There’s something so endearing about Faith Evans. She just seems like such a down to earth, around the way girl. Today, she sat down with “The Breakfast Club” crew to talk about her new duet album with her late husband, The King & I. The conversation was very natural and actually addressed a couple of questions we’ve been dying to know the answers to like her newfound relationship with Lil Kim, why she had to break up with Stevie J and the memories, both good and bad, with Biggie. Check out highlights from the interview and the full video below.
How she feels about the fact that Biggie’s murder is still unsolved, twenty years later.
To be quite honest me and Miss Wallace feel like we know what happened. The criminal case itself, I don’t think that’s something to heal from. He’s not here so that’s never going to change not really something you heal from. We just decided not to continue paying money to make them admit that they know what happened. There’s no closure in that sense, we just have to move on and live with the great memories of Big that we have.
I still feel like there’s a huge part of my life that’s gone.
Her son
CJ when he did Notorious–when he played his dad in the movie I think that was probably a crash course in everything Big for him. Every time we’re here he stays with Cease in Brooklyn. So he kind of gets to experience some of that. But I think between that and the fact that he’s always been really close with Miss Wallace it’s not really many questions–at least that I know of that he has or has had. He’s kind of been really realizing things over time. And I’m like ‘Yeah, your dad was really the sh*t.’
The duet album
I told Miss Wallace, actually back when Natalie Cole put out that Unforgettable project, I was like ‘One day that’ll be really dope if I could do something like that. But it was really just a thought to be quite honest. I never moved on it. Then, a few years ago my attorney was like ‘Remember you wanted to do that project with Big? Let’s go meet with the people who got the masters and do some business.’
It was so much fun just to be able to be creative with Biggie vocals and do whatever I want to as a creative person myself, it just came together in a way I never imagined it could. I feel like his spirit was definitely there every session. Toward the end of recording, I felt like he just tapped me. I just broke down crying in the corner by myself, like ‘I think he just told me he’s proud.’
I do joke with him some times I ain’t even going to lie. When things happen or if experience things, I be like ‘I know you clowning me right now.’ But it wasn’t emotional until that particular time when I just felt like, I think he’s telling me he’s proud. I just was playing the music back for some people in the studio and everybody was just enjoying it and I just felt a tap on my shoulder.
On Lil Kim
Well I don’t know if we’re friends because we don’t really talk or communicate that much outside of when we see each other for work. but it was certainly a big deal for me for her to be receptive to my well wishes. Because I was in that place a long time ago. But I think she said recently that she just wasn’t ready to receive it. So I understand but she’s in a different place. She’s a mom and obviously, she’s grown past holding a grudge for whatever reason. But when Big died, for me, all that went out the window.
On Mary J. Blige feeling a way when Puff brought her on board.
I always heard those things but that was never confirmed. They did tell me that I needed to take her voice off of my album because of some issue I never knew about but I thought that was something between him and her. But I’m kind of glad I don’t know what that was about. On my first album we did a song together called “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” And then, at the time, the general manager of Bad Boy, called me like six months after my album came out and said, “Mary wants her voice off your album, you need to call her.” I was like, “No I don’t! I didn’t do nothing to her. So what am I going to call her for? I don’t know what happened. They didn’t tell me what happened so why are you telling me to call her.’ So I just re-recorded the record, which I hated without her on it. But you know.
We used to hang out, go to the tunnel, she gave me a few garments. Big cut up one of my favorite things that Mary gave me one time. It was a Coogie two piece dress and it was like a big A line jacket with a skirt. It was real cute. We got into an argument cuz I put his bag outside because I didn’t want him to make his flight and he cut up all my clothes.
On Stevie J
Envy: I didn’t know that was your boo!
He’s not anymore. When he was here we weren’t together either.
Charlemagne: That’s not what he said!
But then the day before that he said something else, somewhere else. So who knows what was going on in his mind at that time.
I never took Stevie serious actually. But I think probably in the last ten years, I would say, ‘Is he trying to flirt? Let’s go.’ I never saw him like that. We’ve been– I have always had plenty of male friends. Never dated any of them. I always would check on him, just really sincerely his friend. And when I kind of felt like he was trying to come at me probably the first time, I’m like ‘Is this nigga staring at me?!’ Like ‘Eww he’s acting weird.’ And my friends be like, ‘Girl you used to run away from him when you thought he was like…’ Cuz I’m like ‘ I don’t want to feel like that. I don’t want to think that way about him because I know he know better than that.’ But earlier last year
I just felt like I was never fully convinced. I just felt like I’m not sure that you’re really ready. I was mature enough going into it. I know that there is a 50-50 chance that it won’t work out. I’m also smart enough to see when it’s time to fall back and I did.
Charlamagne: I think you just wanted to hit.
Well I did. I did a few times and I ain’t heard no complaints. I just don’t like the drama. And I think he might be a little bit addicted to the drama.
–I don’t know what made me even finally say ok. He convinced me, I’m ain’t even going to lie. Cuz I kept brushing it off. Like ‘Get out of here!’ And then I’m like ‘I’m not about all of the craziness. I’m in a whole different place. And if I’m going to be in a relationship, it’s gotta be a serious one.’ And I think probably for a few months he went through the the whole convincing and not getting a real response even though I was brushing him off. And he was like ‘I love you. I want to be with you.’ I’m like ‘I love you too but I don’t know if I want to be with you.’ I still love him. I love him as a friend.
But I know him outside of the tv show. I always be asking him ‘What are you doing? What made you even do that?’ I feel like there’s a part of that that may be attractive to him.
What’s next for her.
I’m actually doing a biopic on my memoir too. So that’ll be out later this year. I’m an executive producer on it and I’m working really closely with the screenwriter. I like to be very tactful but honest.
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