Yesterday Eve joined Capital XTRA Breakfast with Robert Bruce and Shayna Marie.
Speaking to Capital XTRA ahead of International Women’s Day, hip-hop legend Eve revealed that being one of the few women in the Ruff Ryders crew during the 1990s was the ‘best time of her life’ but also had her ‘running for her life,’ adding that it was great professionally but ‘horrible’ for her on a personal level.
Eve – E
Robert Bruce – RB
Shayna Marie – SM
SM: “You, of course, are the first lady of a Ruff Ryders. So, let's start there. It's 1999, you are you the first lady of Ruff Ryders. What was it like at that time in the 90s, being one of the few women in a heavily male-dominated crew and an era, a genre, a time? What was it like for you?”
E: “Honestly, it was crazy. I mean, back then, obviously, there were the crews, and being the one female of the crew, it went from everything from having the best time of my life to having to run for my life. Like, if we're in the clubs or wherever, backstage as shows, it was absolutely insane. But it also was amazing. Like, I think we felt how big the moment was, and not so much talking about it or being conceited about it. It kind of was just like, ‘There's nobody doing it like us.’ Like, we just felt that, but it was a nice thing to feel like with that. It was Ruff Ryders, and then it was Cash Money. You know what I mean? Like, it was just a great time.”
SM: “Did you feel as the first lady, like, protected? Like you had brothers?”
E: “Yeah, I was too protected! Nobody wanted to talk to me, to take me out and do nothing with me at all! The Brothers, like, who were really scared, which was great. When I went into meetings, negotiations, things like that – amazing! But for my personal life, horrible. Horrible.”
[…]
RB: “Moving on a little bit further. The debut album goes to number one, Billboard 200. Looking back at that moment, how did it feel? Did you take it in? Because a moment ago, you said you felt the magnitude. But when you get told your album's number one in that big old country, how was it for you?
E: “Nah, I mean, it was, one of those beautiful moments of like, I knew I was supposed to be here. Which is horrible to say, but sometimes you need that validation. Like, even as you're on, and I think that's anything in life. Even as you're on your path to what it is you know you want to do, you need validation. I'm sorry, you can't pretend like you don't. So, I think when that happened, also, I had a lot of naysayers. I had a lot of naysayers. I was this new girl that came out that didn't look like Foxy or Kim; I was from this group of dudes. A lot of people really have bets against me, and I got phone calls from certain people. And I know we talked about that the last time I came up. And you know, in my book, I got phone calls from people that was like, ‘Well, don't be too upset if it doesn't happen,’ and it did happen. And so, you know, whatever!”
Speaking to Capital XTRA ahead of International Women’s Day, hip-hop legend Eve revealed that being one of the few women in the Ruff Ryders crew during the 1990s was the ‘best time of her life’ but also had her ‘running for her life,’ adding that it was great professionally but ‘horrible’ for her on a personal level.
Eve – E
Robert Bruce – RB
Shayna Marie – SM
SM: “You, of course, are the first lady of a Ruff Ryders. So, let's start there. It's 1999, you are you the first lady of Ruff Ryders. What was it like at that time in the 90s, being one of the few women in a heavily male-dominated crew and an era, a genre, a time? What was it like for you?”
E: “Honestly, it was crazy. I mean, back then, obviously, there were the crews, and being the one female of the crew, it went from everything from having the best time of my life to having to run for my life. Like, if we're in the clubs or wherever, backstage as shows, it was absolutely insane. But it also was amazing. Like, I think we felt how big the moment was, and not so much talking about it or being conceited about it. It kind of was just like, ‘There's nobody doing it like us.’ Like, we just felt that, but it was a nice thing to feel like with that. It was Ruff Ryders, and then it was Cash Money. You know what I mean? Like, it was just a great time.”
SM: “Did you feel as the first lady, like, protected? Like you had brothers?”
E: “Yeah, I was too protected! Nobody wanted to talk to me, to take me out and do nothing with me at all! The Brothers, like, who were really scared, which was great. When I went into meetings, negotiations, things like that – amazing! But for my personal life, horrible. Horrible.”
[…]
RB: “Moving on a little bit further. The debut album goes to number one, Billboard 200. Looking back at that moment, how did it feel? Did you take it in? Because a moment ago, you said you felt the magnitude. But when you get told your album's number one in that big old country, how was it for you?
E: “Nah, I mean, it was, one of those beautiful moments of like, I knew I was supposed to be here. Which is horrible to say, but sometimes you need that validation. Like, even as you're on, and I think that's anything in life. Even as you're on your path to what it is you know you want to do, you need validation. I'm sorry, you can't pretend like you don't. So, I think when that happened, also, I had a lot of naysayers. I had a lot of naysayers. I was this new girl that came out that didn't look like Foxy or Kim; I was from this group of dudes. A lot of people really have bets against me, and I got phone calls from certain people. And I know we talked about that the last time I came up. And you know, in my book, I got phone calls from people that was like, ‘Well, don't be too upset if it doesn't happen,’ and it did happen. And so, you know, whatever!”
