Eve, Brandy, Naturi Naughton and Nadine Velazquez will be starring in the upcoming ABC drama series “Queens” that follows four estranged women in their 40s as they reunite in an effort to recapture their fame and popularity as the Nasty B—–s — their 1990s girl group that made them music industry icons.
Besides Velazquez, the other three ladies have storied histories of rocking stages with their raps and R&B performances so the roles were a natural fit. Ruff Ryder’s first lady, Eve, will play one of the four members of the group, Brianna, also known as Professor Sex, who rapped about money, sex and her glamorous life as a member of the Nasty B—–s. Brianna is now a proud wife and mother of five, living a not-so-glamorous life but still in love with her family. However, a chance encounter for the group to reunite makes Brianna wonder if she still has what it took for her to reach the top like she did in her youth.
“They were the biggest hip-hop group in their times. They were those girls, period. Every girl wanted to be them, every guy wanted to be with them. And, just like in real life, life happens. But you always need that fire back. You always have to get back to ‘that girl,’ ” Eve told Essence about her new role.
Brandy also explained to Essence that she reincarnated a few greats for her character Naomi.
“Music is my first love, so this is a dream role to actually be able to sing, rap, and do all the musical elements that come with this show. For Naomi, she loves to sing and that’s one of the reasons she joined the group, but she realized that she can rap too. So, I pull my inspiration from Nas, Biggie, Pac, that era. It was an amazing time to play both Naomi and Xplicit Lyrics,” added the “Top Of The World” singer.
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