Name : Ashanti
Birth Name : Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas
Profession : Musician
Date of Birth : October 13, 1980
Place of Birth : Glen Cove, New York, USA
Height : 5' 3''
Sign : Libra.
Ashanti - Detailed Biography
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.
