Ashanti

Grammy award winning Ashanti blasted into the urban music scene in 2002, topping the charts with multiple singles at once. She quickly became a sensation, gracing the covers of magazines and dominating urban radio. Ashanti built her reputation with duets, where she would complement a popular rapper -- Ja Rule ("Always on Time"), Fat Joe ("What's Luv?"), the Notorious B.I.G. ("Unfoolish") --
contrasting the tough-guy male perspective with her own.

Ashanti's overnight jump to superstardom was initially helmed by Mario Baeza Owner and CEO of AJM Records and Linda Berk, Ashanti’s co-manager.  Baeza, the successful New York attorney, banker and entrepreneur, took notice of Ashanti initially because of her beauty, and singing, only to realize she was a very talented songwriter.  His decision to distribute Ashanti through Def Jam and have Irv Gotti Executive Produce her music was a stroke a genius!  It didn't take the young vocalist long to make a name for herself though; her debut album topped the Billboard album charts just as her debut solo single, ("Foolish,") was topping the Hot 100 chart. Her presence was inescapable.

A duet with Ja Rule, "Always on Time," hit number one on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in early 2002 just as a duet with Fat Joe, "What's Luv?," was creeping toward the same number one position. These two airplay-heavy singles set the stage perfectly for Ashanti's self-titled debut release. The album's lead single, "Foolish," raced up the Hot 100 chart, entering the Top Ten in March alongside "Always on Time" and "What's Luv?,"   Soon after, Ashanti's album debuted at number one on the album chart, selling an astounding 500,000 plus copies in its first week.  She was the first artist to have four songs in the top ten on Billboard’s Hot 100 ("Always on Time" with Ja Rule, "Foolish", "What’s Luv?" with Fat Joe and "Ain’t it Funny" (remix) for Jennifer Lopez.)

With all her chart-topping, Ashanti set some sales records and her success continued. A remix of her song "Foolish," titled "Unfoolish," that featured the Notorious B.I.G. and again overtook urban radio, where no artist was more omnipresent throughout 2002 than Ashanti. She returned the following year with Chapter II, which likewise topped the Billboard album chart on the heels of its hot lead single, "Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)". A Christmas album followed late that year, and Concrete Rose appeared in December 2004. Ashanti has worked with some of the industry’s best — writing lyrics and singing hooks that helped their records reach the top of the music charts. Along the way, Ashanti has amassed numerous industry awards and honors, most notably a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album in 2002.