Ebony Eyez

St. Louis Beginnings

Ebony Eyez, born Ebony Williams in St. Louis, Missouri, is often described as the first female rapper from St. Louis to release music on a major label. She worked closely with the Track Boyz, the local production team of Mark Williams and Joe Kent, who also produced J-Kwon's 2004 hit "Tipsy." She shared management with J-Kwon, and that connection gave her a first appearance on a record.

Debut with J-Kwon

Her commercial debut came in 2004 on "Show Your Ass" from J-Kwon's album Hood Hop. After the success of "Tipsy," she signed with Capitol Records. She also appeared with J-Kwon and Petey Pablo on J-Kwon's 2005 track "Get XXX'd."

7 Day Cycle

Capitol released her debut album, 7 Day Cycle, in 2005, co-credited to the Track Boyz Entertainment imprint. Nearly all of it was produced by the Track Boyz, with part of the recording done at The Crib in Florissant, in north St. Louis County, and additional production from J.R. Rotem, Dr. Luke and XP Muzik. Guests included Trey Songz on "Heart of a Soldier" and "Hot Chick," J-Kwon and Tarboy on "Real Life," Capo on "Broken Wings," and Q and Slim of 112 on "Take Me Back." Writing credits list her as E. Williams on nearly every song, usually alongside Mark Williams and Joe Kent. "In Ya Face" was the lead single and was remixed with Trina. The album reached No. 137 on the Billboard 200, a modest showing, and "Take Me Back" and "Drop It" followed as a single release.

Later Work

After the Capitol period she kept a much lower profile. In 2009 she released the mixtape Nice Girlz Finish Last online and continued posting songs independently. Her Capitol run places her alongside J-Kwon as part of the Track Boyz camp of mid-2000s St. Louis rap. Beyond these releases, few details of her career after the mid-2000s are documented, and published sources do not give her date of birth or the specific part of St. Louis where she grew up.