Interviewee: Ashanti
Interviewer: Blare from Kiwibox
Date: May 15, 2008

Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas has gained prominence in the entertainment industry as a recording artist, record producer, dancer, model and actress. This 29-year old R&B singer started gaining popularity during the early 2000s, right after she released her eponymous debut album. Her self-titled album, which featured the hit song “Foolish,” sold more than 500,000 during the first week it was released in the United States.

A week after her debut album was released, Ashanti also became the first female performer to hold both the top two places on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with her hit single “Foolish” and “What’s Luv?,” a collaboration she had with Fat Joe. Later that same week, Ashanti broke more records by simultaneously having three of her singles in the Billboard Hot 100’s top ten songs, with the addition of “Always on Time,” another collaboration, this time with Ja Rule.

In the years that followed, Ashanti managed to sell more albums and by the end of 2008, she sold over 27 million records all over the world. The following year, the female singing sensation successfully ended the 2000-2009 decade as one of the top new R&B artists alongside Beyonce Knowles and Alicia Keys.

Before she came to be the decade’s princess of hip hop and R&B, Ashanti was discovered at the young age of 14 by P.Diddy’s Bad Boy Records. She impressed Biggie Smalls and P.Diddy himself by singing one of Mary J. Blige’s songs during her audition. However, despite her discovery story, Ashanti ended up with Jive Records in 1994.

A few years later, Ashanti’s vocal skills again caught the attention of music industry personality Irv Gotti from Murder Inc. This eventually led to her being featured on several hits by Big Pun and Cadillac Tah. The rest, as they say, is history.