Eve (born Eve Jihan Jeffers on November 10, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American rapper associated with the Ruff Ryders crew. She adopted the name Gangsta in high school as part of an all-female group called EDGP (pronounced Egypt) and eventually went solo as Eve of Destruction. After a period of working as a stripper, Eve returned to hip hop at the encouragement of pop superstar Mase; she recorded "Eve of Destruction", which appeared on the soundtrack to Bulworth in 1998 (see 1998 in music). Her label, Aftermath Records, found itself in financial trouble and Eve was soon without a record contract. She had, however, befriended DMX and appeared on It's Dark and Hell Is Hot and other Ruff Ryders' compilations. Her single "What Ya Want" soon became a hit, and she collaborated with The Roots and Blackstreet and Janet Jackson, further expanding her fanbase. Her 1999 debut was Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders First Lady and the album was an unprecedented success, the first rap album by a woman to enter the American charts at #1. The follow-up, Scorpion, was released in 2001 to good reviewes, but the second single, "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (with Gwen Stefani of No Doubt) became a pop success. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and Scorpion went platinum. Eve then appeared in XXX with Vin Diesel and in Barbershop with Ice Cube. She released Eve-Olution, her third album, in 2002. "Gangsta Lovin'", with Alicia Keys, became another pop hit and Eve closed out 2003 by signing to UPN for a television show about a fashion designer.
