s the first artist booked for this year’s Black Music Month celebration, Eve helped set the tone for our Tiny Desk tribute to BET’s cultural impact. One of the most successful women in hip-hop music, the Philly emcee occupies a unique space, connecting audiences who grew up watching Rap City with a younger generation that rushed home to catch 106 & Park. Although much of Eve’s set features songs that are more than 20 years old, the fresh arrangements, her commanding performance and the audience’s enthusiastic response shows that her music and influence remain timeless.

Since relocating to London over a decade ago and starting a family, Eve hasn’t put out much music. In 2024, she published a memoir chronicling her life and experiences navigating the music industry during the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Not only did she survive one of hip-hop’s most fiercely competitive eras, but she also emerged as one of its dominant figures — selling millions of records as the First Lady of Ruff Ryders Entertainment, and building a career in television and film.
For her Tiny Desk, Eve enlisted the music director Mare — who you may recognize from Tierra Whack’s Tiny Desk — making this a Philly affair. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of her second album, Scorpion, the set features standout tracks such as “Let Me Blow Ya Mind” and “Who’s That Girl,” alongside fan favorites from Let There Be Eve… and Eve-Olution.