Faith Evans
Template:Infobox musical artist 2
Faith Renee Evans (born June 10 1973) is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B singer, songwriter & producer who has sold 11 Million CD's worldwide. Within the past 10 years of Faith musical career, she has work with numerous sucessful artists such as Mary J. Blige, Tevin Campbell, Kelly Price, Robin Thicke, Missy Elliot, Carl Thomas & many more.
Biography
Early life
Evans was born in Lakeland, Florida to an Italian-American father and an African-American mother. Her father was a musician who left when she was very young. She was raised in Newark, New Jersey by her aunt, Johnnie Mae, and her mother, Helene, who had Evans when she was 18. Evans began singing at church at age two and later sang in school musical productions. She was an honor student in high school and won a full scholarship to Fordham University. However, she dropped out after one year of college to pursue a singing career.
Early career
At 19, she had a child named Chyna with musician and producer Kiyamma Griffin, from whom she later split. Griffin helped Evans get work as a session singer with Al B. Sure, who she met through producer Sean "Puffy" Combs. Combs liked Evans's sound and signed her to his fledgling label Bad Boy Records. She co-wrote and sang backup on Mary J. Blige's My Life. The breadwinner of the label was a Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G.. He and Evans met at a Bad Boy photoshoot and married only ten days after meeting in August 1994. She was first featured as a guest artist in Biggie's 1994 hit, "One More Chance (remix)."
Debut album: Faith Evans
Evans released her debut album on August 29, 1995. The self-titled CD, Faith Evans, became a hit based on the songs "Soon as I Get Home" and her debut single "You Used to Love Me." Her 3rd & 4th singles, "Ain't Nobody" and "Come Over," respectively, failed to make any real impact on Urban and Pop radio, with the latter track failing to chart at all. The album (and Faith's stage name) were originally just simply "Faith," but shortly after the album's release, Sherri Carter of BET's Video Soul stated that Faith appended her last name to both her stage name AND the album title in an attempt to distinguish herself as more than The Notorious B.I.G.'s wife. The original release also contains a cover of the Rose Royce hit "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" featuring Mary J. Blige. However, the two ladies had a falling out and Faith had Mary's vocals removed and re-recorded them herself. Today, it is rare to find a copy of the original release that contains Mary's vocals.
The album was certified Platinum and sold just under a million copies, with 903,000 copies sold according to Nielsen Soundscan. By that time the rap war between Biggie and rapper Tupac Shakur had intensified, which turned personal for both after Shakur alleged that he had slept with Evans. Evans, who was pregnant with Biggie's child, was outraged because she said she had only met Shakur for a recording.
The rivalry turned ugly after Shakur's tragic death in September 1996 in Las Vegas. Some had speculated Biggie may have taken part in his murder, as well as the 1994 shooting of Shakur in New York. By the time of the birth of their son, Christopher Jr. or C.J., in late 1996, the couple's marriage had fallen apart due to the hip-hop rivalry and rumors of Biggie's philandering, most notably with female rappers Lil' Kim and Charli Baltimore.
Evans was present at a Soul Train music awards party Biggie attended on the night of March 8th in Los Angeles, California. Unfortunately, it would be the last time Evans would see her husband. A few hours after she left the club, in the early hours of March 9 1997, news had spread that Biggie was gunned down in a hail of gunshots by an unidentified assailant. Evans was devastated when she heard the news of his death and went through a deep depression.
Puff Daddy helped get Evans out of her gloom to record a tribute song titled "I'll Be Missing You". The song, which featured Puffy, Evans, and Bad Boy Records group 112, reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1997 and stayed there for eleven weeks. The song won Puffy and Evans a Grammy Award for Best Rap Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.
Keep the Faith and Faithfully
After re-marrying and having a third child, Joshua, Evans released her long-awaited follow-up, Keep the Faith in 1998. Unlike the solemn approach to her first album, this album spoke of optimism, good times, and love. Among its biggest hits include the CHIC-sampled track "Love Like This", the P. Diddy helmed "All Night Long", and Babyface lent her a number-one R&B hit song with "Never Gonna Let You Go". Outside of her own albums, Evans found another hit that year with Whitney Houston and Kelly Price on the song "Heartbreak Hotel". That album would also be certified Platinum and sell just under a million. As of December 2005, Keep The Faith has sold 924,000 copies.
Evans released her third album, 2001's Faithfully, which included "You Gets No Love" and "I Love You". For the album's promotion, Evans went through a transformation in her physical appearance. Always a heavy-set woman, Evans shed over fifty pounds and presented a sexier image that was present for the videos to "I Love You" and "Burnin' Up". Fatman Scoop also sampled her vocals on the song "Be Faithful" in 2003, which reached number one in the UK. Although the album wasn't as big of a success as her first two, it would end up being certified platinum as well with about 837,000 units sold.
Afterwards, Evans kept a low profile until late-2004 when she and husband Todd Russaw were arrested for drug possession and driving under the influence. She and Russaw were sentenced to three years' probation and paid a fine.[1]
The First Lady
After a rut of bad news, Evans rebounded with a record that many of her fans have proclaimed as her strongest record to date, The First Lady (released on April 5 2005). After finding success with her Twista collaboration, "Hope", Evans released her first song of new material in three years with "Again", a biographical account of her life struggles (its second verse mentioned the 2004 drug incident). The First Lady came out commemorating her tenth anniversary in the industry and her first record on Capitol Records after leaving Bad Boy in 2003. With the help of "Again" reaching the top ten of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and appearances on David Letterman, BET and MTV the album entered the Billboard 200 at number two with 157,000 copies sold in its first week, marking the largest first-week total of her career. The First Lady was certified gold for sales of over 500,000 copies within weeks of release. The second single, "Mesmerized", saw Faith going with a 70's retro-funk soul vibe. The track failed to crack top fifty R&B despite numerous remixes; however a dance remix by the Freemasons went on to hit number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
At the end of the year she released her fifth studio album, A Faithful Christmas, a Christmas collection of new material and covers of seasonal classics, that saw her making lots of appearances on holiday TV programming. In early 2006, Faith Evans' third single, "Tru Love" (produced by Jermaine Dupri and Bryan Michael Cox), gradually gained ground on urban/urban AC radio, becoming her eleventh solo R&B hit.
New Album
Currently, Evans is said to be working on her fifth R&B studio album. The album is said to involve producers like Chucky Thompson and Jazze Pha and a guest appearance by rapper T.I.. In the meantime, saxophonist Boney James said in July 2006 that Evans will be a featured artist on his next studio release, "Shine." Faith Evans has also collaboratd with Lil Mo and R&B-turned-gospel singer Coko of SWV to do a remake of The Clark Sisters' "Endow Me," scheduled as the first single from Coko's first gospel album to be released in August 2006. [2]
Personal life
Marriages
- Notorious B.I.G. (1994 until his death in 1997)
- Todd Russaw (1998-current)
Children
- Chyna Evans-born 1993 (daughter with music producer Kiyamma Griffin)
- Christoper Wallace-born 1996( son with Notorious B.I.G.)
- Joshua Russaw-born 1998 (son with current husband Todd Russaw)
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | U.S. | UK | RIAA cert. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Faith | 22 | - | Platinum |
| 1998 | Keep the Faith | 6 | - | Platinum |
| 2001 | Faithfully | 14 | - | Platinum |
| 2005 | The First Lady | 2 | 22 | Gold |
| 2005 | A Faithful Christmas | 199 | 70 | N/A |
Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | U.S. Dance | UK singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "You Used to Love Me" | 24 | 4 | - | 42 | Faith |
| 1995 | "Soon As I Get Home" | 21 | 3 | - | - | Faith |
| 1996 | "Ain't Nobody" | 67 | 14 | - | - | Faith |
| 1996 | "Kissing You" | 67 | - | - | - | Waiting To Exhale Soundtrack |
| 1996 | "Come Over" | - | 56 | - | - | Faith |
| 1996 | "I Just Can't" | - | - | - | - | High School High Soundtrack |
| 1997 | "I'll Be Missing You" (Puff Daddy featuring Faith Evans and 112) |
1 | 1 | - | 1 | No Way Out |
| 1998 | "Love Like This" | 7 | 2 | - | 24 | Keep the Faith |
| 1998 | "Heartbreak Hotel" (Whitney Houston featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price) |
2 | 1 | 1 | 25 | My Love Is Your Love |
| 1998 | "All Night Long" (featuring Puff Daddy) |
9 | 3 | 4 | 23 | Keep the Faith |
| 1999 | "Georgy Porgy" (Eric Benet featuring Faith Evans) |
55 | 15 | - | - | A Day In the Life |
| 1999 | "Never Gonna Let You Go" | 17 | 1 | - | - | Keep the Faith |
| 1999 | "Lately I" | - | 78 | - | - | Keep the Faith |
| 2000 | "Love Is Blind" (Eve featuring Faith Evans) |
34 | 11 | - | - | Let There Be Eve... Ruff Ryder's First Lady |
| 2001 | "The Good Life (Remix)" (featuring Murder, Inc.) |
- | - | - | - | The Fast and the Furious Soundtrack |
| 2001 | "Can't Believe" (featuring Carl Thomas) |
56 | 14 | - | - | Faithfully |
| 2001 | "You Gets No Love" | 38 | 8 | - | - | Faithfully |
| 2002 | "I Love You" | 14 | 2 | - | - | Faithfully |
| 2002 | "Burnin' Up" (featuring Missy Elliott) |
60 | 19 | - | - | Faithfully |
| 2002 | "Alone In This World" | - | 73 | - | - | Faithfully |
| 2002 | "Brown Sugar" (Mos Def featuring Faith Evans) |
- | 95 | - | - | Brown Sugar Soundtrack |
| 2005 | "Hope" (Twista featuring Faith Evans) |
31 | 24 | 17 | 25 | Coach Carter soundtrack & The First Lady |
| 2005 | "Again" | 47 | 7 | - | 12 | The First Lady |
| 2005 | "Mesmerized" | - | 56 | 1 | 48 | The First Lady |
| 2006 | "Tru Love" | - | 24 | - | - | The First Lady |
Featured appearances
- 1992: "Nothing With Out You" (with Alvin Darlings; Why Not Pray)
- 1994: "One More Chance/Stay With Me" (with Notorious B.I.G.; Ready to Die)
- 1994: "Wonda Why They Call U" (with Tupac; unreleased)
- 1996: "How Can We Stop" (with Horace Brown; Horace Brown)
- 1996: "Stressed Out (with A Tribe Called Quest & Consequence; from Beats, Rhymes and Life)
- 1996: "I Can't Believe" (with 112; 112)
- 1997: "Nothing Without You" (with Karen Clark Sheard; from Finally Karen)
- 1997: "All The Times" (with LSG and Missy Elliott and Coko; from Levert.Sweat.Gil.)
- 1998: "For Awhile" (with 112; Room 112)
- 1998: "How's It Going Down?" (with DMX; from It's Dark And Hell Is Hot)
- 1999: "Heartbreak Hotel" (with Whitney Houston and Kelly Price; My Love Is Your Love)
- 1999: "Georgy Porgy" (with Eric Benet; from A Day in the Life)
- 1999: "Love Is Blind" (with Eve; from Ruff Ryder's First Lady)
- 2000: "Easier" (with Kandi Burruss; from Hey Kandi ...)
- 2000: "2 B Real 2000 (Keep It Real)" (with Lost Boyz)
- 2001: "I Thought I Told You" (with Anastacia; from Freak of Nature)
- 2001: "Miss You" (with DMX; from The Great Depression (album))
- 2001: "Everyday" (with G-Dep; from Child of the Ghetto)
- 2001: "Overjoyed" (with Jon B.; from Pleasures U Like)
- 2002: "A Dream" (with Jay-Z & Notorious B.I.G.; from The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse)
- 2002: "Brown Sugar (Extra Sweet)" (with Mos Def; from Brown Sugar Soundtrack)
- 2002: "Ma, I Don't Love Her" (with The Clipse; from Lord Willin')
- 2002: "Relax Your Mind" (with Boyz II Men; from Full Circle)
- 2002: "Someday" (with Scarface; from The Fix)
- 2003: "Hurting Woman" (with Shirley Caesar; from Shirley Caesar and Friends)
- 2003: "Sister" (with Kelly Price; from Priceless)
- 2003: "Don't Cross The Line" (with Freeway; from Philadelphia Freeway)
- 2004: "We Know" (with Talib Kweli; from The Beautiful Struggle)
- 2005: "Don't Need Your Love" (with The Game; from The Documentary)
- 2005: "Hope" (with Twista; from Coach Carter the soundtrack)
- 2006: "Living The Life" (with Notorious B.I.G and Ludacris and Snoop Dogg; from Duets: The Final Chapter)
- 2006: "1970 Somethin'" (with Notorious B.I.G and The Game; from Duets: The Final Chapter)
- 2006: "Endow Me" (with Coko of SWV and Lil Mo; from Coko's future gospel album)
- 2006: "Got 2 Be Down" (with Robin Thicke; from The Evolution of Robin Thicke)
Grammy Award history
Career stats
- Career wins: 1
- Career nominations: 5
| Year | Category | Genre | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group | Rap | "I'll Be Missing You" | Won |
| 1998 | Best Female R&B Vocal Performance | R&B | "Love Like This" | Nominated |
| 1999 | Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group | R&B | "Heartbreak Hotel" | Nominated |
| 2000 | Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group | R&B | "Can't Believe" | Nominated |
| 2001 | Best Contemporary R&B Album | R&B | "Faithfully" | Nominated |
Filmography
- Turn It Up (2000)
- The Fighting Temptations (2003)
See also
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart