Keep The Faith: A Memoir
by Faith Evans

Reviewed by: Nia Jones

From her heart to ours, Faith Renee Evans finally shares her side of the legend. From her life before Big to her life after, she keeps nothing, and I mean nothing, from her reader. Written in a conversational tone, Faith's memoir recounts what life was like as the first lady of Bad Boy Records and the wife of Hip Hop king, Christopher Wallace.

Keep the Faith begins in the beginning capturing what life was like for Faith in her early years. Born to Helene Evans, an aspiring singer and entertainer and a man known only as Richard Swain, who was rumored to be a white man, Faith's life began in Dade City, Florida. At the age of three she moved to Newark, New Jersey with Mae and Bob, who she calls her grandparents, but who are really her cousins. Faith got her first taste of performing at the age of three in the Emanuel Baptist church where she awed an audience with her angelic voice. From that point on she knew that she had to make a living with her voice. And so she did, with gigs at weddings, funerals, church engagements, and beauty pageants.

Faith's memoir continues from her early childhood on to her adolescence. By the time Faith graduated from high school, at the top of her class with a full academic scholarship to Fordham University, she had already landed her first paid gig as a background vocalist for the singing group Hi-Five, been repeatedly abused by her then boyfriend JT, a small time drug dealer, who also gave her a venereal disease, had two abortions, was in the midst of an illicit affair with a married man many years her senior, and had already briefly dated Redman, who was simply known as Reggie at the time.

During her freshman year at Fordham, Faith reacquaints with an old friend, Kiyamma, who she begins to spend time with in the studio during her downtime. Eventually Faith becomes pregnant with Kiyamma's child and drops out of Fordham to move to Oakwood, California with Kiy and the rest of his crew who were in the process of negotiating a recording contract. Once on the West coast, Faith and Kiy's relationship sours quickly and Faith moves back to the Brick City (with money Redman gives her) before the birth of her first child Chyna. Shortly after Chyna's birth Faith meets Puffy and is offered a deal by him on the spot to join Bad Boy Records.

Although much of who the public knows to be Faith Evans is associated with the Notorious BIG, he is not mentioned until page 109. From there on Faith shares their courtship, marriage, and separations, "That roller-coaster ride would become symbolic of our relationship—many ups and downs, some within minutes of each other. We moved forward very quickly and then backward just as fast. But through all of it, we were right next to each other, holding our hands, closing our eyes, and enjoying the ride." Along with the basics she also shared her side to all the tabloid topics such as her beef and brawl with Lil' Kim, "When Big and I were together, she played her position—in the back. Way back," her interactions with Charlie Baltimore, "Oh no no no…you got it all wrong. Don't ever call my f***ing house," her fall out with Mary J. Blige, "'Hey Mary,' I said when we crossed paths. It was crowded and I knew we wouldn't really be able to stop and talk for long. But Mary just looked through me, as if she'd never seen me before in her life," and Missy Elliot, "'Um, hey, Missy,' I heard Toni saying. 'I don't think she's here right now…' I sucked my teeth and continued unwrapping my dishes from one of the boxes. 'You ain't gotta lie,' I said. 'I'm sitting right here. But I don't talk to phony people," and of course her rumored relationship with Tupac, "His two friends left. We were now in his hotel room—alone…As soon as the door closed behind his friends, Tupac turned to me. His face was completely different. His teeth were clenched, his nostrils were flared, and his eyes were narrow…He was staring at me like he thought I was the one who set him up," and ultimately the murder of Big.

Keep the Faith is a swift read that is meant to tie up many loose ends to stories the hip-hop world has wondered about for more than a decade now. Although this is just her side to a knotty story, it's a side we haven't heard before, and a side that should be read.

What did you like best about this book?
I liked the honesty of this memoir. It tells the story, the complete story of a young girl who grew up to marry an eminent legend and was forced to deal with the fickle music industry all while dealing with her own scars.

What did you dislike about this book?
In some sections of the book the tone was too conversational, almost as if it was one girlfriend talking to another, telling her side of a story. Although this is what makes the book more personable, it also takes away from the memoir in some instances.

How can the author improve this book?
I would personally suggest that the conversational tone of certain passages, be toned down a bit to give the book more credibility within literary circles. Although I am sure this book was not written with the hopes of it winning laureate awards, I think monitoring the tone would help the overall feel of the memoir.

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Lakishia Smith :

Posted 86 days ago

I can't wait to read this because I have always wondered about all the rumors surrounding Faith. After reading the excerpts it seems that it might be a nice, juicy read.

don :

Posted 129 days ago

I've read a few excerpts. I think Faith Evans did the best she could, uner the circumstances. This particular book would have done her justice if she had written it back in '97.

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