Next to her recording career, Evans is widely known as the widow of New York rapper Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, whom she married in 1994 two months after meeting at a photoshoot. The turbulent marriage led to Evans' involvement in the East Coast-West Coast hip hop feud, dominating the rap scene at the time, and ended with Wallace's murder in a yet-unsolved drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in March 1997. A 1997 tribute single featuring Puff Daddy and 112, entitled "I'll Be Missing You," became Evans' biggest-selling hit to date and won her a Grammy Award in 1998.
After marrying Todd Russaw and having a third child, named Joshua, Evans released her long-awaited follow-up, Keep the Faith in 1998. Unlike the solemn approach to her first album, this album spoke of optimism, good times, and love. Among its biggest hits include the Chic-sampled track "Love Like This" (#7 US), the P. Diddy helmed "All Night Long" (#9 US), and Babyface lent her a number-one R&B hit song with "Never Gonna Let You Go". Outside of her own albums, Evans found another hit that year with Whitney Houston and Kelly Price on the song "Heartbreak Hotel".
Evans released her third album, 2001's Faithfully, which included the hit singles "You Gets No Love" (#8 R&B) and "I Love You" (#2 R&B). For the album's promotion, Evans went through a transformation in her physical appearance. Always a slightly full figured woman, Evans shed over fifty pounds and presented a sexier image that was present for the videos to "I Love You" and "Burnin' Up". Fatman Scoop also sampled her vocals on the song "Be Faithful" in 2003, which reached number one in the UK. Although the album wasn't as largely promoted as her first two, it was a moderate success. The album was certified platinum in January 2002, with over 1 million units sold.
Evans rebounded with a record that many of her fans have proclaimed as her strongest record to date, The First Lady (released on April 5, 2005) her Capitol record debut album. After finding success with her Twista collaboration, "Hope", Evans released her first song of new material in three years with "Again", a biographical account of her life struggles. Faith recorded "Say A Prayer" with gospel music star Donald Lawrence on his "I Speak Life" album in 2004. The First Lady came out commemorating her tenth anniversary in the industry and her first record on Capitol Records after leaving Bad Boy in 2003. With the help of "Again" reaching the top ten of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and appearances on David Letterman, BET, Later... with Jools Holland and MTV the album entered the Billboard 200 at number two with 160,000 copies sold in its first week, marking the largest first-week total of her career. The First Lady was RIAA certified Gold selling over 600,000 copies to date. The second single, "Mesmerized", saw Faith going with a 70's retro-funk soul vibe. The track failed to crack top fifty R&B despite numerous remixes; however a dance remix by the Freemasons went on to hit number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.
At the end of 2005, Evans released her fifth studio album, A Faithful Christmas, a Christmas collection of new material and covers of seasonal classics. She also made lots of appearances on holiday TV programming. In early 2006, Faith Evans' third single, "Tru Love" (produced by Jermaine Dupri and Bryan Michael Cox), gradually gained ground on urban/urban AC radio without any assistance from her label since they never promoted (sent to radio) or had a video for "Tru Love", becoming her twelfth solo R&B hit (Top 30). Also in 2005, Evans appeared along with Jessi Colter and Cece White as a feature vocalist on the Shooter Jennings song "Southern Comfort" from the album "Put the O Back in Country".
On October 5. 2010, Evans' sixth album, "Something About Faith." The album debuted at #4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #15 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 23,586 copies in its first week. The albums' lead single "Already Gone" peaked at #22 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. The albums' second single and music video "Right Here" was released on February 14, 2011.
In 2012, Evans became a cast member of TV One reality show R&B Divas Atlanta alongside Nicci Gilbert, Syleena Johnson, Keke Wyatt and Monifah. Evans also co-executive produces the show.[25] The album R&B Divas Atlanta, led by Evans was released on October 2, 2012. Proceeds from the album will benefit the Whitney E. Houston Academy of Creative & Performing Arts in East Orange, New Jersey.
On August 6, 2013, Evans confirmed she had begun work on her 6th album, tentatively titled Incomparable. Evans also revealed guest appearances for the album are slated to include Missy Elliott, 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 via iTunes on August 25, 2014 as the album's lead single. Incomparable was released on November 24, 2014. On TMZ, Evans had announced that she is working on a posthumous Notorious B.I.G. album titled The King & I, which will feature duets with the two. She plans to release it sometime in 2015.
Tru Love
Faith Evans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's how long we've been havein' this thing
We've got every moment hasn't been perfect
But still when it's perfect it feels
Like we're the only people who have somethin' real
Now 3 years two weeks
That's how long we've been raisin' our family
And I wouldn't go tradin
So don't go changin'
I love you just the way you are
[Chorus]
It's true love
When you say I need me like the way i need you
And you can't be without me
Like I can't be without you
It's true love
When we spend time talking on the phone
Cause when we're not around each other you don't want to be alone
It's true love, love, love, love
Don't you know it's good to be in love, love, love, love
Just believe me truthfully cause
Love is never ever makin you cry
Before I tell you a lie
I'll give you my life
Cause that true love
Now when the love is right
Somehow you just know
Because you hold it tight
And you don't want to let it go
And it's so deep inside of you that
You just can't take it cause it fills up your heart
And you just, you can't replace it alone
Somebody's makin love
Non-stop tonight
And And they can't make enough
I know what it feels like
Grab your lover by the hand
Say that you understand
How love really works
So good that it hurts
[Chorus]
Cause I don't need nobody but you in my life oh baby
Those of you who understand what I'm sayin'
Sing along with me say
Cause I don't need nobody but
You in my life oh baby
Those of you who understand what I'm sayin'
Let me hear you say true love
[Chorus]
Faith Evans's song Tru Love is a beautiful testament to the power and depth of true love. The lyrics speak of the longevity of the relationship between two people who have been together for six years and five months, weathering imperfect moments and basking in the perfection of their love. The song highlights the importance of building a strong foundation for a loving family, which takes time, patience, and the willingness to work through the challenges that present themselves over the years.
The lyrics then transition to the deep emotional connection that exists between the two people, emphasizing the level of commitment and connection that exists between them. When the love is right, one knows it intuitively and holds on tightly, not wanting to let go, even when they're apart. The chorus is a beautiful ode to the inseparable nature of true love, declaring that they need each other like they need air to breathe. The song speaks of the joy, passion, and deep fulfillment of true love, which is endless, unconditional, and never causes tears.
Line by Line Meaning
Six years five months
We've been together for six years and five months.
That's how long we've been havein' this thing
Our relationship has been going on for that long.
We've got every moment hasn't been perfect
We've had our ups and downs.
But still when it's perfect it feels
But even in those imperfect moments, when it's good it feels great.
Like we're the only people who have somethin' real
It feels like our love is unique and special.
Now 3 years two weeks
We've been raising our family for three years and two weeks.
That's how long we've been raisin' our family
Our family life has been going on for that long.
And I wouldn't go tradin The love we got
I wouldn't trade the love we have for anything.
So don't go changin'
Don't change who you are.
I love you just the way you are
I love you for who you are.
It's true love
Our love is real.
When you say I need me like the way i need you
Our love is true when we need each other equally.
And you can't be without me
You can't imagine life without me.
Like I can't be without you
I can't imagine life without you.
When we spend time talking on the phone
We cherish even the small moments and love talking with each other.
Cause when we're not around each other you don't want to be alone
We don't like being without each other.
It's true love, love, love, love
Our love is real and strong.
Don't you know it's good to be in love, love, love, love
Being in love is a beautiful thing.
Just believe me truthfully cause
Trust me on this.
Love is never ever makin you cry
Real love doesn't cause pain.
Before I tell you a lie
I'd sooner give my life than lie to you.
I'll give you my life Cause that true love
I'd do anything for our true love.
Now when the love is right
When our love is good and strong.
Somehow you just know
We know it intuitively.
Because you hold it tight
We hold on to it tightly.
And you don't want to let it go
We don't want to lose it.
And it's so deep inside of you that
It's such an integral and deep part of us that.
You just can't take it
We can't help but feel it.
Cause it fills up your heart
It fills our hearts with joy.
And you just, you can't replace it alone
We can't replace it with anything else.
Somebody's makin love Non-stop tonight
Others may be making love tonight.
And And they can't make enough
And they can't get enough of it.
I know what it feels like
We know how it feels.
Grab your lover by the hand
Hold your loved one's hand.
Say that you understand
Let them know you understand them.
How love really works
How love truly functions.
So good that it hurts
Our love is so beautiful it can be overwhelming.
Cause I don't need nobody but you in my life oh baby
I only need you in my life.
Those of you who understand what I'm sayin'
Those who relate to our love.
Sing along with me say
Join me in this song.
Let me hear you say true love
Sing 'True love' with me.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHNATA M AUSTIN, BRYAN MICHAEL PAUL COX, JERMAINE DUPRI, FAITH EVANS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind