She Got Soul: Faith Evans
Get ready for Faith to leave it all on the stage.
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Her Roots - Faith was born in Florida and raised in Jersey, but she grew up with dreams of becoming an international star. Faith’s career as a singer began at the tender age of two, singing in her church choir.
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The First Lady of Bad Boy - In 1993, after giving birth to her daughter, Chyna, and relocating to Los Angeles, the soprano songbird soon caught the attention of up-and-coming label executive Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs. After hearing her back-up vocals on R&B singer Al B Sure's records, he immediately signed the talented singer to his Bad Boy Records imprint.
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The Diva Debut - Evans contributed backing vocals and writing skills to Mary J. Blige’s My Life (1994) and Usher’s self-titled debut album (1994) before dropping her own body of work in 1995. Faith featured production credits from Bad Boy’s very own The Hitmen, Chucky Thompson and Combs himself. With the help of chart-topping singles “You Used to Love Me” and “Soon As I Get Home,” the album peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and eventually reached platinum sales.
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Hip Hop Royalty - Evans married rapper and fellow label-mate Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace in 1994, instantly and widely becoming known as the first lady of hip hop. While married, the couple struggled through allegations of infidelity. In 1996, a year before the couple eventually separated, Faith gave birth to her second child, and first son, Christopher Wallace Jr.
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Heartbreak - After Biggie’s tragic murder in 1997, Combs and Evans produced a tribute song titled “I’ll Be Missing You.” The song remained at No. 1 for eleven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and won Faith and Combs a Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The next year, she recevived two Grammy nods for “Heartbreak Hotel” – a collaboration with singers Kelly Price and Whitney Houston.
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