The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2023 - Issue 33

R&B style with more brutal rap and hip-hop sounds. The singer’s sultry voice and stun- ning looks were ideal for Gotti’s plans to expand the label’s roster, and he believed she could be his first crossover artist to find widespread success. After he asked the would-be artist to sing the hook on late Puerto Rican-American rapper Big Pun’s ‘How We Roll’, Gotti was impressed, and she signed a deal to become the label’s first R&B artist. She went to the label’s Greenwich Village study and worked on her self-titled debut album, Ashanti . Ashanti was free to write the lyrics for all twelve songs, which she has always wanted to do, and she penned most of them in the studio. “When you perform your own records, records you wrote, for me, the emotion I feel is deeper than when I sing someone else’s words,” she commented on Teenpeople’s website. She also hoped to touch other people through her words. “Everyone has gone through something on this album, and I want to articulate their feelings.” Shortly before the release of her debut album in 2002, Ashanti became the first artist since The Beatles to have three songs on the Billboard top ten. The first single ‘Foolish’ grabbed the #1 spot, ‘What’s Luv’ with Fat Joe at #2 and ‘Ain’t It Funny’, the song she penned for Jennifer Lopez, was in third posi- tion. “Oh my gosh, it feels crazy and overwhelming! It’s a blessing,” she exclaimed on Teenpeople’s website. Ashanti’s life after ‘Foolish’ escalated into a non-stop loop on a super roller coaster. “It gets ridiculous when I’m doing three states in one day with the travel, the entourage, the change, the security checks, the radio, the autographs and the smiling in the airport - it’s bananas,” she told Entertainment Weekly . However, she quickly added, “But I remember when I was on the couch watching everyone go to college while I was watching Ricki Lake. And it’s worth it.” Her meteoric success has gained her many accolades, including Best R&B/Soul New Artist, Aretha Franklin Entertainer of the Year, Best R&B/Soul Single for ‘Foolish’ and R&B/Soul Album of the Year for Ashanti at the Lady of Soul Awards. She also won Best R&B Act and Best Hip-Hop Act with Ja Rule at the MOBO Awards and several others like Female Artist, Top New Pop Artist, Hot 100 Singles Artist and R&B/Hip-Hop Female Artist of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards in 2002. She continued to win awards in subsequent years like the Award-Winning Pop Songs and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Song for ‘Foolish’ at the ASCAP Pop Music and Rhythm & Soul Music Awards. Best Contem- porary R&B Album for Ashanti at the Grammy Awards, Outstanding New Artist at the NAACP Image Awards, Breakup Video of the Year for ‘The Way That I Love You’ at the BET Awards, and Best Independent R&B/Soul Performance for ‘Never Should Have’ at the Soul Train Awards. Ashanti’s sophomore album, Chapter II, released in 2003, debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts. “The album proves wrong those who thought she would be a one-hit-album wonder,” People reviewer Chuck Arnold said. Although he found the album lacked lyrical depth, he said it was the perfect end-of-summer treat. “It’s easy, breezy listening that doesn’t require much brain power.” Ouch! Ashanti told Jet magazine she had changed since her debut a year earlier. “I’ve learned that I’m much stronger than I thought I was. I’m going to try to work hard. Whether it’s writing music or still singing, I want to stay humble and successful.” The singer didn’t let Chuck Arnold’s comments stop her from releas- ing several more albums, such as Ashanti’s Christmas in 2003, Con- crete Rose and Can’t Stop in 2004, bitemusicceleb