With actress and choreographer Debbie Allen at the helm, Ashanti also performed in the Disney television film Polly alongside stars Keshia Knight Pulliam, Jomecia Moore and Phylicia Rashad. She also performed at the 1994 Caribbean Awards and dancing with Judith Jamison of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. She danced with the Senior Pro Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Black Spectrum Theater. Ashanti went to Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center, where she studied different dance styles, including tap, jazz, ballet, African, modern, and hip hop. Growing up, Ashanti took dance lessons and joined the church choir. Her grandfather, James, was a civil rights activist who associated with Martin Luther King, Jr. Her mother named her after the Ashanti Empire in Ghana in this nation, women have power and influence, and Tina wanted her daughter to follow that model. Her mother, Tina Douglas, is a former dance teacher, and her father, Ken-Kaide Thomas Douglas, is a former singer.

Early lifeĪshanti Shequoiya Douglas was born on October 13, 1980, in Glen Cove, New York. She is currently working on her own publishing company titled Written Entertainment. Blige, Ella Fitzgerald, Smokey Robinson, Donna Summer, and Blue Magic as her musical influences. Later that year, she was acclaimed as the “Princess Of Hip-Hop & R&B” by her label and capped off her successful debut by winning eight Billboard awards and two American Music Awards.Īshanti cites Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Tupac Shakur, Mary J.

Her second release achieved a platinum certification and others top 10 singles.Īshanti wrote and sang background on Jennifer Lopez’s “Ain’t It Funny (Murder Remix)”, which reached number one on Billboard Hot 100, which was also in the top 10 chart at the same time as “Foolish”, “Always on Time” (with Ja Rule), and “What’s Luv?” (with Fat Joe). In 2003, the self-titled debut album won Ashanti her first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B album. Ashanti is known for her eponymous debut album, which featured the hit song “Foolish”, and sold over 503,000 copies in its first week of release throughout the U.S. Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas (born October 13, 1980), known simply as Ashanti, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actress.

Ashanti discography torrent