The Memoir Of Ms. Butterfly

Evans was born on June 10, 1973, in Lakeland, Florida, to an African-American mother, Helene Evans, a professional singer.

Her father, Richard Swain, was a musician of English and potential Italian descent who left before Evans was born; Evans has said, “I’ve heard people mumble something about him being Italian, but I don’t know for sure.

A half-year later, 19-year-old Helene returned to Newark, New Jersey, and left Faith with her cousin Johnnie Mae and husband Orvelt Kennedy, the foster parents of more than 100 children they raised while Faith lived with them.

Faith had known Johnnie Mae and Orvelt Kennedy as her grandparents. It was not until a couple of years later that Helene’s career floundered, and she tried to take Evans back home. Faith, however, was afraid to leave what she had “been used to,” and instead, Helene relocated next door.

In a Christian home, Evans began singing at church at age two. At age four, she caught the attention of the congregation of the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Newark when she sang The 5th Dimension’s song “Let the Sunshine In.

While attending University High School in Newark, she sang with several jazz bands and, encouraged by Helene, entered outside pageants, festivals, and contests where her voice would be noticed and praised.

After graduating from high school in 1991, Evans attended Fordham University in New York City to study marketing but left a year later to have a daughter, Chyna, with music producer Kiyamma Griffin. In 1993, she relocated to Los Angeles, where she worked as a backup vocalist for singer Al B. Sure!

when she was noticed by musician Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs. Impressed with her, Combs contracted her as the first female artist to his Bad Boy Entertainment record label in 1994.

Newly contracted to Bad Boy Records, Evans was consulted by executive producer Combs to contribute backing vocals and writing skills to Mary J. Blige’s My Life (1994) and Usher’s self-titled debut album (1994) before starting work on her debut studio album Faith.

Released on August 29, 1995, in North America, the album was a central collaboration with Bad Boy’s leading producers, The Hitmen, including Chucky Thompson and Combs, but it also resulted in recordings with Poke & Tone and Herb Middleton.

 Faith became successful based on the singles “You Used to Love Me” and “Soon as I Get Home.” R.I.A.A. said the album was eventually certified platinum with 1.5 million copies sold.

Stevie J and Faith Evans eloped in 2018 but were headed for divorce by November 2021 after the veteran producer accused his spouse of cheating. Public fights and messy social media exchanges followed, but the two always popped back up together.

Speaking to HipHopDX last March, Stevie J addressed their relationship status and confirmed they were still married.

“We’re good,” he said at the time. “She’s still Mrs. Jordan. We’re cooling. We’re handling some things and keeping it out of the media. Do you know what I’m saying?

That’s my best friend. Why wouldn’t it work out? We go back 28 years or something like that. She knows you from A to Z. She knows everything about me; I know everything about her. So when it’s like that, it’s bound to work out.”

Stevie’s latest move has given it some steam while the divorce has been at a standstill for months. Faith has yet to respond to Stevie’s new lawyer, however.

Faith Evans was back in court moving her divorce from Stevie J forward only weeks after the music producer issued a public apology where he begged for forgiveness, has learned. According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Faith, 49, has turned over her financial records to Stevie, 50, including a list of her assets and debts.

The move is a necessary step before a divorce can be finalized. The development comes after fans believed the two had reconciled with each other after a rocky couple of months.

On Mother’s Day, Stevie posted a note on social media where he apologized to Faith. He said, “I’ve hurt, disrespected, and humiliated you in front of the world.

A year before, on August 4, 1994, Evans married rapper and label mate Christopher “The Notorious B.I. G.B.I.G.” Wallace after meeting him at a Bad Boy photoshoot.

The couple had one child together, Christopher George Latore Wallace Jr. After allegations of an affair with Tupac Shakur, Evans became involved in the East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry, which dominated rap music then.

Wallace was murdered in a yet-to-be-solved drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, California in March 1997. In early 1997, after her separation from Wallace, but before his death, Evans’ friend Missy Elliott introduced her to record company executive Todd Russaw. Faith began dating Russaw during her and Wallace’s separation, and after Wallace died, Evans became pregnant by Russaw.

The couple had their first son, Joshua, on June 10, 1998 (her 25th birthday. During the summer of 1998, Evans and Russaw were married, and on March 22, 2007, they had their second son, Ryder Evan Russaw.

After Biggie’s murder on March 9, 1997, Combs helped Evans produce her tribute song named “I’ll Be Missing You,” based on the melody of The Police’s 1983 single “Every Breath You Take.

” The song featured Combs, Evans, and the all-male group 112, became a worldwide number-one success, and debuted at number one on the U.S.U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1997, scoring that for eleven weeks

. It eventually won Puffy, Evans, and 112 the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The following year, she received another two Grammy nominations for “Heartbreak Hotel,” a collaboration with singers Whitney Houston and Kelly Price, that scored number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Evans’ second studio album, Keep the Faith, was released two years in the making on October 27, 1998. Almost entirely written and produced by her, Evans considered the album challenging to complete as she initially felt discouraged about the progress.

Upon its release, however, the album earned generally positive reviews by music critics, with Allmusic noting it “without a doubt a highlight of 1990s soul-pop music. Also enjoying commercial success, it eventually went platinum.

It produced the top ten singles “Love Like This” and “All Night Long” (released March 30, 1999), prompting Evans to start an 18-city theater tour with Dru Hill and Total the following year.

Evans’ third album on the Bad Boy labels, Faithfully (2001), involved working with a broader range of producers, including The Neptunes, Mario Winans, Buckwild, Vada Nobles, Cory Rooney, and others.

Her first project with husband Todd Russaw as executive producer and creative partner, the album scored number 14 on the Billboard 200 album chart and number two on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, eventually being certified platinum, but yielded moderately successful singles, with the Jennifer Lopez-written “I Love You” becoming the only top twenty entry.

 Released amid Bad Boy Records’ transition from distributor Arista Records to Universal, Evans felt Faithfully received minimum assistance from the company.

In 2004, she finally decided to end her business with Bad Boy as she was convinced Combs couldn’t improve her career anymore due to his other commitments.

In January 2004, Evans and Russaw were arrested and charged with possessing marijuana and cocaine and an improper tag violation during a traffic stop in Hapeville, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia.

After ending with Bad Boy Entertainment, Evans contracted with Capitol Records, becoming the first contemporary R&B artist to do so, and started work on her fourth studio album, The First Lady, named after her nickname on her former label.

 Instead of having an in-house team of producers who supplied most of the previous material, she and Russaw could gain more creative control of the album. They consulted producers such as Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Mike Caren, Pharrell Williams, and Chucky Thompson to contribute to it.

 Upon its release in April 2005, The First Lady scored at number two on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming Evans’ best-charting album. It was eventually certified gold by the R.I.A.A.

 At the end of the year, Evans released A Faithful Christmas, a holiday album of traditional Christmas songs and original tracks. The effort would become her last release on Capitol Records as the company was bought in 2007.

Following a 5-year hiatus, Faith Evans created her record label imprint in 2010. She named the imprint Prolific Music Group and hired top talent to build the record label from scratch

. Evans began recording songs with Keyshia Cole, Redman, Snoop Dogg, and Raekwon, among others, for the label’s freshman album. Evans signed a deal with independent record label E1 Entertainment later that year.

 Her fifth studio album, Something About Faith, was released on October 5, 2010, in the United States, where it debuted and peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Independent Albums chart. Something About Faith has spawned the leading single “Gone Already,” which spent over thirty-three weeks on the U.S.U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, which peaked at number twenty-two.

In August 2010, Evans was arrested for misdemeanor drunk driving after being stopped at a checkpoint in Marina del Rey, California. In 2011, Evans filed for divorce against Russaw.

The couple agreed to spend 13 weeks in a drug treatment program to avoid further prosecution of their drug possession case. In May 2011, Evans and Russaw announced they were getting a divorce and stated they would like to keep it quiet for the children’s sake.

In 2012, Evans co-executive produced and became a cast member on the T.V.T.V. One reality show R&B Divas: Atlanta alongside fellow R&B singers Nicci Gilbert, Syleena Johnson, Keke Wyatt, and Monifah.

The show offered an inside look at how the singers balance their music careers and personal lives as they work towards producing an Evans-led compilation album, R&B Divas (2012), in memory of Whitney Houston.

Broadcast to rating records for the network, the series produced a spin-off titled R&B Divas: Los Angeles and was renewed for two further seasons. Evans, who left the show following its second season, earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album at the 55th awards ceremony.

In August 2013, Evans confirmed she had begun work on her sixth studio album, Incomparable, involving contributions from Chucky Thompson, Mike City, KeKe Wyatt, B.Slade, and Karen Clark Sheard of The Clark Sisters.

“I Deserve It,” a record featuring recurring collaborator Missy Elliott and her protégée Sharaya J, was released on August 25, 2014, as the album’s lead single and peaked at number 19 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Songs chart.

 Released by Prolific Music Group and B.M.G. Rights Management on November 24, 2014, Incomparable debuted at number 27 on the U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and 17 on the U.S. Independent Albums chart.

In 2016, Evans announced that she was finishing a posthumous Notorious B.I.G. album titled The King & I, which will feature duets with her late husband. The album was released on May 19, 2017.

 From this day forward, I promise to listen to your feelings and be more delicate with your heart,” he continued. “I also promise to build you up even more & to communicate daily with you, respect you, and love on you until you’re as happy as you were when we got married.

On July 17, 2018, she married producer and Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star Stevie J. The couple released the hit song “A Minute” on July 27, 2018. Between 2015 and 2019, Evans-Jordan appeared in several episodes of Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta and Leave It to Stevie alongside then-friend Stevie J.

In May 2020, Evans was arrested for felony domestic violence against Stevie J. She was released on bond, and the charges were later dropped. In 2021, Stevie J filed for divorce.

In 2021, Faith Evans competed in season six of The Masked Singer as “Skunk .”She was unmasked during the Group A Finals, where she referenced the loss of The Notorious B.I.G. and her son being autistic.

Stevie claimed he had “learned my lesson” and said he “NEVER” wanted to live with Faith. He said, “God knows I’m a better man with you, and I’m asking you to find it in your heart to forgive me and allow me to rebuild trust.”

The apology did little to mend their relationship with Faith back in court. First, Stevie filed for divorce in November 2021 following 3 years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences. The couple did not sign a prenuptial agreement before marrying in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2018.

Sources said the couple’s relationship has been rocky since the start and has shocked their closest friends. In his petition, Stevie asked the court to award him monthly spousal support. He listed the date of marriage as July 17, 2018, and the date of separation as October 19, 2021.

In response, Faith demanded Stevie’s request for spousal support be denied. She also requested “all property acquired before marriage, by gift, inheritance, or devise, and after the date of separation” to be awarded to her.

Faith listed the date of separation as May 29, 2020, around the same time she was arrested for domestic violence after cops showed up at the couple’s home for a disturbance. No charges were ever filed because Stevie refused to cooperate.

Faith Evans and Stevie J are close to finalizing their divorce. New court documents suggest that the pair are making progress. They have been attempting to resolve their contentious divorce for some time now. The headlines surrounding the split have been everything from tame to downright ugly.

 However, that is all coming to an end. According to a report from The Blast, Stevie J filed a disclosure statement. It outlines the couple’s financial details for the other party’s benefit. Some unfamiliar with the process may need to learn what this entails.

 The specific details of the disclosure statement were not made public. However, according to legal experts, this filing indicates a potential settlement between Evans and Stevie J in the divorce case. It remains to be seen if that is actually the case. Still, the former couple may finally have a light at the end of the tunnel. If the couple desires privacy, the divorce terms may remain undisclosed.

The recent filing brings a more positive turn to the ongoing saga of Faith Evans and Stevie J’s divorce. In April, Stevie J was ordered to return Evans’ vehicle. She had accused him of taking it without permission to attend the Coachella music festival. Evans, in an emergency motion, requested the return of the 2023 Mercedes Sprinter Van.

 According to the motion, she had purchased it with her own money earlier in the year. The court granted her request, ordering the immediate return of the vehicle.

Additionally, Evans sought court intervention to prevent Stevie J from driving the van and her other vehicles. This includes her 2020 Mercedes G Wagon and a Chrysler Pacifica.

 She claimed that Stevie J’s license was suspended. That makes him unauthorized to operate a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the insurance policy did not cover him.

 “The insurance policy does not cover [Stevie], and he is unauthorized to drive,” the attorney’s motion said. However, Evans and Stevie J have moved past their differences. The pair are approaching a peaceful resolution in their divorce proceedings. What do you think about the latest update on the divorce? Let us know in the comments below!

Stevie J was also forced to hire a new lawyer named Evan Itzkowitz after his former divorce attorney dropped him in 2022 due to an “irremediable breakdown.

However, the former T.V.T.V. star bared his soul to Evans in an Instagram post for Mother’s Day last year, apologizing for his actions and pleading for forgiveness.

“Faith Rene Jordan, I’ve hurt you, disrespected you, and humiliated you in front of the world,” he wrote. “From this day forward, I promise to listen to your feelings and be more delicate with your heart.

 I also promise to build you up even more & to communicate daily with you, respect you, and love on you until you’re as happy as you were when we got married.

I’ve learned my lesson, and I NEVER want to live without you because God knows I’m a better man with you; I’m asking you to find it in your heart to forgive me and allow me to rebuild our trust. Happy Mother’s Day x I love you.

The pair were then spotted on a beach date two months later, with Stevie referring to Faith as his “best friend” in a video he posted to Instagram.

Ms. Butterfly Genesis