Key Insights

• Relationship Background: Eve’s romance with Suge Knight began in 2001, impacting her ties with Interscope Records.
• Business Impact: Suge’s involvement in Eve’s dealings with Interscope led to tensions with the label.
• Advice from Peers: Eve ended her relationship with Suge based on the counsel of Ruff Ryders co-founders.
• Catalog Sale: Last year, Eve sold her music catalog for an estimated $25 to $50 million.

Eve has opened up about her relationship with Suge Knight and how it led to a strained relationship with Interscope Records in the early 00s.

The two had a brief romance beginning in 2001 with Eve reminiscing about the time in her new memoir Who’s That Girl?

She revealed that she made a move on Suge to get back at Dr. Dre: “I was still in my little mood about Dre even though we made a solid hit together, so having Suge, his former boss at Death Row stomping around Interscope felt like some sweet revenge. I am not really sure how I concocted this idea yet here we were.”

Eve claims that when Suge started getting involved in her business with Interscope and its head Jimmy Iovine, relations soured between her and the label: “I feel like he (Jimmy) took his anger out on my third album.”

She also said she ended the relationship on the advice of Ruff Ryders co-founders Dee and Waah Dean: “They didn’t like the idea of me hanging out with Suge at all. When my guys said it was time to cut the cord, I didn’t think twice.”

Eve then revealed Suge’s reaction to her decision to call the relationship quits: “If I was your little sis, I would tell you the same thing.”

Last year, Eve made a big business move and elected to sell her back catalog for an enormous eight-figure sum.

According to Music Business Worldwide, Iconoclast announced that they had purchased the entire catalog of the Ruff Ryders rapper with the figure believed to be somewhere between $25 and $50 million.

Included in the purchase is Eve’s 1999 debut album Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders’ First Lady, which helped her become the third female rapper in history to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

“Eve became a defining voice in hip-hop, known for her lyrical prowess, dynamic flow, and unique fusion of rap and R&B influences,” Iconoclast wrote in their announcement. The company also branded her a “trailblazer.”

Her now deceased label boss Irv Gotti also announced a $300 million deal that saw him sell his 50 percent ownership stake in Murder Inc.’s masters to the same company while receiving funding for various film and television projects.