Eve (Rapsody album)

Rapsody decided to write the album in 2018 when a writer asked her if she felt that she was a successor to Nina Simone and Roberta Flack. She crafted an album with each song dedicated to one of her heroes.[3]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.0/10[4]
Metacritic	90/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
And It Don't Stop	A–[7]
Evening Standard	[8]
The Guardian	[1]
HipHopDX	5/5[9]
The Independent	[10]
Pitchfork	8.0/10[11]
Q	[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Tom Hull – on the Web	B+ ()[14]

Eve was critically acclaimed by contemporary music critics at the time of its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 90, based on 8 reviews.[5]

Andy Kellman reviewed the album for AllMusic, concluding that "[Rapsody's] lyrical marksmanship, top-tier mike command, and service to her people and culture are indisputable."[6] Reviewing the album for HipHopDX, Kyle Eustice claimed that "The 16-track potent lyrical adventure is peppered with countless poetic musings masquerading as seamless Hip Hop tracks, easily solidifying Rapsody’s musical legacy."[9] In the review for Pitchfork, Sheldon Pearce described Rapsody as "A self-professed rapper’s rapper, [she] has been taut and inflexible in the past, almost as if having to force her immense talent to overcome a deck stacked against her. It sounds like she’s in a home-run trot on Eve."[11]

Roisin O'Conner also praised the album in the review for The Independent; "Women’s power, as a source of strength, intellect, emotion and, most importantly, life, has been a recurring theme in the North Carolina artist’s work for years. On her new album, Eve, she explores a lineage of black female icons in a way that is both tender and compelling."[10] Writing about the album's content, Stephen Kearse stated in a review for Rolling Stone that "Throughout Eve, Rapsody speaks frankly of the burdens black women bear, citing infighting that perpetuates sexism ("Cleo") as well as the psychic costs of the violence that black men endure ("Myrlie") and commit ("Afeni"). These are not new themes for her, but here they resonate more fully. As she taps into the specific struggles and tribulations borne by her idols, she sees her own battles with visibility and self-assurance more clearly. Black girls are magic, but they are also people."[13] In the review for The Guardian, Aimee Cliff declared, "With a delivery cut from the same cloth as Jay-Z or Lauryn Hill, she’s a storyteller, and counterbalances her wisdom with a dry, playful wit. Plus, she’s the queen of the dismissive one-liner."[1]

In a year-end essay for Slate, Ann Powers cited Eve as one of her favorite albums from 2019 and proof that the format is not dead but rather undergoing a "metamorphosis". She added that concept albums had reemerged through the culturally-relevant autobiographical narratives of artists such as Rapsody, who created a tribute to her ancestors "that spoke volumes about black life today".[15]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[16]

Sample credits

• "Nina" contains a sample of "Strange Fruit" written by Lewis Allen and performed by Nina Simone.
• "Cleo" contains samples of "In The Air Tonight" written and performed by Phil Collins.
• "Aaliyah" contains a sample of "Natural" written by Sabrina Claudio, Brandon Canada and Derek Gamlan and performed by Sabrina Claudio.
• "Whoopi" contains a sample of "Watermelon Man" written and performed by Herbie Hancock.
• "Serena" contains samples of "I Wanna Rock (Doo-Doo Brown) written by Luther Campbell and Jacob Dutton and performed by Luke.
• "Tyra" contains a sample of "The Gate" written by Björk Guðmundsdóttir and Alejandra Ghersi and performed by Björk.
• "Maya" contains a sample of "Green Eyes" written by Erica Wright, Victor Cooke and James Poyser and performed by Erykah Badu.
• "Ibtihaj" contains a sample of "Groovin'" written by Edward Brigati and Felix Cavaliere and performed by Willie Mitchell and "Liquid Swords" written and performed by GZA
• "Sojourner" contains a sample of "If You Didn't Go" written by Kendra Morris and Jeremy Page and performed by Kendra Morris.
• "Afeni" contains a sample of "Keep Ya Head Up" written by Tupac Shakur, Daryl Anderson, Deniece Williams, Hank Redd, Nathan Watts, Roger Troutman, Stan Vincent and Susaye Greene and performed by 2Pac, which itself samples "Be Alright" by Zapp and interpolates "O-o-h Child" by Five Stairsteps.