Growing up in Glen Cove, New York, with
performer parents, it was just a matter of time before Ashanti Douglas
broke into the entertainment biz - but there were more than few bumps
on the road to selling 502,000 copies of her debut album in its first
week of sales.
The journey began at age 13 when she scored a record deal; however,
Ashanti didn’t even get out of the starting gate. The deal fell
through, so she did what any teenager would do. Ashanti went to high
school, hit the books and became the star of the track team. A few
athletic scholarships were offered (Princeton, Hampton University),
but Ashanti turned them down to concentrate on her music.
When deals with other labels - Jive and Epic - didn’t work out
either, Ashanti finally got the big break she was looking for. Irv
Gotti, CEO of Murder, Inc., teamed her up with Big Pen on “How We
Roll.” Blending tough gangsta rhymes with Ashanti’s delicate hooks
struck gold and prompted Gotti to meld other big name rappers with the
rising star. Both Ja Rule and Fat Joe scored Number One hits with
“Always on Time” and “What’s Luv,” respectively, thanks to
the sweet and soulful sounds of Ashanti’s vocals. Knowing he had a
true songbird under his wing, Gotti signed Ashanti, and she became the
first R&B vocalist on the Murder, Inc. roster.
Once Ashanti completely dominated the singles charts from the
sidelines, her self-titled debut album (on which she wrote all 12
tunes) was released and broke sales records for female R&B
artists. The single, “Foolish,” which samples from DeBarge’s
1983 hit “Stay With Me,” and the follow-up, “Happy,” ruled the
charts and radio in 2002. Although, she’s still young, her
unbelievable success has made Ashanti the unofficial princess of
R&B.
