Shelly's Modeling Agencies | Faith Evans | Hot Topic

 

Shelly's Modeling Agencies shares with you the story of Faith Evans, the first lady of hip-hop. They call her the collabo queen. Faith Evans has sung a hook for just about everybody-Diddy, B.I.G., 112, Raekwon, Sting, Case and even jazzman Brian Culbertson. Now she's singing (mostly) by herself and (completely) for herself on new album, Something About Faith. Perhaps best known as the wife of slain rapper Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, she's finally moving beyond that description. She has been happily remarried for 13 years, is raising four children and is mapping out her longevity plan. "I just did a song with Keyshia Cole for her album, I did a song with El DeBarge and with Eric Benet," she says. "Plus, I did a collabo with Shareefa, and with Capone- N-Noreaga. That's a huge part of what has sustained my career. For the most part. I don't turn down nothing but my collar. I try and certainly return the love. Decades of duets means she could call in chips for her current, indie-produced album. "I gotta pull together the photo shoot, and I'm calling up Snoop, making sure we're clear on stuff," she says of releasing her album on her own Prolific Music Group. "It's way more hands on. But the trade off, number one, is owning your masters. That's a huge feat." Her debut album, Faith, released in 1995. " I didn't purposely take five years since my last album,"she says. "I transitioned from my last label to another. So I just waited (the contract) out until I got my release. Second, I got pregnant. I wrote a book, I did some work with Head Start Models Agency. Then I moved."

Talent also runs in the family. All of Faith's children-Chyna, 17; CJ (Christopher Wallace Jr.) 14; Josh, 12; and Ryder, 3-can act, sing, dance and rap. CJ, the accidental actor, was featured in the movie Notorious. "People think (CJ) got that part because he was B.I.G's son. But he was the last one who auditioned." Of course, the elephant in the room is Faith's suspicion of drunken driving charge, which occurred in August. She shrugs it off. "It's not a big deal. I went to jail for a few hours, went home took a shower and got the car out the pound to drive to my video shot. I definitely expected everything that came from it."