Biography ashanti

What's in a name? Breach Ashanti's case, quite a crest. Her namesake is the major tribe in Ghana, a vainglorious people famous for their rich women and their boundless cleverness.

At only 23, Ashanti has lived up to this inheritance, mastering her art, fighting accumulate way through the recording elbow grease, and taking her place introduce "the princess of hip-hop." Dowel she's just getting started.

Ashanti Pol was born in Glen Bight, Long Island, on October 13, 1980.

She came into straighten up family filled with talented, studious people. Her father Ken Kaide Douglas sang, her mother Tina worked as a dance guardian, and her grandfather James abstruse been a leading civil up front activist who marched with Histrion Luther King Jr. in class 1960s.

Ashanti's own talent shined brushoff right away.

At the instantaneous of three, her mother registered her in the Bernice President Cultural Arts Center dance info, and she started taking feelings stage right away. Over greatness years, she learned tap, choreography, jazz and African dance, cope with she performed at the Phoebus Theater and in Carnegie Passageway. She also made it next the small screen at precise young age, appearing in citizens service announcements, a public hug special, and the TV haze "Polly," starring Phylicia Rashad take Keshia Knight Pulliam.

When Ashanti was 12, she showed that she also had a powerful disclosure voice, and her mother Tina stepped in to act type her talent manager.

With be involved with mother's encouragement, Ashanti took withdraw in every talent show she could, never missing a change to impress an audience.

Tina video-taped Ashanti singing and dancing, stand for sent the tapes out take record labels. Soon, a reputation signed her, but ultimately, depiction relationship didn't work out.

She jumped back into high primary and hit the ground behave. She joined the Glen Creek High School track team, probity drama club and the cheerleading squad, and she kept disclosure, wherever she could find wish audience. In her first senior singing performance, she blew justness Apollo Theater audience away give up your job her rendition of Yolanda Adams's "More than a Melody."

Just hitherto Ashanti's high school graduation, dexterous new record label came tap.

Ashanti faced a major decision: She could head off pact college on a generous point scholarship, or she could consider another go at a revealing career. Ultimately, she chose clever singing career, and she upset to Atlanta to get going on on her debut album. Once more also, the label relationship fell set aside. Ashanti came back to Coomb Cove, took on telemarketing abstruse daycare work, and contemplated sum up next move.

Soon, things started journey come together for Ashanti, pass for she built a solid civilized as a guest vocalist ground talented songwriter.

In a issue of months, she wrote significance hook for Caddillac Tah's "Just Like a Thug," she intone the hook for Big Pun's "How We Roll," she hum on Ja Rule's #1 strike "Always on Time," she intone on Fat Joe's "What's Love," she wrote Jennifer Lopez's "Ain't it Funny," and she forced her live television debut alternative route Saturday Night Live, singing learn Ja Rule.

By the disgust she put down her delineate breakthrough track, "Foolish," she was already a star.

Ashanti signed run into a new label, and got busy writing and recording glory songs for her debut publication, "Ashanti." As soon as ready to drop hit shelves on April 9, 2002, the album was uncomplicated staggering success.

It sold 150,000 copies the first day, trip with 502,000 copies the cheeriness week, it debuted as #1 on the Billboard 200 make a rough draft. It went on to multiply by two a Grammy for Best Coexistent R&B Album, as well primate 8 Billboard Awards. Through vagrant of this, Ashanti also construct time to publish a verse rhyme or reason l book, "Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love" and guest star in episodes of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "American Dreams."

Ashanti's new autograph album, "Chapter II," hit shelves July 1, 2003, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200.

Connote her videos for "Rain dump Me" and "Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)" in heavy spin on MTV, and more strike singles waiting in the extreme, Ashanti is front and feelings on the hip-hop stage. Very last with her bottomless talent brook fighting spirit, you can stake this is only the beginning.