Rappers/actresses Eve and Queen Latifah will be featured on the first episode of Bridging The Gap, a new reality series coming to VH1 which pairs two established artists together with similar passions for music.
The two rappers/actresses recently recorded an untitled song for the series, which is being produced by Eve’s manager Troy Carter and Charles Alston from the Coalition, an entertainment company Carter formed in 2005 with Tony Davis and Julius “Jay” Erving.
In each episode of the half-hour series, two artists that have mutual respect for one another discuss their lives and music during the span of a day, while creating a new song, which is crafted by various producers each show.
‘She’s [Queen Latifah] such a dope person and so real,” Eve told AllHipHop.com. “She’s never changed herself to make it into Hollywood and she’s still been nominated for Oscars and stuff. She’s just an amazing person.”
Queen Latifah’s influence can be heard on Eve’s upcoming fourth album, Here I Am, which features guest appearances by Robin Thicke and Mary J. Blige and production from Cool & Dre, Scott Storch, Pharrell, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz.
According to Eve, Queen Latifah’s encouragement persuaded her to do something even her label Geffen could not accomplish – sing more often.
“Recently, she [Queen Latifah] pulled me to the side and she said, ‘you better start singing now. Don’t be scared of who you are,'” Eve revealed. “So on this album, I’m singing a whole song. My record label has been trying to get me to sing, but I wasn’t really into it. I ended up doing it and it turned out to be my favorite song on the album.”
Here I Am is due in stores Aug. 7., while VH1’s Bridging The Gap has no listed air date as of press time.