LOS
ANGELES (Capitol Records) - Faith Evans' time is now. You can see it in
her newly toned physique. You can sense it in her confident manner. You
can hear it on her fourth CD (and debut on Capitol Records) The First
Lady, which is set for a March 29 release.
Featuring songs
written and arranged by Evans, and production from the Neptunes, Chucky
Thompson,
Mario Winans, Brian Cox, Jermaine Dupri, and Carvin and Ivan,
The First Lady is the platinum selling, Grammy-winning
Faith Evans as
you've never experienced her. Direct. Dramatic. Playful. Passionate.
Rich with womanly insight and wisdom, deep with a sexy, flirty
vivaciousness and brimming with a heart and soul that will not be
denied. Ten years into a career that has had its share of tribulations
and triumph,
Faith Evans has made the record she was born to create.
"I'm still here," Evans says with a smile, "Still standing."
Thanks
to her appearance on "Hope," the hit track by
Twista featuring Evans,
from the Coach Carter soundtrack, the Los Angeles-based powerhouse
singer-songwriter has generated early excitement for the album's
release. The First Lady depicts a woman looking back unflinchingly on
the chaos of her life and emerging stronger on the other side.
The
first single, "Again," is an intimate, detailed look at the drama of
the past few years and a way to appease enquiring minds. Set to a
retro-infused mid-tempo groove, "
Again" is Evans' "testimony": "When
you come back out, people want to talk about what you've been through
and being in the news," she says. "I've seen how things can get blown
out of proportion." The video for "
Again" will be shot in Los Angeles
at the end of January by Chris Robinson, who also lensed the clip for
"Hope,"
The First Lady showcases the elegant, classy singer's
versatility. If "
Again" makes you think, the buoyantly funky "Goin'
Out," which was produced by the Neptunes and features Pharrell Williams
and Pusha from the Clipse, makes you move. "Mesmerized," which Evans
co-wrote with her husband and manager Todd Russaw, delivers passion
with a classic soul vibe. The album also features a lush romantic duet
with
Mario Winans. Throughout, Evans' smoldering, confident contralto
brings the emotional intensity for which she is known and loved. On The
First Lady, she is at the top of her game.
The wife and married
mother-of-three has achieved commercial success and critical acclaim
for her three platinum-selling solo albums, Faith (1995), Keep the
Faith (1998), and Faithfully (2001), which was nominated for a Grammy
for Best R&B Album. The First Lady cements her standing as one of
the premier R&B/soul vocalists in the world.
Evans became
the first woman signed to Sean P.
Diddy Combs' Bad Boy label in 1994.
In 1997, she suddenly became a household name when her husband, the rap
star Notorious B.I.G., was fatally killed in a drive-by shooting. Combs
and Evans released a tribute song, "I'll Be Missing You," which went to
No. 1 on the Billboard singles chart and won a Grammy for "Best Rap
Performance."
When asked what people will hear when in The First
Lady Faith is reflective. "Growth. This time, perhaps more than ever
before, I am trying to show a real range of emotions. I've been through
so much. I lost a husband, a label, I've gained weight, lost weight.
These are all things that are a part of my life and of my music, but
I'm able to take the good and the bad and grow. After three albums I
know that nobody can do what
Faith Evans does like Faith Evans."
