Ashanti

Ja Rule. J. Lo. Big Pun. Fat Joe. She’s worked with some of the industry's best—writing lyrics and singing hooks that help their records reach the top of the music charts. Now it's time for 21-year-old Ashanti Douglas to take center stage and shine on her very own self-titled debut, the much-anticipated Ashanti. In April, Ashanti hits the scene as Murder Inc's princess of Hip Hop and R&B. Although this is a departure for the hip hop powerhouse label that has a roster including rappers Ja Rule, Vita, Charli Baltimore and Caddillac Tah all indications show that the transition has been more than smooth and successful. Ashanti’s lead single, "Foolish," has already made waves at radio—getting heavy rotation on urban stations and galvanizing fans to demand an earlier-than-planned release of her album, a tantalizing blend of edgy hip hop groves and subtle R&B styling. With Ashanti's clever lyrics and slick production by Murder Inc.'s president Irv Gotti, "Foolish" immediately reminds music lovers of the Notorious B.I.G.’s popular "One More Chance" remix. (True old school heads will remember the familiar melody from DeBarge's 1983 hit "Stay with Me.") Either way, you're sure to be hooked. And that's what Irv's depending on.

"Ashanti's album is full of 'one-listens' like 'Foolish'," says an exuberant Gotti, whose passion for this project is palpable. "When you hear this song, and other songs on the album like "TK," which is based on one of Scarface's old cuts, you remember it, you're bopping your head to it and you immediately get it."

Making sure people "get it" and truly feel where she's coming from is also of the utmost importance to Ashanti, who penned all 12 songs on the album, most written on-the-spot in the studio. "I want to create something so real and reflective that people just sit back and listen like, 'damn, was she in my window last night, because this really happened to me,' "says the eldest daughter of a dancer and singer. "Everyone has gone through something that’s on this album, and I want to be able to articulate their feelings."

With cuts like "Happy," "Baby" and "Rescue," which detail the ins and outs of relationships, the precocious Long Island native is sure to make her mark with streetwise sophistication similar to the reigning queen of hip hop soul, who first blended hardcore beats and heartfelt lyrics in the early nineties. "Mary paved the way," says Ashanti, who began pursuing her singing career at age 12 and also cites Ella Fitzgerald and Blue Magic as influences. "I didn't want to sing only slow songs and I didn’t want to be spittin' rhymes. But Mary put those concepts together. She cleared the way, and now I'm following my own path." Says Irv, who executive produced the project, "I want Ashanti's album to pick up where Mary's My Life left off. By no means are we trying to take Mary’s slot because she's undoubtedly the queen. But Ashanti is Murder Inc.'s princess—with a gansta feel to her.

"I really want men to champion this album," Irv continues. "Usually, with an R&B record, women pioneer it or champion it before anyone else. I want men, thugs, ganstas—I want them to hear the record and be like, ‘yo, this shit is hot.’ That’ll make women like it even more. Ashanti flips the hardcore songs and makes ‘em sweet, so she appeals to both sexes."

Ashanti's already well established track record has placed her on the sweet road to success. (Ja Rule’s "Always On Time" has broken history as Def Jam's top selling single. Her contribution to J. Lo's "I'm Real" helped give the former fly girl-turned-actress-turned-singer urban credibility.) With her own album, Ashanti continues the saga that is sure to gain her the hip hop/R&B princess crown. And the impact she hopes to make during her reign is simple: "If you’re a person who has trouble expressing yourself, all you have to do is pop in this album and it'll speak for you," she says with all sincerity. "When you listen to this album with your man or your girl, everybody will be on the same page." Says a much more boastful Gotti, "Ashanti delivers at the highest level. And she has this personality that makes people love her. She's got too many people feeling her, too many hit records and too much heat for her to stop," he praises. "She can’t lose."

With hitmaker Irv Gotti at the helm, Ashanti blasted into the urban music scene in 2002, topping the charts with multiple singles at once. She quickly became a sensation, gracing the covers of magazines and dominating urban radio. Ashanti built her reputation with duets, where she would complement an already popular rapper -- Ja Rule ("Always on Time"), Fat Joe ("What's Luv?"), the Notorious B.I.G. ("Unfoolish") -- contrasting the tough-guy male perspective with her own. It didn't take the young vocalist long to make a name for herself though: her debut album topped the Billboard album chart just as her debut solo single, "Foolish," was topping the Hot 100 chart. Her presence was inescapable.

Ashanti's overnight jump to superstardom followed that of Ja Rule, a similar urban music sensation helmed by Gotti. The New York producer took notice of Ashanti initially because of her beauty, dancing, and acting. She trained as a dancer at the Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center, learning a number of dance styles. She danced most notably in Disney's Polly, which starred Phylicia Rashad, and also appeared in a number of big-name music videos, in addition to other dance work. As an actress, she made a name for herself with roles in Spike Lee's Malcolm X and Who's da Man before that. The multi-talented vocalist was causing quite a stir, and Gotti did what he could to bring her into his Murder Inc. fold. After showcasing her swooning voice on Big Pun's "How We Roll" and the Fast and Furious soundtrack -- both in 2001 -- Gotti put Ashanti to work on her debut album, which he produced.

Success came quickly. A duet with Ja Rule, "Always on Time," hit number one on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in early 2002 just as a duet with Fat Joe, "What's Luv?," was creeping toward the same number one position. These two airplay-heavy singles set the stage perfectly for Ashanti's self-titled debut release. The album's lead single, "Foolish," raced up the Hot 100 chart, entering the Top Ten in March alongside "Always on Time" and "What's Luv?," giving her three Top Ten songs in the same week, including the number one and two positions -- a quite spectacular feat. And then Ashanti's album debuted at number one on the album chart, selling an astounding 500,000-plus copies in its first week. With all this chart-topping, Ashanti set some sales records and her success continued. Gotti readied a remix of "Foolish," titled "Unfoolish," that featured the Notorious B.I.G. and again overtook urban radio, where no artist was more omnipresent throughout 2002 than Ashanti.

She returned the following year with Chapter II, which likewise topped the Billboard album chart on the heels of its hot lead single, "Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)." The album's success was somewhat eclipsed, however, by all the negative drama surrounding the Murder Inc. camp at the time (i.e., the FBI investigation and the G-Unit feuding). A Christmas album followed late that year, and Concrete Rose appeared in December 2004. Though she remained with The Inc. for 2008's The Declaration, she sought out a number of producers outside the label's in-house team. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide