Faith Evans, East Coast versus West Coast veteran, speaks about her tell-all memoir

No other female R&B singer can claim to have a life as intertwined with hip-hop's great successes or its tragedies as Faith Evans. Caught in the middle of the so-called East Coast versus West Coast "war" of the mid-'90s — most embodied by the rivalry between her late-husband, Notorious B.I.G., and Tupac Shakur, who taunted B.I.G. in song about an alleged affair with the singer — she's gone on to carve out a successful platinum-selling career in her own right.

And now she's co-written a tell-all. Released late last month, "Keep the Faith: A Memoir," tells her story of going from church gospel choirs (not too far from the same New Jersey environs that raised mega-divas Whitney Houston and Queen Latifah) to working for Bad Boy impresario Diddy to her troubled marriage to B.I.G.

A crowd of more than 50 people awaited her entrance in the book signing area at the Grove's Barnes & Noble store Wednesday night. After nearly an hour wait, due to an on-camera interview in a separate location, Evans gave a few brief remarks and took questions from the audience.

Now living in Los Angeles full time, she's focused on raising her four children, the youngest of whom is barely 2. With motherhood a priority, she told the audience she has no plans of going back into the studio to record an album anytime soon (her last album of original music was 2005's "The First Lady," which reached the top of the Billboard charts). She was a consultant on the movie about the life of her late husband and said she's developing a sitcom where she will play the title character, based on herself.

With friends and family in tow, one particular member of Evan's entourage stood out immediately. Almost a Mini-Me version of Biggie Smalls, the late rapper's son C.J. Wallace came out to support his mother. The 11-year-old plays a childhood Biggie in the biopic "Notorious," which is scheduled for a January release.

— Post and photos by Camilo Smith