If you were anywhere near a radio in the late nineties, you remember the vibe. It was a weird, heavy, transitionary time for hip-hop and R&B. The genre was mourning The Notorious B.I.G., and his widow, Faith Evans, was essentially the First Lady of Bad Boy Records, carrying a weight no one should have to bear at twenty-four. People expected her to be broken. Instead, she gave us Faith Evans Keep the Faith. It wasn't just another R&B album; it was a survival manifesto wrapped in buttery vocals and Puff Daddy’s signature polished production.
Honestly, the album shouldn't have worked as well as it did. Most "sophomore slump" projects fail because the artist tries too hard to recreate their debut or pivots too sharply into weird experimental territory. Faith didn’t do that. She went inward. She took the church upbringing that defined her early years in Newark and fused it with the sleek, shiny suit era of Bad Boy. The result was something that felt expensive but grounded.
The Sound of 1998: Beyond the Samples
When Faith Evans Keep the Faith dropped in October 1998, the musical landscape was shifting. We were moving away from the gritty soul of the mid-nineties into something more melodic and pop-adjacent. Chucky Thompson, the legendary producer behind her first album, wasn't the primary architect here. Instead, you had Stevie J, Babyface, and even a young Mario Winans bringing a different kind of heat.
The title track, "Love Like This," is basically the blueprint for the disco-sampling craze that dominated the late nineties. It’s built on a loop from Chic’s "Chic Cheer." You’ve heard it at every wedding, BBQ, and club night for the last thirty years. It’s infectious. But if you listen to Faith’s layering on that track, it’s actually incredibly complex. She isn't just singing over the beat; she’s weaving in and out of the rhythm like an instrument.
Then you have "All Night Long." That song is a masterclass in tension and release. It sampled "I Hear Music in the Street" by Unlimited Touch, but it felt entirely new. It was sophisticated. It didn't feel like a "grief album," even though the shadow of Biggie was everywhere. Faith was making a conscious choice to celebrate life.
✨ Don't miss: Why ASAP Rocky F kin Problems Still Runs the Club Over a Decade Later
Breaking Down the Vocal Production
Faith Evans is often called "The First Lady" for a reason. Her vocal arrangements are insane. If you solo the background vocals on a track like "Never Gonna Let You Go," you’ll hear jazz harmonies that most pop singers can’t touch. She’s often compared to Mary J. Blige, but where Mary is all raw emotion and grit, Faith is technical precision and airy soprano runs. She’s a singer’s singer.
She wrote or co-wrote almost every song on the project. That matters. In an era where many R&B acts were just puppets for big-name producers, Faith was in the booth making executive decisions. She knew how to stack her own harmonies to create that "wall of sound" effect. It’s why the album feels so thick and lush.
The Emotional Stakes of Keep the Faith
We have to talk about the context. Biggie had been gone for about eighteen months when this album came out. The world was watching her. Would she be the grieving widow forever?
The song "Keep the Faith" was her answer. It was a gospel-infused anthem that basically told everyone she was going to be okay. It wasn't just a song for her fans; it was a song for herself. You can hear the conviction when she hits those higher registers. It’s visceral.
🔗 Read more: Ashley My 600 Pound Life Now: What Really Happened to the Show’s Most Memorable Ashleys
The album also featured "Lately," a cover of the Jodeci classic (originally by Stevie Wonder). Covering Stevie is dangerous territory. Most people mess it up by over-singing. Faith kept it simple, focusing on the phrasing. It showed a vulnerability that balanced out the high-energy dance tracks like "Sunny Days."
Why the Critics Were Split (and Why They Were Wrong)
At the time, some critics felt the album was a bit too "produced." They missed the raw, hip-hop soul of her 1995 debut. Rolling Stone and The Source gave it decent reviews, but there was a sense that maybe Sean "Puffy" Combs was pushing her too far into the mainstream.
Looking back, that criticism feels dated. The "commercial" sound of 1998 is now considered the "Golden Era" of R&B. The production on Faith Evans Keep the Faith has aged remarkably well. It doesn't sound thin or tinny like some of the early digital recordings of the 2000s. It sounds analog, warm, and intentional.
Key Tracks You Might Have Forgotten
- "Maybe": This is the deep cut for the true R&B heads. It’s moody. It’s slow. It shows her range in a way the radio singles didn't.
- "Life Will Pass You By": This feels like a precursor to the neo-soul movement that was about to explode with Lauryn Hill and Maxwell.
- "No Other Love": Just pure, unadulterated Bad Boy era joy.
The Legacy: How it Influenced Today’s Stars
You can hear Faith’s influence in almost every major R&B artist today. Summer Walker, SZA, and Ari Lennox all owe a debt to the way Faith structured her sophomore album. They use those same airy, layered harmonies and the mix of street-smart lyrics with church-bred vocal agility.
💡 You might also like: Album Hopes and Fears: Why We Obsess Over Music That Doesn't Exist Yet
Faith Evans Keep the Faith went Platinum for a reason. It sold over 800,000 copies in its first few months, eventually crossing the million mark. But its success wasn't just about numbers. It was about a woman reclaiming her narrative. She wasn't just Biggie’s wife anymore. She was a powerhouse in her own right.
She proved that you could be soulful without being depressed. You could be pop without being shallow.
Actionable Steps for the Modern Listener
If you’re revisiting this album or discovering it for the first time, don't just shuffle it on Spotify. There’s a specific way to digest this era of music to really "get" it.
- Listen to the instrumentals first. Bad Boy production from 1997-1999 was incredibly dense. Focus on the basslines—they’re almost always played by live session musicians, not just programmed.
- Compare it to her debut. If you listen to Faith (1995) and then Keep the Faith (1998) back-to-back, you can hear her voice maturing. She’s more confident in the second album. She takes more risks with her runs.
- Check the credits. Look at the names like Rodney Jerkins and Kelly Price who contributed. It was a community effort of the best Black musical minds of the decade.
- Watch the music videos. The aesthetic—the Hype Williams influence, the furs, the bright colors—is essential to understanding the "mood" Faith was trying to project.
The most important thing to remember about Faith Evans Keep the Faith is that it represents a moment of resilience. In the high-stakes, often tragic world of nineties hip-hop, this album was a beacon of light. It told us that even after the worst possible loss, you can still find a reason to dance. It’s a timeless record because the emotions are real, the vocals are flawless, and the "Faith" she was singing about wasn't just a name—it was a way of life.