Eve Reveals Frustrations With Interscope Records Over ‘Lip Lock’ Album Delay

Ten years have elapsed since Philly native Eve released her last album, 2002's Eve-Olution. Come fall, the rapper, born Eve Jeffers, will debut her fourth studio LP, Lip Lock. The project has been a long time coming and in crafting the effort, has caused the 33-year-old much frustration for its numerous delays.

"I need another word for frustration," she tells Time.com. "I've completely gone past frustration 100 times. It's like with anything that you create -- you just want to put out. Because it's been so long for me, music has changed so much. It's beyond frustration. I just really can't wait till this record is out.

Eve puts blame on Interscope Records for not putting out the record. After releasing her first three albums on the label, she parted ways with Interscope in 2010.

"It was delays on the label side -- I've switched management, I've switched labels, I've switched lawyers," the MC states. "And this was over years. And now I feel like the dust has finally settled and the team that I have now is the right team. Sometimes that's all it takes, for the stars to be aligned and the dust to settle. And I think we're there now."

The "Tambourine" performer, who will perform at the 2012 Essence Music Festival this weekend, also shared her thoughts in the interview on female rhymers Azealia Banks and former Crime Mob member Diamond.

"I actually really like Azealia Banks," Eve admits. "I like her style, I think she's really cute, I think lyrically she's really good and she's really different. She's probably at the top of my list. But then there's a girl named Diamond who is from Atlanta who I really like, just as a person and an artist, I think she's really cool."

Lip Lock is set to feature production from Eve's longtime collaborator Swizz Beatz.

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