Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady is the debut studio album by American rapper Eve. It was released by Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Interscope Records on September 14, 1999. All of the songs on the album were written by Eve herself. It sold over 200,000 copies in the first week. The album has sold over 2 million copies and was certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album features singles such as "Gotta Man", and "Love Is Blind" with Faith Evans. Eve became the third female hip-hop artist to have her album peak at number-one on the Billboard 200 (Lauryn Hill's debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, being the first to top the chart in 1998 and Foxy Brown's second album, Chyna Doll achieving the feat earlier in 1999).
Critical reception
AllMusic editor Theresa E. LaVeck found that "Eve's conviction and passion make her noticeable no matter what the subject, but she truly stands out when the stories become personal, examining the cost of the hard life she champions in other songs. "Love Is Blind" is a painful look at domestic violence. Self-respect and positivity are the moral of "Heaven Only Knows." Both tracks are backed by beautiful arrangements with acoustic guitar and lush vocals. Eve maintains her hardcore image in these tracks, but with a subtle vulnerability that promise lots of interesting things to come from this Philly prodigy."
Track listing
Personnel
Credits for Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady adapted from AllMusic.
Adam "Bunnie" Grossman – engineer
Adam Gazzola – instrumentation
Charles Duffy – art direction, design
Chris Theis – engineer
Dee Dean – executive producer
DMX – performer
Eric – performer
Eric Smith – engineer
Eve – vocals
The Icepick – producer
Jonathan Mannion – photography
Kithe Brewster – stylist
Mario DeArce – editing
P.K – producer
Rich Keller – multi Instruments, mixing, instrumentation
Ron Martinez – vocals
Shok – producer
Swizz Beatz – producer, associate producer
Taryn Simon – photography
Tony Dawsey – mastering
Tony Maserati – mixing
Waah – executive producer, art direction, design
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
See also
List of number-one albums of 1999 (U.S.) List of number-one R&B albums of 1999 (U.S.)