Eve Quit Stripping After Ma$e Encounter

The Let Me Blow Ya Mind hitmaker spent her nights dancing and disrobing for cash in the Bronx before an unexpected encounter with Sean 'Diddy' Combs' former protege made her realise it was time to keep her clothes on and launch a career as a rapper.

In a new Behind the Music documentary, Eve recalls, "He came into the club and looked at me and literally was like, 'What's your name?' And I gave him every stripper name under the sun! I was like, 'I'm Ginger, I'm Sassy!' He was like, 'Why don't you go get dressed, let's go just talk.' And we did, we talked throughout the night. He was like, 'You're really talented. What are you doing? You know you're not supposed to be here. You know it.'

"It was a confirmation for me that all these thoughts, all this sadness. All these times that I wake up in the morning, I'm like, 'Why do I feel like this?' And I know I'm not supposed to be there. It just woke me up."

The talk led to Eve landing an audition with superproducer Dr. Dre at the age of 18, before she signed to rap crew Ruff Ryders and became the all-male group's First Lady.