By Margeaux Watson

From 1999 to 2002, Eve was on a roll. One of hip-hop's most bankable female MCs, her first three albums sold 4 million copies and spawned five Top 40 hits, including well-received collaborations with Gwen Stefani (''Let Me Blow Ya Mind'') and Alicia Keys (''Gangsta Lovin'''). But after a four-year detour into TV, film, and fashion, the Grammy winner has run into some snags while trying to revive her music career. Her forthcoming CD, Here I Am, was initially due in August but has now been delayed until 2008. Meanwhile, her first two singles off the record have struggled to connect with listeners: ''Tambourine'' peaked at No. 10 on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks chart on July 14, while its follow-up, ''Give It to You,'' hadn't charted at press time. But despite those setbacks, Eve, 28, tells EW she's still got more skills than a lot of male MC's tallying up record sales in the ''testosterone-driven'' rap game, and that she's going to wait until she's 100 percent confident in her new CD before she lets it drop.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What's going on here? Why so many delays with this album? Are you scrapping the whole thing and starting over?

EVE: No, I'm not completely starting over. I'm definitely gonna keep some of the records that I had because I love a lot of the stuff that I did. So I'm keeping a lot of it. I'm just going back in to kinda make it a well-rounded album. I think what kind of delayed us this time was that I went in and did two records that sound a lot like the Pharrell record - the singing record.... I don't think the movement was right and I'd rather put out an album and feel 100 percent connected to it than just to put out an album, especially the way music is right now.

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