Ashanti takes charge on her way to superstardom

Ebony, March, 2003 by Lynn Norment

IT has been a phenomenal year for Ashanti. Just 12 months ago, only a few music fans knew her as the cute face and sweet voice that spiced up some of hip-hop's roughest cuts. Today, Ashanti is a bona fide star who has broken music chart records and established a first-name relationship with millions of fans and admirers.

Released last April, her self-titled debut CD sold more than a half million copies in the first week, more than any debut by a female artist ever. That same week in April, she became the first female and only artist since the Beatles to have three singles in the top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart at one time. In addition to her own single, "Foolish" (which was No. 1 for 10 weeks), Ashanti was in the top 10 with Ja Rule's "Always On Time" and Fat Joe's "What's Luv?"

And this was just the first week of her entree into the world of celebrity and stardom. Since then Ashanti Douglas hasn't slowed down. And there's no reason to put brakes on her fast and furious ride. Music buyers love her. Concertgoers cheer her. Critics praise her. Awards shows compete for her presence. She's beautiful, she's hot and she's sold more than 2.5 million records in a few months.

With pretty vocals, attractive girl-next-door looks, a gorgeous figure and a generous smile, Ashanti reigns as the princess of hip-hop soul. Last fall she took home an impressive eight Billboard Music Awards, and recently won two American Music Awards. In addition, she's been nominated for five Grammy Awards.

Though only 22 (those close to her say she has an "old soul"), she sometimes talks like a music industry veteran. "It took me nine years to get where I am," she told the crowd at a Seattle concert last fall. "This was not an overnight thing. It took a lot of work."

Ashanti has worked hard to overcome career setbacks, and she continues to work diligently to achieve and maintain her goal of success in music. She was born to music-loving parents, Thomas and Tina Douglas, of Glen Cove, Long Island, in New York. By age 6, she was singing with her church's gospel choir, taking tap and ballet lessons and enjoying being an active kid. She even danced in a show at New York's Carnegie Hall and in Disney's television musical Polly. When Ashanti was 12, her mother discovered by chance that the youngster had real singing talent when she overheard her singing while vacuuming. "That wasn't the radio," Ashanti responded to her mother, who had banned radio and television until the housework was done. "That was me singing."

Mom and dad were impressed, and from that point on, Ashanti participated in talent contests, in addition to setting track records and making the honor roll at her high school in Glen Cove. It is a small, quiet close-knit town, and she loved living near one of the town's three beaches. "I loved the beach," says Ashanti, adding that she liked to profile on the beach, showing off her latest "hot" swimwear.

In addition to hanging out on the beach, by age 14 she had signed her first recording contract. The record company would send a car to pick her up from school, and she'd do homework on the way to the studio. After she finished recording, the car would take her home. However, she ended up leaving the label, she says, because the honchos there wanted her to do pop music while she wanted to record hop-hop and R&B.

Then at 17 she signed with another major record company, moved into her own apartment in Atlanta, and wrote songs for what she hoped would be her first album. However, internal issues at the label led to her leaving in disappointment. Ashanti then got small parts in films, including Spike Lee's Malcolm X. She moved back to New York, where she started recording demos and looking for a record deal.

In 2000, Ashanti's style and multiple talents caught the attention of Murder Inc. CEO Irv Gotti, who signed her to his label and asked her to perform guest vocals on the late Big Pun's 2001 "How We Roll." Soon after that she co-wrote and performed on Jennifer Lopez's hit "Ain't It Funny," which jumped to No. 1 on the record charts. Then Ashanti's singles with Murder Inc. colleagues Ja Rule and Fat Joe hit the airwaves and created such a buzz that her debut album was released earlier than planned.

"She had flow, bounce and content," Gotti told Billboard last spring. "There's no other artist that you can say has this much hip-hop urgency, but yet is R&B." (Murder Inc. is a partnership between Irv and Chris Gotti and Ja Rule, and Island Def Jam Music Group.)

Ashanti says that a major influence on her music career is Mary J. Blige, an artist she admires and respects, especially since Blige is credited for bringing about the musical marriage of hip-hop and rhythm & blues.

Industrious and multifaceted, Ashanti wrote her own lyrics for her debut album. She's been writing since she was 14, and that made Irv Gotti realize that she was much more than just a pretty face and voice. "I feel it's definitely more passionate when they're your own words, when it comes from singing about reality, your emotions, your surroundings, your environment," she said in an interview. "My music has a touch of reality that everyone can relate to, whether they're old or young, Black or White."