May 02, 2005 @ 7:51 am

VIBE Cover Story: Faith Evans - Widow's Peak

Aliya S. King

Even before she married the man who became her manager, the shadow of strong men followed Fait

Even before she married the man who became her manager, the shadow of strong men followed Faith. The father of her first child, daughter Chyna, was a local Newark, N.J., music producer named Kiyamma Griffin. His relationship with '80s-era R&B singer Al B. Sure! led to Evans's first gig as a session singer for $2,000 per week. Later, she was signed to Bad Boy and often found her career vision eclipsed by überproducer Sean "Puffy" Combs. But it's her first marriage-an impetuous and tempestuous union with Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace-that continues to define her in the public's eye, for better or worse. At 1:15 a.m. on March 9, 1997, the very moment that Wallace was pronounced dead, Faith Evans's persona was immediately and eternally sealed into the title that would be typed into line 26 of his death certificate: Informant: Faith Renee Wallace, wife. And since then, the popularity of Biggie's music has made him ubiquitous even in death. She can't take a 10-minute ride anywhere without hearing her deceased husband's deep voice blaring through the speakers. And every time she looks at her son CJ, Biggie's roundfaced doppelganger, she sees him all over again. Even her tribute to Wallace-the fabled B.I.G. tattoo on her breast, long since covered up-is back, in a way. The name Chris is spelled out in fancy script on her left bicep, this time in honor of their son, Christopher Jordan. While Evans was elevated to hip hop's version of the bereaved first lady, she didn't accept the idea that she should become one of those long-suffering, seemingly asexual widows like Betty Shabazz or Coretta Scott King. "We weren't together when he passed," explains Faith, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head. "What am I going to do? Act like we were?" It's been almost 11 years since she said "I do" to B.I.G. after a brief courtship, more than eight years since his casket took a final ride through the streets of Brooklyn. And after all this time, Faith is still hustling-working just as hard as she did before she met the man. Maybe even harder. In many ways, Evans's current husband has helped her move on from that phase of her life. Russaw, a former Soul Traindancer who'd once worked as a Motown A&R executive and managed the R&B trio 702,helped her negotiate an exit from Bad Boy in 2003. "Puff eventually told me himself that music wasn't his first priority anymore," she says while glad-handing BET execs. "My record came out in the middle of his label change. Who was going to help me support it?" Now signed to Capitol Records, she's released The First Lady, arguably her best work since her classic self-titled 1995 debut. The first single, "Again," is raw, heartfelt, and intensely personal. "If I had to do it all again," she sings in her signature choir-girl wail, "I wouldn't take away the rain / 'Cause I know it made me who I am." The no-regrets theme could apply to many junctures in Evans's life. She dropped out of Fordham University after one year (although she says she was on a full academic scholarship). She became an unwed mother soon after. She married Wallace before even meeting his mother. And four years ago, she says she was found guilty of battery after a tussle with an Atlanta police officer. Beyond the facts, there's been enough rumor and innuendo about Evans to fill an entire boxed-set of confessional songs. The Philadelphia-based songwriting duo Carvin Haggins and Ivan Barias (CarMuI), who cowrote and produced "Again," advised Evans not to avoid her life's tougher episodes. "People need to hear your business," Haggins told her, "and they need to hear it from you." The main thing that needed to be addressed was Evans's 2004 arrest for drug possession. In January of last year, she and Russaw were pulled over in Hapeville, Ga., for, as she explains, having an expired temporary license on their Hummer. The officer asked about the smell of marijuana coming out of the car. "I told them my car was used in a video, and I had just gotten it back that day," says Evans. The officers searched the car and, according to the arresting officer's statement, "upon searching the vehicle, we discovered marijuana roaches on the center console and suspect cocaine in the passenger side door as well as a silver tin with a built-in mirror and a razor blade with further suspect cocaine." When asked about the incident, Evans's answers become vague and she launches into a soliloquy that addresses everything except the facts. To Read The Rest of This Story, Get This Issue At Your Local Newsstand Now! Click Here! To Receive a Full Year of VIBE for $11.95!

Article tags: VIBE, Cover, Story, Faith, Evans, Widow's, Peak 

Page printed from:
http://www.vibe.com/news/magazine_features/2005/05/vibe_cover_story_faith_evans_widows_peak/

Return to previous page