Listen to Eve on Batanga

b. Eve Jihan Jeffers, 10 November 1979, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The only female MC on the New York-based Ruff Ryders label, this bleach blonde self-styled "pit bull in a skirt' emerged in the late 90s as a genuine rival to Foxy Brown and Lil" Kim. Jeffers first began rapping in a high school rap group under the name Gangsta. A spell as a go-go dancer followed before she changed her name to Eve Of Destruction and began creating a stir as a warm-up MC at local talent shows. Her first break came when Dr. Dre signed her to his Aftermath label, and helped produce her demo tape. One of the tracks on the demo, "Eve Of Destruction', gained widespread exposure when it was featured on 1998"s Bulworth soundtrack. Unfortunately, Eve's contract with Aftermath lapsed and she was left without a label.

A chance meeting with the up-and-coming rapper Dmxin Los Angeles resulted in her signing up with the fledgling Ruff Ryders label. "What Ya Want", featured on the bestselling Ryde Or Die Vol. 1 compilation, set out her stall, and guest appearances on the Roots' Things Fall Apart and BLACKstreet's "Girlfriend/Boyfriend" helped raise her profile. Her debut album, which debuted at US number 1 in September 1999, featured the in-house production work of Swizz Beats and guest appearances by label mates Dmxand the LOX, as well as a cameo from Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott. The assertive declaration of independence, "Gotta Man", made it clear that the star of the show was undoubtedly Eve. Her follow-up, Scorpion, upped the ante even further with assertive declarations of independence on tracks such as "Who's That Girl?" and "You Had Me, You Lost Me", and included the hit collaboration with No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani "Let Me Blow Ya Mind".

Eve's 2002 release Eve-Olution was premiered by the US Top 5 collaboration with Alicia Keys, "Gangsta Lovin'". During the same year, she appeared in the high-grossing movies Barbershop and XXX.