ASHANTI
Ashanti was born in Glen Cove, New York. She was born to an African American/Dominican mother and a African American/Chinese father. She inherited a love of music from her mother Tina, a former dance teacher, and her father Thomas, a former singer. Her mother named her after the former Empire of Ashanti in Ghana. In this nation, the women had power and influence, and Ashanti's mother wanted her daughter to follow that model. Her grandfather, James, was a civil-rights activist who associated with Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1960s. Growing up, Ashanti took dance lessons and joined the church choir. Ashanti went to Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center where she studied different dance styles including tap, jazz, ballet, African, modern, and hip hop. She danced with the Senior Pro Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Black Spectrum Theater. She also performed at the 1994 Caribbean Awards and dancing with Judith Jamison of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. With actress and choreographer Debbie Allen at the helm, Ashanti also performed in the Disney television film Polly alongside stars Keshia Knight Pulliam and Phylicia Rashad. Ashanti displayed a knack for singing when she was six by singing in a gospel choir but her mother discovered her full singing potential when she overheard Ashanti singing Mary J. Blige's Reminisce" to herself at age twelve. By the time she hit puberty, her mom was sending out demo tapes of her daughter's vocal and dancing talents. The family couldn't afford to go to a studio and record a formal demo so when labels called, Ashanti would have to sing and dance in front of the record company executives. Her love of music continued to rise as she attended high school and began to write songs. As a teenager, she performed in a local talent show and at the Soul Cafe, China Club, Madison Square Garden, Caroline's Comedy Club and Greek Fest 2000. In her first major singing performance, Ashanti blew the Apollo Theater audience away with her rendition of Yolanda Adams's "More than a Melody." She also appeared in a number of big-name music videos, in addition to other dance work.
Early career
When Ashanti was fourteen, there was a bidding war going on for her by Jive Records, EMI and Bad Boy Records. Initially, she went to Bad Boy Records and sang one of Mary J. Blige's songs in front of P. Diddy and Biggie Smalls. After being impressed by her singing ability, Diddy then challenged her character. He pulled out a bottle and told her it was his new fragrance, which he loved. After one sniff, Ashanti exclaimed, "Oh pew, it stinks. I hate it!" Diddy just started laughing stating it was just a test to judge her character. In the end, due to a bad contract, Ashanti didn't sign with Diddy. This ultimately led to a record deal with Jive Records in 1994. Unfortunately, this relationship soured when Jive tried to make the soulful singing teen into a run-of-the-mill pop star.
Ashanti regrouped by throwing herself into schoolwork, cheerleading, and running on her school's track team. She was an honor student in English and belonged to the English club where she began writing poetry. She was also in the Drama club and performed in a few plays. However, her skills in the 100- and 200-meter dash as well as the triple jump, her specialty reaching as far as 35 feet , earned her athletic scholarships to Princeton & Hampton University. But she put college pursuits aside when Epic Records came calling with a contract in 1998. However, the label's management changes quickly left Ashanti out in the cold. Undaunted, she continued to croon at local New York clubs and began hanging out at the Murder Inc. recording studio, hoping for another big break
Ashanti has 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 the first R&B vocalist on Murder Inc. Although this is a departure for the hip hop powerhouse label that has a roster including rappers Ja Rule, Vita and Charli Baltimore, 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.”
