Ashanti 1980–

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Ashanti 1980–

Singer

April Fool’s Day 2002 found R & B songstress Ashanti awaiting the midnight release of her self–titled debut album. That week she had already become the first artist since The Beatles to have three songs in the Billboard top ten. Two of those songs went on to grab the number one and two spots, a feat no other woman in U.S. chart history had accomplished. Meanwhile, a song she wrote for another artist was sitting in the number three spot. Of this unprecedented success she said in an on–line interview with www.teenpeople.com the night before her album hit, “Oh my gosh, it feels crazy, and overwhelming! It’s a blessing!” More blessings were soon to follow. Her album debuted at number one. Within a week it had sold half a million copies—a record for first week sales by a female artist. Irv Gotti, CEO of Murder Inc., Ashanti’s record label, and a man known as a visionary in the rap and hip–hop realms, told Music Television (MTV) of the debut, “I always say we can go beyond our expectations, but she went beyond my expectations. It’s never happened to me, where I thought we could do something and it went beyond my expectations.” Her mother, Ashanti’s self–described “momager,” seemed to expect Ashanti’s scorching success all along. She told mtv.com, “From the moment she was born … I just had the feeling she was gonna be a star.”

Began Dancing as a Child

Ashanti Douglas was born on October 13, 1980, and grew up in Glen Cove, a neighborhood on Long Island, New York. Both of her parents worked as computer specialists though their backgrounds were in entertainment—her mother, Tina, danced and her father, Kincaid, sang. From the beginning her parents groomed Ashanti to follow in their footsteps. “I couldn’t find a birth announcement that was sufficient for the way I felt about my child, so I made my own up,” Ashanti’s mother told MTV. “It had all kinds of musical notes on it, and it said that she was gonna be a dancer. We said, ‘Dancing to the boogie woogie beats of the lyrics written by her dad.’” She studied dance at the Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center and began dancing at the age of three. “I did tap, jazz, modern, ballet, African, everything,” she told Music & Media. She performed in famed venues like Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theater and danced in the Disney TV film Polly directed by actress and choreographer Debbie Allen.

At a Glance…

Born Ashanti Douglas on October 13,1980, raised in Glen Cove, Long Island, NY; parents Tina and Kincaid.

Career: Singer: Album, Ashanti, Murder Inc. Records 2002; singles: with Ja Rule, “Always on Time;” with Big Pun, “How We Roll;” with Fat Joe, “What’s Luv”. Other vocals: with P. Diddy, “We Invented the Remix;” with Ja Rule, soundtrack, The Fast and the Furious; with Vita, “Justify My Love”. Actress: Film: Malcolm X, Who’s da Man, Polly. Television: American Dreams, NBC; Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, WB. Author: Reflections on Love: Foolish/Unfoolish, Hyperion Books, 2002. Has also worked as a professional dancer.

Awards: Entertainer of the Year, Aretha Franklin Award, Best R & B/Soul or Rap New Artist, Soul Train’s Lady of Soul Awards, 2002; Breakout Artist of the Year, Teen Choice Awards, 2002; nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards, 2002; won two American Music Awards, 2003; nominated for five Grammy awards, 2003; nominated, two Soul Train Awards, 2003.

Addresses: Record Label —Murder Inc., 825 8th Ave., New York, NY, 10019.

Ashanti seemed destined for a career in dance until it was discovered she could sing. “Singing was kind of accidental,” Ashanti told MTV. Her mother had told her to do some chores and turn off the radio. Twelve–year–old Ashanti obeyed and went to work, singing to herself. “[My mom] comes storming down the steps: ‘Didn’t I tell you to turn the radio off?’ I’m like, ’Yeah, that wasn’t the radio. I was just singing.’” Her mother continued, telling MTV, “She sang Mary J. Blige’s “Reminisce” and I’ll never forget it. I put her in a couple of talent shows and she came in first place. Once I found out she could sing, it was a wrap.” Less than two years later Ashanti signed her first record contract with Jive Records. That deal went nowhere, in part because Ashanti wanted to write her own songs, something the record company did not like. A few years later, at 17, Ashanti moved to Atlanta to work with Noontime, a subsidiary of mega–label Epic. That partnership fizzled out as well and she was soon back in New York, finishing up high school and starting to plan for her future. Of the failed deals she told Music & Media, “It was all like a character builder, I got a chance to learn a lot of things very early.”

Despite her budding career, Ashanti kept pace with her schoolwork. She was an honor student in English and belonged to the English club where she began writing poetry. She was also a standout on the track team and brought home quite a few medals for her school. Her academic and athletic talents drew the attention of both Princeton University and Hampton University, the latter of which offered her a scholarship. She turned it down, deciding to give music another shot.

Found Success With Murder Inc.

Ashanti’s manager scored a meeting for her with Irv Gotti, the man behind the hardcore rap label Murder, Inc. At first it seemed an unlikely pairing. The label had a street thug edge—its artists were called “murderers” and its website opened with the sound of gunshots—and Ashanti was a sweet–faced honor student who sang R & B. However, as her mom told People Weekly, “She looks innocent, but if there’s something she wants, she’ll get it.” What she wanted was to fuse her R & B style with harder rap and hip–hop sounds. She credits singer Mary J. Blige with that influence. “I didn’t want to sing only slow songs and I didn’t want to be spittin’ rhymes,” she is quoted on the Def Jam website. “But Mary put those concepts together. She cleared the way.” Gotti was looking to expand Murder Inc.’s roster and thought that with her sultry voice and stunning looks Ashanti might become his first crossover artist to find popular success. He asked her to sing the chorus—called a hook—on “How We Roll” by Murder Inc. artist Big Pun. Gotti was impressed and she soon signed a deal to become the label’s first R & B artist.

Ashanti went into the label’s Greenwich Village studio and began to work on her debut album, Ashanti. She wrote the lyrics for all twelve songs, penning many of them right in the studio. “When you perform your own records, records you wrote, for me, the emotion I feel is deeper than when I sing someone else’s words,” she said on www.teenpeople.com. With those songs she also hoped to touch other people. “Everyone has gone through something that’s on this album, and I want to be able to articulate their feelings,” she is quoted on Def Jam’s website.

While finishing up her album, she appeared on rapper Ja Rule’s “Always on Time.” In the song she plays the smooth–voiced girlfriend to Ja Rule’s hard–edged man. The song scorched through the charts landing at number one. At about the same time she appeared alongside another rapper, Fat Joe, on his “What’s Luv?” single. Again her sultry cooing played perfectly off the gansta–fueled rap and the song also tore up the charts. Meanwhile, a song she wrote for Jennifer Lopez, “Ain’t it Funny,” also began climbing towards the top ten. Murder Inc. promptly released “Foolish,” the first single off of Ashanti and it also soared. By April of 2002, “Foolish” was holding the number one spot, “What’s Luv?” was at number two, and “Ain’t it Funny” was three. She became the first new female artist to hold both the one and two spots, and only the second artist since the Beatles to have three songs in the top ten at the same time. Ashanti was living up to Murder Inc.’s motto and “killing” with her music.

Balanced Fame With Family

Ashanti’s voice was everywhere, booming out of car stereos on street corners, filling the dance floor at clubs, appearing on radio shows with her Murder Inc. brethren. The public was entranced by her sexy blend of R & B and gansta rap. With the videos for “Always on Time” and “Foolish” receiving heavy airtime, the public also took notice of her drop–dead beauty. Her face—and often scantily clad body—was splashed across magazine spreads. Ashanti was hot and Gotti and crew decided to take advantage of it, pushing up the release of her album. It was a smart move. Ashanti shot straight to number one and sold an unprecedented 504,000 units during the first week. Ashanti was stunned, “Never in a million years would I have thought it would go down like this,” she told Newsweek.

“Foolish” made headway in the urban radio format—home to rap and hip–hop—as well as the more mainstream pop format. Murder Inc. had its crossover star. If her life before the album was as she described to www.alloy.com “like a roller coaster,” her life after Ashanti dropped became a non–stop loop on a super–coaster. She told Entertainment Weekly, “It gets ridiculous when I’m doing three states in one day with the travel and the entourage and the change and the security checks and the radio and the autographs and the smiling in the airport—it’s bananas!” Though she was quick to add, “But I remember when I was on the couch watching everyone go to college while I’m watching [daytime talk show] Ricki Lake. And it’s worth it.”

For Ashanti, a self–avowed family girl, there have been sacrifices. “[The success] is bittersweet because I’m so close to my family, and I haven’t seen them in a long time,” she told www.alloy.com. “But everyone is so proud of me and so happy for my success. It is younger sister Kenashia’s voice that pipes in near the end of the album saying, “I’m glad that your dreams are finally coming true.” Her family has been with her every step of the way. When the video for “Foolish” aired on BET she recalled to Newsweek, “My whole family came to the house, ’cause we had a big TV in the middle of the living room. My cousin started crying, my aunts, they were screaming.” When friends suggested she spend some of her newfound wealth on a sleek $120,000 Mercedes Benz she refused. “It only has two seats,” she told People Weekly. “I couldn’t bring my family anywhere.”

Became “Entertainer of the Year”

Ashanti’s meteoric streak through the top of the charts brought with it a slew of music nominations and awards. She led Soul Train’s Lady of Soul Awards with the most nominations, five in all including “Best New Artist” which she won. Over at MTV she grabbed four nominations at their Video Music Awards and performed live at the hugely popular event. She also scored “Breakout Artist of the Year” from the 2002 Teen Choice Awards. In November of 2002 she found out she was up for five awards at the 30th annual American Music Awards.

However, the most prestigious award she won in 2002 was also the most controversial. When it was announced that Ashanti would receive the Soul Train Aretha Franklin Award for “Entertainer of the Year” a high school boy in California took offense and started an on–line petition against her. He explained to The Seattle Times that she was too new to deserve the award and “she lacks stage presence in the majority of her performances.” Nearly 30,000 people agreed with him, signing the petition. Many pointed out that established artists such as Mary J. Blige and Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot or critically acclaimed singers like Alicia Keys and India. Arie were more deserving of an award that carries the name of a musical legend. Despite chart–topping success, most reviewers panned Ashanti’s debut effort. Other critics pointed to the fact that Ashanti’s phenomenal first week sales were propelled along by Island Def Jam Music Group, the parent company of Murder Inc. The company offered retailers a two–dollar rebate for each album sold in the first two weeks. While it is true that Ashanti was hot, Lyor Cohen, CEO of Island Def Jam, confessed to The New York Times, “We put gasoline in the carburetor.”

Ashanti no longer needs extra gas. She has a modeling contract with Candie’s Shoes and has begun to rack up acting credits on both the small and big screens including a starring role in Warner Brothers 2003 remake of Sparkle. In November of 2002 Hyperion released a collection of her poems, and she was scheduled to float through New York in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Reflecting on this incredible success she told www.alloy.com, “Oh, man, I would have never thought! It was like an eight and a half year struggle.” Those years provided great momentum. Ashanti is primed to take on the road to super stardom.