Faith Evans
Born in Lakeland, Florida, in 1973 and raised in Newark, Faith Renee Evans began singing in church as a small child before becoming, in 1994, the first female artist signed to Sean Combs's Bad Boy Records. Her 1995 debut 'Faith' and its follow-up 'Keep the Faith' (1998) paired a gospel-reared, honeyed soprano with hip-hop soul production, yielding ballads like 'Soon as I Get Home' and the funk-lifted 'Love Like This.' Widely called the First Lady of Bad Boy, she helped define the label's blend of tender R&B singing and street-rooted rhythm.
Evans has named Aretha Franklin among the soul women she looked up to, singers she has described as women who sang from the soul; the debt shows in her gospel-to-secular melisma and testifying phrasing.
listen forPut Franklin's 'Ain't No Way' before Evans's 'Soon as I Get Home' — both hold back, letting a restrained gospel-soul verse simmer before the voice opens up into aching, church-schooled swells.
Evans has cited Chaka Khan among her biggest influences, and you can hear it in her agile soprano runs and the improvised ad-libs she stitches around a melody.
listen forPlay Rufus and Chaka Khan's 'Sweet Thing' next to Evans's 'You Used to Love Me' — listen for the silky soprano gliding over a relaxed groove, decorating the line with quick, effortless-sounding runs.
Evans, who has said her childhood listening was largely limited to gospel, credited the Clark Sisters (and Karen Clark-Sheard, to whom she is often likened) as a formative vocal influence — the church foundation behind her runs and stacked harmonies.
listen forSet the Clark Sisters' 'You Brought the Sunshine' beside Evans's 'Kissing You' — hear the layered, family-choir harmonies and the vibrato-rich, testifying phrasing that carries straight over from gospel into the R&B ballad.