Rapper and entrepreneur Eve is set to release her new memoir, Who’s That Girl?, and in it, she’s recalling a candid phone call she got from Jay-Z in the ’90s who cautioned her against “getting her hopes up” about a hip-hop career.
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Eve’s candid book delves into her lasting impact on hip-hop and her vibrant life beyond the music industry with her husband, Maximillion Cooper. From the trailblazing success of her debut solo album Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders First Lady, which made her the third female rapper to top the Billboard 200, to her groundbreaking Grammy Award win for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, Eve’s memoir offers an unfiltered look at her remarkable journey.
In an interview with The Times published on Sept. 15, the Philadelphia-born rapper reflected on the challenges she faced during her remarkable rise to hip-hop stardom.
In 1999, Eve made history as the first woman to sign with Ruff Ryders, a time when female rappers were rare. Her distinctive style, marked by shaved bleached hair, pawprint tattoos on her breasts, and daring D&G dresses, set her apart in a genre that often leaned towards uniformity.
“I admired artists like Lil’ Kim and Missy Elliott,” Eve told the Times, “but I was determined to be my own unique self.”
Her impressive lyrical skills were central to her identity, something she wanted to be “respected” for, however, Eve’s raw talent didn’t shield her from industry resistance. She recalled frequent pushback from her male peers, including a memorable phone call from Jay-Z on the day of her debut album’s release. While he congratulated her, he also cautioned her about the struggle female rappers typically have, warning her that women in hip-hop “don’t really do that well” in the entertainment business. One exec later told her she should give up and get pregnant.
Despite their negative feedback, Eve ended up selling 2 million copies after the release of her debut album in 1999. She later earned a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Song Collaboration, thanks to her single “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” with Gwen Stefani.
“The audacity that these men had,” the 45-year-old said.
Eve Details The Struggle She Faced Going Public With Maximillion Cooper
Eve’s husband, Maximillion, has been instrumental in helping her silence any intrusive doubts about her success in the industry.
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Recalling Eve’s memoir, The Times reports that the mother of one met her hubby in 2010 at one of his famous Gumball 3000 rallies, an international motor event held for the biggest names of the sports world and Hollywood.
She felt an immediate connection and knew he was “the one.” Before their marriage in 2014, the couple faced several challenges. Eve had never dated a white man before, and Maximillion had never been in a relationship with a Black woman. Despite working through their cultural differences, Eve’s close friends were initially hesitant about accepting Maximillion.
One even flat-out told her “Don’t marry that white guy.”
“I remember when I first started bringing Max around to my friends in hip-hop, there were some … mixed reviews. Everybody was shocked that this was the guy I was dating. One of my close guy friends in the game said to me, ‘Yeah, he’s cool. Don’t marry that white guy, though.‘ He meant it too. He sincerely didn’t want me to end up with a white dude,” Eve confessed. “It looked ‘new’ to hip-hop for me to be showing up with someone who was white, especially when in the rap game it was just like everyone was dating each other. So when I took myself out of that pool, there was pushback. I get it, but that wasn’t someone I was going to make a deal-breaker for me and my happiness.”
She also had to confront stereotypes about being a “kept” woman, despite having established her own successful career long before meeting the British millionaire.
“I also found it ironic, though, how the world decided that I became a kept woman once Max and I got together — like I didn’t have a massive career before meeting him like we weren’t both self-made millionaires,” the Grammy Award-winning rapper continued in her book per The Times. “It stung, especially when I was continuing to work successfully in my career. We help each other out. We take each other on vacations. We throw each other parties. There’s just something about the built-in biases when it comes to gender and success that never has and never will sit right with me. Even when Max and I are out at places like a hotel or a nice restaurant and I’m the one paying, they’ll address him like he’s the person footing the bill.”
Despite challenges, Eve is enjoying life with her “amazing” husband and their son, Wilde Wolf Fife Alexander Somers Cooper, who the couple welcomed in 2022. She’s also the stepmother to the British entrepreneur’s four children from his previous marriage.
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So cute!
You can order Who’s That Girl? now.
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