Rapper Eve (a.k.a. Eve of Destruction and Eve Jihan) may be huge in the music scene but now she's about to break through on the big screen. The former vocalist for Ruff Ryders, whose solo album Eve-Olution has just been released, holds her own opposite Ice Cube in the ensemble comedy Barbershop, opening later in September. And as she tells PAUL FISCHER, she is having the time of her life.

In her first major film, the charming ensemble comedy Barbershop, starring Ice Cube, rap sensation Eve comes close to stealing the film as a loud, sassy barber in all-male barbershop. Laughingly, the beautiful 23-year old singer says that "it's sometimes easy for me to be sassy." Though appearing briefly in XXX, Eve went after this movie, and the character of barber Terri, because "I just love Terry, I love heir really relate to her and I felt like it wouldn't be so far fetched from what people see on TV everyday, as Eve, the Rapper." At the same time, she "didn't want to go so far out of myself so that people could really take in and you know, say, okay, she's acting and takin' it in all slowly." Eve happily concedes that she is close to her first major screen character, "because I am the only female in the whole camp called the Ruff Ryders so I know how to deal with it and also I can relate to her having the vulnerability. She has this heart as also vulnerability when it comes to this man who treats her horrible and cheats on her. I've been through that situation that happened."

Eve, born Eve Jihan began her musical career in her early teens as a part of an all-female five-piece vocal group, but switched to rapping when the group's manager suggested it. The Philadelphia native became known as Eve Of Destruction and made a reputation for herself as a skilled rapper, presiding over the city's talent show scene and warming up the crowds at local rap shows. She got her first big break when some of her friends introduced her to Dr. Dre, who was impressed enough by her spur-of-the-moment audition to work with her in L.A. as an artist on his Aftermath label. Eve completed a demo tape with him that included the song "Eve Of Destruction," which ended up on the Bulworth soundtrack, but the business of running his new label prevented Dr. Dre from working with her further. While in L.A., Eve met DMX of the Ruff Ryders, and eventually she began collaborating with them, appearing on their Ryde Or Die album. She also performed on the Roots' "You Got Me," BLACKstreet and Janet Jackson's duet "Girlfriend/Boyfriend" and on Jay-Z's Hard Knock Life tour. Eve released her full-length debut Eve: First Lady Of the Ruff Ryders in 1999. Music has been very good to the singer, but now that she has tasted acting, can this be the beginning of a new career? "I'm going to try juggling it as much as I can. I think I should be able to and hopefully I will be able to do more film." Not everyone approves of rappers and singers acting without having had any formal training. While promoting XXX, Samuel L. Jackson made it clear that he has no time for rappers who act "on a whim". Eve is unapologetic about her career move and refuses to Jackson's comments to heart. "I respect his opinion, which everybody's entitled to, but it is a business, and if it means that you get some mainstream artists and you need to fill up some more seats in a movie theater, then so be it," she says. "And a lot of us rappers getting into some movies are good. But hey, don't box us. I totally respect his opinion because maybe he's been trying to be an actor all his life and a lot of these actors and actresses have been trying since they were babies, and that's all that they knew .And for us, yes it did come a little easier for us, but, hey, I'm not going to be rappin' for the rest of my life. I'm 23 years old, I don't even plan to be rappin' at 27," she insists, laughingly. But Eve will never leave the music world, just the rap side of it," because my ear is definitely going different, rock or alternative or something."

Eve sees acting as going hand-in-hand with her music. "Acting is another artistic outlet, rather than an extension of music. It's a total different world, but it's another artistic outlet, which I really do enjoy it a lot." Eve remains busy, not only promoting her first big movie, but her Eve-Olution album which was about to be released a few weeks after we spoke. Eve describes it as being "more upbeat than any of my other albums. I sing more on this album - I sing four hooks on this album, and I think you can hear the growth artistically. But I think it's a well rounded album, with some dance tracks and some hard street tracks." It's also one of her most personal albums, reflective of who she is as a person and what she has gone through. "To me my music is a diary of who I am, and I wouldn't know how to write about anything else at all - you know, I don't believe in fantasy rap, I don't talk about the diet, the trip - I'm not into that. So I have to talk about the things that I go through - the relationships that I've been in. If you broke my heart, you might hear it in a song." So ex-boyfriends beware. "Oh yah, I have a couple of songs dedicated to them," she laughingly confesses. "But I can't help it. It's who I am, and I don't think I should have to avoid anything. I don't think I should have to censor myself as an artist. Either you get it or you don't, ether you like it or you don't." Eve makes no apologies as to who she is, she says. The rapper is currently single. "I don't have a love life. It's horrible. I'm very single. I'm too single - you know somebody? But in all honesty, I'm so busy, I do not honestly have the time to even try to - I would be selfish, because I would just want to be, you know, in love when I wanted to be in love." But in case you are up to the challenge of being Eve's guy, she has this to say. "I want somebody who is well rounded, who's very determined, who is very confident and knows who they are, what they want to do in life, somebody honest, somebody who's real - just a real person, and that's hard to find."

So instead, Eve is consumed by her, music and film, and hopes that more acting will come along soon. "I have some scripts on the table out there, and some offers. I don't want to say yet, because I don't want to jinx it, so, we'll see what happens. It's just nice for me to be in that world, and I will be, and I'm not stressing it, I'm not rushing it. It's gonna happen." Talking to her, you know it!

BARBERSHOP OPENS ON SEPTEMBER 13.