Growing up, Ashanti took dance lessons and joined the church choir. Her grandfather, James, was a civil rights activist who associated with Martin Luther King, Jr. She inherited a zest for music from her mother Tina, a former dance teacher, and her father Ken-Kaide, a former singer. She is currently working on her own record label entitled Written Entertainment.Īshanti was born on October 13, 1980, in Glen Cove, New York. Praised as a gifted songwriter by her peers and critics alike, Ashanti has written/co-written the bulk of all her music. Blige, Ella Fitzgerald, Yolanda Adams, The Clark Sisters, and Blue Magic as her musical influences. Later that year, she was acclaimed as the 'Princess Of Hip-Hop & R&B' by the media and capped off her successful debut by winning eight Billboard awards and two American Music Awards.Īshanti cites Mary J. Ashanti also wrote and sang background on the song 'Ain't It Funny' (Murder Remix) 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). She broke records again by having three Top Ten songs Foolish, What's Luv, and Always on Time, with Ja Rule, on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the same week, being the first female to accomplish this feat and being second only to The Beatles. 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). The album set a Soundscan record as the most albums sold by any first-time female artist in the chart's history, outselling debuts by Alicia Keys and Lauryn Hill. Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas (born Octoin Glen Cove, New York, United States), professionally known as Ashanti, is a Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, and fashion designer who rose to fame in the early 2000s.Īshanti is most famous for her eponymous Grammy Award-winning debut album Ashanti which featured the hit song 'Foolish', and sold over 503,000 copies in its first week of release in the U.S.

Ashanti new album sales