Ashanti

She is most famous for her eponymous debut album Ashanti which featured the hit song "Foolish", and sold 503,000 copies Gold in its first week on release in the USA in April 2002, a record breaking feat. In the same week, she became the first female performer to simultaneously hold the top two places on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with "Foolish", and "What's Luv" with Fat Joe. She broke records again by having three Top Ten songs Foolish, What's Luv, & Always on Time with Ja Rule on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the same week. Ironically, Ashanti wrote and sang background on the song "Ain't It Funny" sung by Jennifer Lopez which was also in the top 10 charts at the same time as "Foolish", "Always on Time" with Ja Rule and "What's Luv" with Fat Joe. In 2002, she was also acclaimed as the "Princess of Hip Hop and R&B."

Ashanti cites Mary J. Blige, Ella Fitzgerald, and Blue Magic as her musical influences.

Early life

Ashanti was born on October 13, 1980, in Glen Cove, New York. She inherited a zest for music from her mother Tina, a former dance teacher, and her father Ken-Kaide, a former singer. Her grandfather, James, was a civil rights activist who associated with Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1960s. Growing up, Ashanti took dance lessons and joined the church choir. Ashanti went to Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center where she studied different dance styles including tap, jazz, ballet, African, modern and hip hop. She danced with the Senior Pro Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Black Spectrum Theater. With actress and choreographer Debbie Allen at the helm, Ashanti also performed in the Disney TV film Polly alongside stars Keshia Knight Pulliam and Phylicia Rashad, the 1994 Caribbean Awards and dancing with Judith Jamison of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company.

Ashanti displayed a knack for singing when she was six by singing in a gospel choir. Her love of music continued to rise as she attended high school. Ashanti also wrote songs. As a teenager, she performed in a local talent show and at the Soul Cafe, China Club, Madison Square Garden, Caroline's Comedy Club and Greek Fest 2000. By the time she hit puberty, her mom was sending out demo tapes of her daughter's vocal talents, which led to a record deal with Jive Records in 1994. Unfortunately, this relationship soured when Jive tried to make the soulful singing teen into a run-of-the-mill pop star.

Ashanti regrouped by throwing herself into schoolwork and running on her school's track team, which earned her athletic scholarships to Princeton & Hampton University. But she put college pursuits aside when Epic Records came calling with a contract in 1998. However, the label's management changes quickly left Ashanti out in the cold. Undaunted, she continued to croon at local New York clubs and began hanging out at the Murder Inc. recording studio, hoping for another big break.

Early careerIt was when she was noticed by Murder Inc. mastermind Irv Gotti that Ashanti began to blossom. Gotti noted her dancing and acting abilities in addition to her vocal skills. In 2001, Ashanti was first featured as a background vocalist on rapper Big Pun's song "How We Roll". In the same year, Ashanti was featured on fellow labelmate Cadillac Tah's singles "Pov City Anthem" and "Just Like A Thug". She also appeared on the 2001 The Fast and the Furious soundtrack as a featured artist on Vita's 2001 hip hop remake of Madonna's "Justify My Love" and on the solo track "When a Man Does Wrong". She appeared as a background vocalist on "I'm Real Murder Remix", a collaboration by labelmate Ja Rule and Jennifer Lopez she also appeared in the music video for Ain't It Funny Murder Remix, the 2nd duet between Lopez & Rule, and was featured on Fat Joe's "What's Luv?" and Ja Rule's "Always on Time". "What's Luv?" and "Always on Time" were released simultaneously and became two of the biggest hit songs of 2002. Ashanti became the first female to occupy the top two positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart when "Always on Time" and "What's Luv?" were number-one and number-two respectively.

Debut Album: Ashanti

Following the success of her collaborations with Ja Rule and Fat Joe, Ashanti released her debut single, "Foolish", which contained a sample of the 1983 song "Stay With Me" by DeBarge also utilized by The Notorious B.I.G. in his 1995 hit "One More Chance". She became the second artist after the The Beatles to have their first three chart entries in the top ten of the Hot 100 simultaneously. Ashanti's self-titled debut album, Ashanti, was released on Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. record label in April 2002. It debuted at number-one on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, selling over 503,000 copies in its first week the most successful first week sales for a debut R&B female artist. The album has been certified 3x platinum in the U.S and platinum 300,000 copies in the UK. The album has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide. Ashanti penned all 12 songs on the album, most written on-the-spot in the studio.

Ashanti's follow-up singles, "Happy" and "Baby", were not as successful as her debut single but did peak in the top ten and top twenty in the U.S. respectively. During the summer of 2002, Ashanti appeared on Ja Rule's "Down 4 U" with labelmates, female rappers Vita and Charli Baltimore. The song appeared on a Murder Inc. compilation titled Irv Gotti Presents The Inc. Ashanti's debut album earned her many awards including eight Billboard Music Awards, two American Music Awards, a Lady of Soul Award for "Aretha Franklin Entertainer of the Year," and a Grammy Award.

VoiceUnlike many other singers with the ability, Ashanti, while possessing a clear, girly, coloratura soprano voice, has built a career singing in the lower and middle ranges of her voice, especially when a featured guest vocalist on a rap artist's track. This had caused a degree of speculation that Ashanti could not really sing, had limited range or that she was a studio creation of Ja Rule and Irv Gotti. In fact, as of late, Ashanti has used her head register so infrequently, many who haven't heard her sing before she signed with Murder Inc would mistakenly classify her as a classic example of a soubrette as defined by her girly, light vocals, combined with her slender appearance. Ashanti has an octave range of 3.5 but has been capable of higher.

Albums Sales Ashanti 2002 1 US 3x Platinum, 3 UK Platinum, Over 6 Million WW Chapter II 2003 1 US 2 weeks Platinum, 5 UK Gold, Over 3 Million WW Ashanti's Christmas 2003 160 US US Sales: 100,000+ Concrete Rose 2004 7 US Platinum, 25 UK Gold, Million WW Collectables by Ashanti 2005 59 US US Sales: 100,000+

TriviaShe has written a book of poetry called FoolishUnfoolish Reflections on LoveShe has the biggest Murder Inc. single "Foolish" Her first two albums debuted at 1 on the charts Her debut album, Ashanti, had the best first-week total for a R&B DEBUT female artist with 504,963 copies sold. Is not beefing with Beyonce Knowles Has starred in the mega hits Coach Carter, John Tucker Must Die, & Resident Evil:ExtinctionIs a Grammy award winning singerHas collaborated with fellow labelmate Ja Rule on 3 of his singles Always on Time, Mesmerise, & Wonderful Was ranked 14 on All Shades of Fine: 25 Hottest Females of the Past 25 YearsIs currently dating rapper Nelly as confirmed in late 2005,in the recent Inc. court datesPlayed Dorothy Gale in the Muppets verison of The Wizard Of Oz