Faith Evans
Faith Renee Evans was born in 1973 in Lakeland, Florida. Her father left the family when she was very young and so Evans was raised by her mother and aunt in Newark, New Jersey. Her mother was eighteen when she gave birth to Evans.
Immersed in music, Evans sang at church since she was two and sang in school musicals. She was a smart child, making the honor roll in high school and winning a full scholarship to Fordham University. However, music was Evans love and so she dropped out of college after one year to pursue music.
When Evans was 19 years old, she had a child, Chyna, with producer Kiyamma Griffin. Griffin helped Evans get established in the industry as she worked as a session singer with Al B. Sure. During this time, Evans met producer Sean 'Puffy' Combs who thought she had talent and signed her to his label, Bad Boy Records.
Evans helped write songs and did backup for Usher's debut album and Mary J. Blige's My Life. Another member of the label, rapper The Notorious B.I.G., met Evans at a Bad Boy photoshoot and the two married ten days later in August 1994.
In 1995, Faith Evans released her debut album, Faith. The album sold well with the singles 'You Used To Love Me' and 'Soon As I Get Home' both breaking the top 5 on the R&B charts. Both of the singles went gold, helping to drive the album into platinum status.
During this time, Evans was pregnant with Biggie's child and a fierce rap war between Biggie and Tupac Shakur developed. The rivalry escalated when Shakur was murdered in September 1996. The escalating conflict and rumors that Biggie was cheating with female rappers Lil' Kim and Charli Baltimore caused the couple's marriage to collapse, even as their child, Christopher Jordan, was being born.
In March of 1997, Biggie was killed by unidentified assassins, causing Evans to enter a deep depression. Working alongside Puff Daddy and group 112, the artists released 'I'll Be Missing You,' a tribute song to Biggie. The single reached #1 on the Hot 100 and stayed there for eleven weeks.
Evans remarried and had a third child before releasing her sophomore effort, Keep The Faith in 1998. The album packed several hits with 'Love Like This' reaching #7 on the Hot 100, 'All Night Long' produced by Puffy reaching #9 on the Hot 100 and the Babyface track 'Never Gonna Let You Go' topping the R&B charts. Driven by such strong singles, the album went platinum.
Going strong, Evans third album, Faithfully, was released in 2001. Evans lost fifty pounds gearing up to promote the album and emerged with a sexier new look. The album went gold with the singles 'I Love You' and 'You Gets No Love' both breaking the top ten on the R&B charts.
In early 2004, Evans and her husband Todd Russaw were arrested due to drug possession and driving under the influence and were sentenced to three years' probation. Yet Evans rebounded in 2005 and released The First Lady. The album went gold and was driven by the strength of the single 'Again' which broke the top 10 on the R&B charts.
Evans is rumoured to be working on a new album that is heavily influenced by gospel. It is said to feature producers Chucky Thompson and Jazze Pha.