Faith Evans
3 subscribers
About Faith Evans
Faith Renee Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Born in Coral Gables, Florida and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Evans moved to Los Angeles in 1993 for a career in music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B. Sure, she became the first female artist to be signed to Sean Puff Daddy Combs Bad Boy Entertainment label in 1994, on which she released three platinum-certified studio albums between the years of 1995 and 2001.[1] In 2003, she left the label to sign with Capitol Records.[2] Next to her recording career, Evans is widely known as the widow of New York rapper Christopher The Notorious B.I.G. Wallace, whom she married in 1994 two months after meeting at a photoshoot.[3] The turbulent marriage led to Evans involvement in the East Coast-West Coast hip hop feud, dominating the rap scene at the time, and ended with Wallaces murder in a yet-unsolved drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in March 1997.[4] A 1997 tribute single featuring Puff Daddy and 112, entitled Ill Be Missing You, became Evans biggest-selling hit to date and won her a Grammy Award in 1998.[2] Also an avocational actress and writer, Evans made her big screen debut in the 2000 musical drama Turn It Up by Robert Adetuyi. Her self-written autobiography Keep the Faith: A Memoir was released by Grand Central Publishing in 2008. Evans was born in Coral Gables, Florida in June 1973 to an African-American mother, Helene Evans, a professional singer.[2] Her father, Richard Swain, was a musician who left before Evans was born (Evans has said Ive heard people mumble something about him being Italian, but I dont know for sure).[5] A half year later, 19-year-old Helene returned to Newark, New Jersey and left Faith with her cousin Johnnie Mae and husband Orvelt Kennedy, the foster parents of more than 100 children they raised in the time that Faith lived with them.[2][4] It was not until a couple of years later, Helenes career floundered and she tried to take Evans back home. Faith, however, was scared to leave what shead been used to, and instead, Helene moved in next door.[2] Raised in a Christian home, Evans began singing at church at age two, and at age four, she caught the attention of the congregation of the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Newark when she sang The Fifth Dimensions song Let the Sunshine In.[6] While attending University High School in Newark, she sang with several jazz bands and, encouraged by Helene, entered outside pageants, festivals and contests, where her voice would be noticed and praised. I was raised in a very, very Christian home, Evans told i-D magazine in a 1998 interview. It was church, school, church, school. I could hardly go to the corner of my block. It was strict. After graduating from High School in 1991, Evans attended Fordham University in New York City to study marketing but dropped out a year later to have daughter Chyna with music producer Kiyamma Griffin.[1] A couple of months later she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked as a backup vocalist for singer Al B. Sure, when she caught the ear of musician Sean Puff Daddy Combs. Impressed with her persona, Combs signed her as the labels first female artist to his Bad Boy Entertainment in 1994.[1]
Music by Faith Evans - 5 total
[ play all ]
Create a free account to subscribe to artists, create playlists and more!
