Faith Evans is a Grammy Award winner has been one of the most prominent all time singer. Born with the splendid musical talent, Evans is an important figure in hip-hop genre which is also a successful composer. Her multi-talented musical personality had also earned enough name as a gifted songwriter. She had all the heartbreaking experience of music world but had successfully dealt those incidents. In one of the grueling violence, she lost her husband The Notorious B.I.G., a victim of mysterious murder. This sad incident had given birth to “I’ll Be Missing You” which became an all-time hit as the bestselling and most popular song.
Her talent is not restricted to the performance as a singer but has also earned her success in the field of record production. She had also contributed to the making of some films as an efficient actress. The world of television had also shown an honoring gesture to this person who had appeared in some minor roles to please her fans. She had also given most appreciable effort to bring out one of the most successful autobiographical work titled “Keeping the Faith.” The book has achieved a prominent place in the bestsellers list of The New York Times. To no one’s surprise, this brilliant singer had gathered a hefty amount as her estimated net worth which had surpassed the 3 million dollar mark.
Early Life
Evans was born as Faith Renée Evans on 10th June 1973 in Lakeside, Florida, United States of America. She was born to a musical family where her father Richard Swain is a successful Italian musician. Along with it, her mother Helene Evans is an established Afro-American singer. Quite, unfortunately, her father Richard died before her birth. Although she was born in a mixed community, she has always considered herself as a Black. Obviously, Evans held American citizenship and was born with the zodiac sign Gemini. Getting no other option left for being a single young mother only at 18 her mother handed over the responsibility of her upbringing to her cousins Orvelt Kennedy and Johnnie Mae. She is a born singer, and her singing ability was noticed by her uncle and aunty much early.
When she was just a kid of two years, she started singing at the Church and after a couple of years was a special cute member in the prayer at the Emmanuel Baptist Church, Newark. She graduated from a local High school at Newark in 1991. Instead of her studies, she was more inclined to music and even got herself in some jazz bands in her younger days. She went into the study at the New York Fordham University with the intention of learning marketing but lost interest in pursuing a marketing career after a year and left her studies.
She performed first time in public when she was just three. Hence she went on to sing quite comfortably from the very early childhood. She grew up with her mother’s album collections of Earth Wind, Donna Summer, and Fire & Anita Ward. She also heard a lot of Linden and Jersey at aunt’s house. She was familiar with Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, CeCe Rogers, Colonel Abrahams, Gwen Guthrie and almost all top figures of that time. At the age of fourteen, she toured with The Spiritual Uplifters, a gospel group, to perform in Philadelphia, New York, and Connecticut. Sister Wilson who was the group organizer had some contacts in the music industry. She made some arrangement for Evans in the Boogie Down Productions where she played a minor role as a student. It was just the beginning of a bright career.
Career
After Evans got away from Griffin, she got an opportunity to sing in the background vocals for R&B artists which includes Christopher Williams and Al B Sure. She was noticed by Sean “Puffy” Combs who had opened a label Bad Boy Records. Evans started co-writing for Mary J Blige and Usher. In 1994 she signed with the Bad Boy Records as the first female singer.
In 1995 August Evans released her first solo album titled on herself as “Faith.” Excepting one she had either written or co-written in all the songs of the album. The Hitmen produced the album under Comb. “Soon as I Get Home” and “You Used to Love Me” was much appreciated and were recognized as gold-certified hit singles. More than one million copies were sold only in the United States, and the RIAA certified the album as platinum.
In 1997, Evans came up with “I’ll Be Missing You.” The single rocked the selling counters and is considered an all-time bestselling song. The same song claimed the Video Music Award of MTV under the “Best R&B Video.” The final appreciation had come when the single won the Grammy Award under “Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group” in 1998. The expectation was raising high from all corners in the music world. The artist didn’t dishearten her fans and released her sophomore album titled “Keep the Faith.” Singles “All Night Long,” “Love like this” and “Faith” was highly appreciated by the innumerable audience all over. Huge positive reviews from the critics earned this effort as her most successful album. On the U.S. Billboard 200 album peaked #6 and on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop chart the album went up to the third rank.
In 2000 Evans appeared in one moderate hip-hop movie “Turn It Up” under the direction of Robert Adetuyi. Next year Evans released her third album from Bad Boy Records titled “Faithfully.” One single “I Love You” was recognized by prestigious charts. In 2005 “The First Lady” was released from Capitol Records. The album was warmly received by the music world and went up high on the music charts. On the U.S. Billboard 200, the album got the second rank. The same year her “A Faithful Christmas” was released with memorable songs like “Santa Baby” and “White Christmas.” She featured in Robin Thicke’s album “The Evolution of Robin Thicke” in 2007 which does not meet the expectation of the music world. Evans came up with her fifth studio album titled “Something About Faith” in 2010 released by the label Prolific Music Group.
Personal Life
When she left her pursuit in marketing studies and got involved with Kiyamma Griffin, the music producer. Soon become the mother and gave birth to her first child Chyna. The family moved to Los Angeles. The relationship did not last long, and Evans returned to Newark as a single mother. After this, in the year 1994 Evans in one photo shoot for the label came in contact with Christopher Wallace who is better known as the Notorious B.I.G.
The couple settled for marriage when they were not well known to each other. She was then 21 years old while Wallace was a year older. It was not an ideal marriage which was planned in a hurry, and the two young heard exchanged vows on 4th August in Rockland County, New York. After the marriage, Wallace went out for a tour and Evans concentrated on the working of her debut album.
Her musical career has been overcast with the confusion of her husband and Tupac Shakur. She was working in Los Angeles when an arrangement was made for her recording with Tupac. She was not aware of Tupac’s rivalry with her husband neither she knew that the rapper had been signed to Death Row Records. Evans contributed on a track titled “Wonda Why They Call U Bitch” but never got into the album. But unfortunate Death Row couldn’t reach a favorable agreement. Later Shakur wrongfully claimed that he had an intimate relationship with Evans. In 1996 March in one prominent magazine The Source he prompted something unworthy. His track “Hit ‘Em Up” went on wild against Wallace.
After three months Shakur was shot dead in Las Vegas, but the conspiracy of the murder was not solved. The story of rivalry ended with the death of her husband Notorious B.I.G. who was shot dead on 9th March the next year. Subsequently, in 1998, she had two children with Todd Russaw whom she eventually divorced in 2011.
Quick Summary:
Full Name: Faith Renée Evans
Date of Birth: 10th June 1973
Birth Place: Lakeside, Florida, United States of America
Age: 45 Years Old
Profession: Singer, Songwriter, and Actress
Height: 5 Feet 6 Inches / 1.68 m
Weight: NA
Net Worth: $3 Million
