[Interview] Eve Talks New Album, T.I./ Azealia Banks Beef and "White Girls in Hip-Hop"

Grammy-winning rapper, Eve, has never had a problem speaking her mind. From addressing domestic violence on her 1999 hit single, “Love is Blind,” to speaking out about the current state of female emcees, Eve is definitely a woman who doesn’t mind being outspoken about her opinions or her convictions.

In a time when real Hip-Hop heads are still reeling from a lack of “realness” in the oversaturated world of “cartoon rap,” Eve’s is a voice that has been sorely missed. Although she has been featured on numerous songs, including Ludacris’ “My Chick Bad Remix,” Eve has not released an album since her third studio album, Eve-Olution, in 2002. Fortunately, with the recent announcement of a new project in the works, we won’t have to wait too much longer.

In an unsurprising display of honesty and genuineness, Eve spoke to The Well Versed about the “Male Umbrella,” T.I. and Azealia Banks, and “White Girls in Hip-Hop” just days before her titillating performance at Rock the Bells (San Bernardino). Read below for our full interview:

Eve Performing at Rock the Bells – San Bernardino. Picture courtesy of Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic)

The Well Versed: I heard that you’ve been performing and doing shows in Europe for the past two years. Compared to the States, what is the experience like performing out there?

Eve: I would say the main difference is just that in the States, we get saturated with so much new music that sometimes people can get jaded because there’s a new artist and a new song every second. Overseas, there’s a different kind of appreciation and especially for Hip-Hop. There’s a love for Hip-Hop in so many countries that you would never think. I was just in Romania like a week and a half ago. I’ve been to Kosovo, and it’s really, really crazy. Its just like a passion for Hip-Hop. So I guess that’s the main difference. And especially Germany. Germany loves, loves Hip-Hop. Like backpack, straight up hard-core, they love it.

The Well Versed: Other countries, and especially Europe, are especially big on dance music. Has that changed your perception on the type of music that you want to create?

Eve: No, not at all. I think because I travel so much, my ear is different when it comes to the way that I pick tracks, but I don’t feel like – especially pertaining to this record – I didn’t feel like I needed to be trying to do dance music because that’s the fad right now. There are some uptempo tracks on the album, but there might only be like two or three. I didn’t want to fall into that trap because I know a lot of people – well, its not really a trap – but I didn’t want to fall into that. I kind of wanted to stay true to who I am and I didn’t feel any pressure.

The Well Versed: What’s the name of the new album?

Eve: It’s still going to be Lip Lock.

The Well Versed: Dope name. What’s the concept behind it?

Eve: Basically Lip Lock means being lyrical and locking down the game again lyrically. And I just love the way it sounds. It’s kind of sexy, kind of edgy, but for me it’s more about just being lyrical and locking the game back down through lyrics.

The Well Versed: Can you talk about some of the exciting features or producers that we should be looking to hear on the album?

Eve: Definitely. I got a chance to work with a guy named Claude Kelly – who is just amazing and has written records for some of the X-Factor people – so his style is really big. His hooks are really big. But then he worked with another producer named Jon-John and the drums are just crazy. So I got a chance to work with them, which was really amazing. Obviously Swizz did something on the record. I worked with this kid named Jukebox who did a record – one of my favorite joints on the album – called “She Bad Bad.” Snoop is on the album – on a song called, “Mama in the Kitchen” – and Jill Scott is going to get on the record so it’s a nice record. I’m really excited about it.

The Well Versed: Nice. Do you know when the release date is?

Eve: It will be next year, but obviously, you’ll hear singles at the end of the year.