It’s been more than a decade since her last album, but Eve—she of the décolletage paw print tattoos, sitcoms and exceedingly catchy duets with Gwen Stefani—is back and just as ferocious as ever.
Today Lip Lock, Eve’s fourth studio album, drops, and the 34-year-old singer seems in as fine a form as ever. “I’m doing good, busy and crazy but good,” she confirms. “I’ve been recording and recording—I was supposed to put out an album years ago—so it feels like I’ve been nonstop recording, but it only took a year to get this one done. It just worked out.”
Here, Eve talks about Lip Lock, her unexpected collaborations and just when we might see her back in front of the camera.
Welcome back! After all this time, what made you decide to release an album?
Everything happened exactly how it supposed to. It wasn’t a lot of stress once we decided to go into the studio: All the producers I picked showed up and wanted to be there and it just made life easier. It was an easy process because people wanted to be there and it just felt right.
Did you hit a point when you realized that this was actually going to be an album?
It took about four songs, where things kept flowing and I was like, OK, this is happening.
Had you written the tracks prior to going into the studio?
I have to write in the studio. I like to hear what the track is before I come up with a concept or anything like that. I always say the music tells me what to write.
How do you think Lip Lock compares to your older work?
I don’t want people to compare it to my other albums. It’s not going to be the album from the past because I’m in a different place, I’m a new person and I feel like a new artist. I’m more mature now then I was then, but lyrically I think people will recognize me and be like, “Oh, damn, that’s my girl.”
How are you a new person?
My ear is different because I travel so much and because I listen to all kinds of music, I think that makes me pick different kinds of tracks. I live in the UK, I go to Africa a few times a year, I go to the Middle East; I’m sure being in those places has influenced me.
You collaborate with Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta on the song “Make It Out This Town.” How did that come about?
His music and my music don’t seem like the right kind of mash up, but I met Gabe last year and we just hit it off, we clicked. He’s a cool person and I went to one of his concerts and became a fan. I loved his music and I knew that he would be in for the concept of the song. He was the first person I thought about to go on the record.
A lot’s happened in hip-hop since you last made a record. Are you feeling the new artists?
Yeah, I think there’s a lot of good music out, I think there’s a lot of dope artists. I love Kendrick Lamar’s album, I think A$AP Rocky is really dope, I think Azealia is really dope, and Frank Ocean.
And now that you have a new record hitting, can fans expect to see you acting again soon?
Yeah I want to, I put it on the back burner to finish this album but I will be I’m sure I’ll be back to acting. I would love to try and do something in the sitcom world, but probably on an HBO or a Showtime or FX something like that, something a little more edgy and gritty. As far as movies go, my dream role would be to be in something with Quentin Tarantino.
Will we wait another 11 years for the follow up to Lip Lock?
Definitely not. I’m already thinking about the next album. I can’t wait. I’m ready to get back in the studio.
