'EVE' Ruff Ryders / Interscope

"And Adam called his wife name Eve; because she was the mother of all living." Genesis 3:20. Eve has been blamed throughout the centuries for the down fall of humankind, when she gave her husband, Adam, the apple from the forbidden tree. How appropriate the newest female rapper would be Eve, a.k.a. Eve of destruction.

More commonly known as Eve, she is the first lady of the Ruff Ryders from Philly. This platinum blonde blaze had to pay her dues. She was on the Root's "You Got Me", the remix to the "Ruff Ryders Anthem" and Blackstreet's "Girlfriend/Boyfriend."

On September 14th, her debut album, self titled "EVE" hit the shelves and it is hot.

The first single of the album, "What Y'all Want", went platinum and the second single, "Gotta Man," shows just as much promise.

This Puerto Rican/African-American diva will unfortunately have to go through he rites of passage that all female rappers have to go through. Others will try catogrize her and compare her with rappers like, the great Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Foxy Brown and Lil Kim, to find where she fits in. But is it that simple for Eve? Does she have a political message in her lyrics? Yeah, she is sexy, and has no problem showing off her thick physique, but does she exploit it? Will she have more than one hit?

Unlike female rappers of the past, EVE has been able to balance her talents, making it difficult for her crititics to place her in a pre-labled box. She has been able to hold on to her femininity and yet remain tough. She can be sexy in her videos, but she does not seem willing to rap about pimping herself for a diamond studded Rolex.

On this album, she collaborates with Drag-on and DMX of The Ruff Ryders, Missy Elliot, and The LOX. The beats are hard hitting and the lyrics dare to go deeper with tracks like "Love is Blind" and "Heaven only Knows". Eve has lasting power and it would be interesting to see her growth on her next album.

by Charmane Malone