Before Nicki Minaj came through with her first single, the game was home to another dominant female voice - Ruff Ryder's first lady Eve. In case you don't remember the Double R era, it was a prosperous time in hip-hop; Eve did her part in delivering a fair share of hits, including the timeless Dr. Dre produced"Let Me Blow Your Mind." Suffice it to say, Eve was a rare breed of emcee, and never succumbed to the pressures of hyper-sexualization in the media. Instead, like Rah Diggah or Lauryn Hill, Eve relied strictly on her skills as a lyricist to make an impression. And while her music career is largely behind her, Eve is currently enjoying a new gig as a co-host on The Talk.
On a recent episode, Eve weighed in on Nicki Minaj's "Minaj A Trois" sexually-charged photoshoot with Paper Magazine, and expressed her doubts about Minaj's decision to display herself in such a way. You can read a transcription of her statement here:
"I worked with Nicki and i got to know her on Barbershop and she's a nice person and an amazing actor, I respect her as a lyricist," Eve began. "But as a woman—from my point-of-view, personally—I would not be able to do that. I think in this climate, it's not good. I think every artist has a right to express themselves however they want to express themselves, and i respect that as well. for me personally, as I started coming up in the business I started to realize that young girls were looking up to me and young people were looking up to me. And not that you want to be a role model, but it is what you are. It's a responsibility whether you like it or not. and as i've got older, I've learned that I'd just rather be a voice that's uplifting that I can be a voice for those girls that might not have a voice in a different way without showing myself off."
While the Barbz will no doubt take issue with Eve's criticism, the rapper does raise some interesting points about female perception in the rap game. What do you think about Eve's comments?