Eve explores an alternate history in ‘Queens’
Rapper saw more success in ’90s than character she plays
What year is this again? There’s Eve, rapping in her signature style while stalking through some wretched excess, flaunting a big house, a yacht and many scantily clad admirers in director Tim Story’s video. It’s as if “Now That’s What I Call the ’90s” has come to life.
But this is the opening scene for “Queens,” a new ABC series that recently premiered.
Eve plays one of four members in an all-female superstar rap group. Rounding out the party starters on the aforementioned yacht are Brandy, Naturi Naughton and Nadine Velazquez. They also play the older versions of the women whose fortunes have shifted dramatically since their “one big album in the ’90s.”
It’s an alternate history of sorts for Eve. “I could never have thought that I would be in a show, kind of being a rapper from the same era that I was actually a rapper in,” Eve says. “But I have to say it’s been fun for me, because I have been away from music for so long as myself.”
Eve was living large in the ’90s and throughout the early 2000s, being her “superhero self ” onstage with platinum albums, Grammy awards and movies such as the “Barbershop” franchise and “xXx,” and her eponymous TV show “Eve.” Her real life parallels the show even more now, with her recent announcement that at age 43, she’s expecting her first child with her husband, British race car driver and entrepreneur Maximillion Cooper, with whom she shares four “bonus children.”
The rich life of the character she gets to play, Brianna, along with getting to work with creator and executive producer Zahir McGhee (“Scandal,” “Stumptown”), were among the things that drew Eve to the show.
“I think I was the first person to sign on. When I read the script, I was like, ‘Oh, my God. The script is actually amazing,’ because it wasn’t what I thought when I heard, ‘Oh, it’s a show about these women that were this big group,’ ” she says. “When I saw that the characters had these really incredible lives as well, as far as their story goes. And all these storylines, along with the fact that they’d be making amazing music, amazing videos ... that’s what drew me in first.
“And then obviously, when I heard that Brandy and Naturi were signed on, I was like, ‘Oh, my God,’ and
then that Swizz Beatz was doing the music. It was like, ‘OK, this is perfection.’ And even Nadine Velazquez
... She has never sang or rapped. But she’s amazing.”
More than a show about rappers “reclaiming their throne” — as the tagline says — “Queens” is about women reclaiming their time, friendship, another chance at life.
“It falls into the same lack of category that ‘Desperate Housewives’ does, and yet it adds a new layer of hip-hop and music,” says executive producer Sabrina Wind, who had the same position on that show. “We have dramatic scenes, we have comedy scenes, we have music, we have moments that will make you laugh, will make you cringe, will make you cry … we also show real human emotions, we also show the trials and tribulations of being a housewife or being in
a marriage or struggling with your career or all of these things or just trying to figure out who you are and what disappointments you’ve caused in your life because of that. So there’s just so much relatable in just the emotional aspect of it.”
“Dramatic” and “relatable” are the operative words for Eve, who has acted mostly in comedies.
“That has definitely been a challenge in the sense that obviously, I want to be believable and evoke those real emotions, which I haven’t had practice on,” she says. “But it’s definitely been a nice muscle to try to test. And hopefully, that opens up some doors for some other things. You never know.”
What she does know is that she’s not the one writing the rhymes this time. And it’s really OK.
“I get to be and do and be this character and sing this
music that I’m really proud of,” she says, noting that the show was the first time she’s rapped in a cypher in which it was all women. “But what’s nice is I don’t have the pressure of a label or trying to sell records on my own. So that part of it is actually very nice.
“Honestly, I’m happy with Swizz, because I trust him fully. We barely speak about the music or show ... except for the fact that I’m like, ‘Yo, this song is amazing.’ But the person that’s writing along with Swizz, they’re killing it. To be honest, the production schedule is so hectic, there’s no time to even tweak anything with music. So thank God it’s been perfect.”
The video at the top of the series’ packed first episode goes a long way toward establishing each character’s personality. And music plays an integral role in that, with each song propelling the story.
The quartet’s single and music video for “Nasty Girl” dropped weeks ahead of the show’s premiere. The music, catchy as all get-out, is another character on the show. Eve has scaled heights before with Swizz Beats as her producer, when she was a member of the rap collective Ruff Ryders. It didn’t take long for him to sign on either.
“My sister Eve called me about it, and everybody started calling me about it. I said, ‘So I guess this is the one we’re gonna do,’ ” he says and chuckles.
Swizz Beats admires that the show is about “celebrating women,” and he and his team strive to fit the lyrics to each character and star.
It’s also a different choreography for Eve, who walked away from the daytime show “The Talk” last year to spend more time with her family in London. Just because she’ll be back on screens weekly doesn’t mean she’s back back. She likes her life the way it is. While “Queens” could well make her a TV star — again — home is where her heart is.
“I like my peace. I like my life in London,” she says. “If I’m in Atlanta or LA, to me, that’s work. And I embody that fully. And not that I don’t work in London, but my stuff that I do in London is a lot more chill. Like I have a podcast (‘The Eve’s Drop’). I just finished my second season, so I definitely stay busy. It’s just I stay quiet.
“I don’t think of it as like, ‘Wow, this is gonna be this thing.’ The show is definitely going to be big for sure. I do know that it’s gonna be amazing, the music people will love, but you know I’m just ... I’m happy to be a part of such a cool project.”
The ’90s were very kind to Eve. With “Queens,” she’s returning the favor. Says Eve: “You’re gonna love it.”