<p>Before <a href="/profile/NickiMinaj" class="text-word" target="_blank" >Nicki Minaj</a> came through with her first single, the game was home to another dominant female voice &#8211; Ruff Ryder&#8217;s first lady <a href="/profile/Eve" class="text-word" target="_blank" >Eve</a>. In case you don&#8217;t remember the Double R era, it was a prosperous time in hip-hop; Eve did her part in delivering a fair share of hits, including the timeless <a href="/profile/DoctorDre" class="text-word" target="_blank" >Dr. Dre</a> produced&#8221;Let Me Blow Your Mind.&#8221; Suffice it to say, Eve was a rare breed of emcee, and never succumbed to the pressures of hyper-sexualization in the media. Instead, like Rah Diggah or <a href="/profile/OfficialLaurynHill" class="text-word" target="_blank" >Lauryn Hill</a>, Eve relied strictly on her skills as a lyricist to make an impression. And while her music career is largely behind her, Eve is currently enjoying a new gig as a co-host on <em>The Talk. </em></p>
<p>On a recent episode, Eve weighed in on Nicki Minaj&#8217;s &#8220;Minaj A Trois&#8221; sexually-charged photoshoot with<em> </em>Paper Magazine, and expressed her doubts about Minaj&#8217;s decision to display herself in such a way. You can read a transcription of her statement here:</p>

<blockquote>
<p>&#8220;I worked with Nicki and i got to know her on <em data-reactid="150">Barbershop</em> and she&#8217;s a nice person and an amazing actor, I respect her as a lyricist,&#8221; Eve began. &#8220;But as a <em data-reactid="153">woman—</em>from my point-of-view, personally—I would not be able to do that. I think in this climate, it&#8217;s not good. I think every artist has a right to express themselves however they want to express themselves, and i respect that as well. for me personally, as I started coming up in the business I started to realize that young girls were looking up to me and young people were looking up to me. And not that you want to be a role model, but it is what you are. It&#8217;s a responsibility whether you like it or not. and as i&#8217;ve got older, I&#8217;ve learned that I&#8217;d just rather be a voice that&#8217;s uplifting that I can be a voice for those girls that might not have a voice in a different way without showing myself off.&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While the Barbz will no doubt take issue with Eve&#8217;s criticism, the rapper does raise some interesting points about female perception in the rap game. What do you think about Eve&#8217;s comments?</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cneq47zkUYk" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><br><h2>Eve</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/gallery/18/27/1510842718_1a0340a86d1302d600fbbd75769a1382.jpg" alt="Eve Isn't Crazy About Nicki Minaj's Photoshoot: &quot;It's Not My Thing&quot;"></figure>