gain the respect
and the record deal?
- Yeah, pretty much, that how I got signed,
I got a call literally from Jimmy Iovine,
to my manager, just bein' like,
yo, you needa go to Yonkers, tonight.
And I was in Philly, so we drove up to Yonkers,
and literally they were like, well, let's see what you got.
And it was in the studio, in Power House,
and it was me and Drag-On, and I believe Infa Red.
- How long was this battle rap?
- I honestly can't remember, it could've been five minutes,
it could've been five hours.
I remember bein' in that space, but I don't remember,
you know what I'm sayin'? - Yeah.
- So, whatever, - It's really,
- I just knew I was rapping for my life.
You know, basically it was like, this is it.
This was it, if I didn't do what I was supposed to do.
They wouldn't sign me, and I knew that.
(TV powers off)
- Now, the '90s brought about an era of iconic acts
that took hip hop in several directions.
Pillars like Lil' Kim's Hard Core,
and Lauryn Hill's Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,
showed the complexities that female MC's were capable of.
Then came the rain,
(funky music)
♪ Me I'm supa fly ♪
♪ Supa dupa fly ♪
♪ I can't stand the rain ♪
Missy Elliott isn't just an iconic rapper,
she changed the sound of music from the ground up.
Her sound?
Unique, her delivery?
Iconic.
Her look?
Afro-futurist.
You couldn't place her in a box back then,
and you sure as hell can't now.
Her induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
in 2019 was long overdue.
And that Vanguard award, it's about damn time.
You were one of the first women to really break out
in the scene, just set this tone for women.
So, today we're just seeing a lot of women
just comin' through the rapping track.
Think of Megan Thee Stallion,
Nicki Minaj collabin',
Cardi B and Lizzo showin' love to each other,
number one the chart.
Missy Elliott won the Vanguard award.
- Yes. - Finally, right?
How'd it even fail? - Exactly,
like that took forever.
But, it feels beautiful, it feels amazing,
I think it's been years where there was such a span of time,
that there was no female voice.
You have to have male and female,
you have to have yin and yang and all of that.
You have to have it.
And I think for a long time,
the industry was so male-dominated,
that, like with the opinions, and the voice,
and the imagery, so, thank God,
you know, we needed
some female energy. - Okay, thank God!
(TV powers off)
On her second album Scorpion, she gave you the banger,
Let Me Blow Ya Mind, with singer Gwen Stefani,
which won the first Grammy for best rap song collaboration.
♪ Some of y'all niggas hot, sike I'm gassin' ♪
♪ Clowns I spot 'em and I can't stop laughin' ♪
♪ Easy come, easy go, E-V gon' be lastin' ♪
What was that like, steppin' into the pop music scene?
You're not battle rapping anymore,
so you're like, this whole new audience.
- But you know, it's funny
because I've always only ever wanted to do music,
hip hop, it was my first love, and it was my way out,
I hate to say way out
because, I wasn't, you know what I'm sayin'?
But, it was the thing I knew how to do.
Put it that way.
But, at the same time, people who knew me,
like my family members, things like that,
me going into doing that song with Gwen,
wasn't a surprise.
My first two CDs, my mom was like, I'mma get you two CDs
for your birthday, what do you want them to be?
It was Nirvana and it was Bob Marley Legend,
those were my two first ever CDs,
so my music taste has always been,
left and right and down the middle.
So, for me, it didn't feel weird wanting to do a track
with Gwen, but for other people,
because all they knew of me, you know, was who I was
from Ruff Ryders, it was like, wait what?
(laughs)
Why you tryna do that?
But I'm so happy it happened.
- You've been multi-faceted in your entire career,
from singing to rapping to acting,
Eve, one of my favorite show.
Shelly was my girl.
And now co-hosting on The Talk,
- [Eve] I know, it's crazy.
- So, now that you are now the one answering
and asking the questions,
how do you now view the media,
being on the other side of things?
- I wanted people to get to know me on different level,
beyond my music, I think that people who know me know
that I'm stupid, I'm goofy, (Chantal laughs)
I'm like, you know, I'm that girl,
and I think through my music, you get that,
but you don't get that.
And I think I just wanted people to see me in this light
of a woman, as a wife, as a step-mom.
And because of all the life that I have been so blessed
and lucky to have lived, a nice platform to share all that.
(TV powers off)
- And in the words of the ever quotable Cardi B,
"I do what they say I can't."
And that line is more true than ever,
the amount of rappers leading the charge
for distinct voices in hip hop,
has bloomed into a multi-colored musical stream
from Young Emai, to Rapsody, Megan thee Stallion,
and unique voices like Noname,
♪ After school matters ♪
♪ Like I'm needing that stipend right now ♪
♪ Kennicott parking lot got caught with the blunt ♪
♪ Like wow wow ♪
What's one thing that you haven't done
that you wanna tap into?
- I have so many things, actually, I do.
Write more, not just music,
but whether that's poetry or novels,
learn some languages, have some kids,
there's a lot to do.
- Anymore acting on the horizon?
Cause, Barbershop, all those stuff, you are amazing.
- [Eve] Thank you. - It's good.
- Yeah, I mean, I read scripts all the time,
I think I want something that will really challenge me.
Something dark, maybe,
something- - A thriller?
Could we see Eve in a thriller?
- I would love
to do a thriller. - I would love it.
- I would love to do a thriller,
or I mean my dream role is literally like a special agent
with a gun, climbin' up a wall, and kickin' somebody's ass.
That's probably like my dream role.
- Could we see Black Panther 2?
- [Eve] Listen, yes. - [Chantal] Can it happen?
- [Eve] Please, that would be amazing.
- [Chantal] I'm here for it,
I see the whole outfit, actually.
- I could, I feel it.
- Okay. - Yes.
- It's amazing!
- Yes! - Black Panther 2.
We're callin' it. - Yes.
I love it, let's put it out there.
- What is your legacy?
What do you want people to say when they think of you?
When they talk about Eve, what do you want them to say?
- I don't know, that's a big question.
I feel like I do have so many things I feel like I still
need to accomplish, I am a constant, I work on myself a lot.
I just want to be the best human being
that I can be,
I feel like my contribution to this universe is
to give out good energy,
and that's all I want to do.
And I feel like I still have so much of it to do.
So, I don't, I can't say it yet, because I'm not done.
- Thank you so much for everything you've done
for the culture, - Thank you, that's so nice.
- For just pavin' the way for MC's,
for just rap and everything in-between.
Your impact in the culture it's seen, it's heard,
and celebrated. - Thank you so much.
Thank you, for having me.
This is beautiful, congratulations,
- Thank you. - On this.
Yeah, for sure. - I appreciate it.
Queen Eve, y'all.
(Eve laughs)
(chill music)