Norma Kamali bikini; Loree Rodkin ring.

She’s ready to move on from Ruff Ryders, but are fans ready to move on with her? “When I went to take label meetings and they would listen to the music, a lot of them would be like, ‘Yeah, that’s good, but what’s up with the Ruff Ryders shit?’ I’m like, ‘Yo, I was 21 then.’ It’s been years now. I’ve done a million different things. ‘Tambourine’ isn’t Ruff Ryders. The records I did with Gwen [Stefani] weren’t Ruff Ryders. I trust my audience enough to think they’ve grown, just like me.” She pauses, then amends her statement a bit: “I’m hoping for that, but we’ll see.”

Eve’s grown from “That Girl” to a woman. “I hate it when people say, ‘The old Eve, the old Eve.’ No! I can’t pretend to be that girl anymore. If I did, people would see that and be like, Why is she trying to be that same person?” So she’s leaving “the old Eve” behind and looking forward. And just a quick glance at her makes it clear that this is not the same girl who rolled with the Ruff Ryders more than a decade ago. Back then she had buzzed, bleached hair, a wardrobe not too different from the boys she rapped with, and a don’t-even-think-about-messing-with-me attitude. Her nickname was “pit bull in a skirt.” Today, she looks—well, see for yourself. She’s more minx than pit bull. And walking around the Lower East Side in stiletto boots and skintight pants topped with a leather jacket, she learned that New Yorkers aren’t shy about voicing their admiration.

Musically, she’s turned a new page as well. “My deal with Interscope is completely over, thank God. … Don’t print that, though!” Eve says, before quickly changing her mind. “Actually, fuck it. I’m with EMI now. I was able to leave and take some music with me but start over, basically.” The album, now called Lip Lock, will be roughly half tracks she took with her and half new material. Since signing with EMI this summer, she’s been busy writing and recording new music, even heading back into the studio with Swizz Beatz. Along the way she’s tested out a couple of songs, like “Give It Here,” with crowds in Europe.