And suddenly, you could hear the Ashanti influence everywhere. 2, Ashanti became the first female artist to simultaneously hold the top two positions on the Billboard Hot 100. Above, the singer is wearing a Bronx & Banco Iman gown $2,000 Fabergé x James Ganh rose gold pink ruby and diamond earrings, $50,700 Fabergé Emotion Katharina yellow gold 21.17ct topaz ring with diamonds and colored gemstones, $69,500 Cult Gaia shoes, $388 Tamara Beckwith “And for me, it’s always been the yin and the yang, the soft with the hard.” Ashanti still lives in her native Long Island, with her mom as her manager. “In my heart, I’ve always been a girl that loves hip-hop,” she said. Getty Imagesīut Ashanti would have a hand in penning every track on her debut album, including the first single, “Foolish.” Mixing her sweet, soulful vocals with hip-hop beats, the song defined the Ashanti sound. They would have to, like, watch me write, because they didn’t believe I was writing on my own.” Ashanti performing with her “Always on Time” collaborator Ja Rule in 2004. “I just remember being a young girl from Long Island amongst all of these guys and gangstas in the studio, and they didn’t know if I could really write,” she said. In a male-dominated hip-hop scene, Ashanti was determined to prove herself both as a singer and a songwriter.
#ASHANTI NEW ALBUM 2014 SONGS CRACK#
“We were producing crack in hit records.”
“The name wasn’t because of drugs,” she said. During recording, she would drive into Manhattan from her parents’ home, where she had her own basement apartment, to the Crack House studio in Soho. labelmate, Ashanti struck out on her own to make her debut album. “And Ashanti came in and alley-ooped!” While recording her debut LP at the Crack House studio in Soho, 20-year-old Ashanti silenced the doubters with her songwriting ability.Īfter having “instant chemistry” with her Murder Inc. “To be honest with you, I think that song was supposed to be for Brandy, and she ended up not doing it,” she said. Records founder Irv Gotti through his former babysitter, Ashanti had her big break when she was featured on Ja Rule’s 2001 single “Always on Time,” which went all the way to No. we couldn’t have planned that alignment.” And with the divine timing of it being my 20-year anniversary of my first album essentially in the same week. “I’m so grateful and humbled and overwhelmed. “I can’t believe I’m getting a star,” said Ashanti, 41. Above, the singer is wearing a Fendi tailored crop wool jacket, $3,590, and pants, $2,390 Fabergé x James Ganh white gold carved rock crystal, emerald and diamond necklace, $32,760 Fabergé x James Ganh white gold cushion-cut tanzanite, emerald and diamond pendant, $284,700 Fabergé x James Ganh white gold cushion-cut emerald and diamond transformable ring and pendant head, $253,500 Fabergé x James Ganh white gold cushion-cut emerald and diamond ring, $89,700 Fabergé Emotion Katharina whitegold 39.7ct aquamarine ring with diamonds and blue gemstones, $75,000 Brian Zak/NY Post Ashanti is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her self-titled debut album. And it firmly established a career that, bopping from music to acting, has led Ashanti to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday. Instantly crowning the Glen Cove, Long Island, native as the princess of hip-hop soul with its trendsetting sound, the LP - featuring the hits “Foolish,” “Happy” and “Baby” - went triple-platinum and won her a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Such is the immediate impact that Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas had when she went from famously singing the hooks on Ja Rule’s “Always on Time” and Fat Joe’s “What’s Luv?” to becoming a solo star with her self-titled debut album, which came out 20 years ago on April 2, 2002. You know what’s so funny? I Googled the popularity of ‘Ashanti’ before my album came out and then after it, and the difference is crazy!” “And it really is a beautiful, beautiful feeling. “I’ve met plenty of people that are like, ‘Oh my gosh, I named my daughter after you,’ ” the singer, who was named after the Ashanti tribe in Ghana, told The Post. That’s the kind of next-level legacy that Ashanti has left in two decades and counting of R&B divadom. You know you’ve made it when you’ve had a whole generation of baby girls named after you. Ja Rule and Ashanti took the stage at ‘Hamilton’ James Harden’s rumored new girlfriend is not a Kardashian
Captivating moments from 2021 Soul Train Music Awards