Eve says issues with her former record label kept her from releasing new music for 11 years.
The Blow Ya Mind rapper came onto the music scene with hip-hop label Ruff Ryders Indy.
She was then signed by Full Surface and later Interscope Records.
Eve recently branched out on her own and released her first album called Lip Lock in more than a decade earlier this year.
“I had a lot of issues with my label [so] now I’m independent,” she told America’s People magazine.
Being her own boss now presents its own challenges.
“I try to balance being an artist and a label owner. It’s like compartmentalising my brain, but it feels good,” she explained.
While she’s been out of the game Eve has been keeping an eye on new talent.
She’s not afraid to support other female artists.
“I think Nicki Minaj’s music is good, and Azealia Banks’ wordplay is clever. And there’s a new girl, Nacho, on my album who is dope,” she said.
When Eve does have some downtime she spends much of it with her British boyfriend, Maximillion Cooper.
The pair have been inseparable since they first met, with Maximillion even inspiring her to make a move overseas from her native US.
“He owns the Gumball 3000 [British road rally], and I got asked to drive in it for Team Puma. We met on the red carpet, and we’ve been together ever since. I moved to London,” she said.
The star has hinted they may soon walk down the aisle.
“We talk about [marriage] - he’s the person that I can see myself with,” Eve gushed.
But if things don’t work out she has a back-up.
Asked if she had a celebrity crush, she confessed a certain married actor has caught her eye.
“Channing Tatum! He’s your Sexiest Man Alive for a reason,” she said, joking, “I hope this doesn’t get to Max!
