Hip-hop star and actress Eve Jeffers-Cooper, a longstanding Malaika Goodwill Ambassador, was this summer named the President of the First Cohort of Malaika Students. Eve attended Malaika’s 2023 graduation ceremony, which took place in Kalebuka in July 2023, as the ceremony’s guest of honor, delivering a speech to all attendees and the class of ‘23 graduates.
Eve was named Goodwill Ambassador in 2016 following her visit to the Malaika School with Founder & CEO Noella Coursaris Musunka to inaugurate the very first library on International Women’s Day.
The award-winning musician and actress was the very first winner of the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in 2002 for the song “Let Me Blow Ya Mind”. In 2002 her album Scorpion was also nominated for Best Rap Album. In 1999, she released her debut album, Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders’ First Lady, which reached number one on the Billboard 200, making her the third female rapper to accomplish this feat. As an actress, she starred as Terri Jones in the Barbershop films, among others.
“Coming together as one big Maliaka family this summer means so much as we celebrate the past 12 years of education for these 17 girls and set them off on their next chapter. Malaika is rewriting the narrative for girls and their families, and I couldn’t be prouder to be part of the Malaika family,” commented Eve.
A role model for young girls, Eve plays a crucial role in advocating for Malaika’s mission and inspiring the students.