20 Things you don’t know about Ashanti

1. Full name Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas

2.  Ashanti was named after the Ashanti Empire in Ghana in this nation, women had power and influence

3.  Ashanti was born on October 13, 1980, in Glen Cove, New York. Her mother, Tina Douglas, is a former dance teacher, and her father, Ken-Kaide Thomas Douglas, is a former singe

4.  Growing up, Ashanti took dance lessons and joined the church choir

6.  Ashanti’s mother discovered Ashanti’s full singing potential when she overheard

7.  Ashanti singing Mary J. Blige’s “Reminisce” at age 12

8.  By the time Ashanti hit puberty, her mother was sending out demo tapes of her singing and dancing

9.  In her first major singing performance, Ashanti performed Yolanda Adams’s “More Than a Melody”

10.  Ashanti’s first debut album” Ashanti” landed the #1 spot on both the Billboard Top 200 and R&B album charts, selling a whopping 504,593 units in its first week. Her first week showing set a SoundScan record as the most albums sold by any debut female artist in the chart’s history, granting her a spot on Guinness World Records.

11.  Ashanti runs her own company and label “Written Entertainment”

12.  Ashanti wrote the title track for the film Dream House and new film Tupac which will be released 2014

13.  She has written her first book of poetry through Hyperion titled Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love which is currently in its eighth edition and is also an Audio Book/Spoken Word.

14.  Ashanti is an entrepreneur!  She has her own fragrance, “Precious Jewel,” sold at Wal-Mart and other fine stores, as well as a dietary supplement vitamin called “Ashanti’s OPC-3 Beauty Blend”.

15.  Ashanti’s endorsements include Herbal Essences, where she is the first African American to land a national campaign, Candies Apparel, as well as MUDD Jeans’ line “Delicious Curves” and Johnson & Johnson’s Body Care.

16.  She continues to reign at the top as one of Billboard’s Top Females of the Decade from 2000-2010.  She is currently on the list of The Twenty Best Selling Music Singles for her single “Foolish,” which has sold 8.2 million copies to date.

Ashanti’s grandfather, James, was a civil rights activist who associated with Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s

17.  On May 2, 2002 Ashanti received the key to the city of Glen Cove, New York (her hometown), and the day was named Ashanti Day; Ashanti also received a key to the city of Atlantic City, New Jersey (she was crowned princess of hip hop and R&B)

18.  Ashanti wrote and sang background on Jennifer Lopez’s “Ain’t It Funny (Murder Remix)”

19.  Ashanti cites Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Tupac Shakur, Mary J. Blige, Ella Fitzgerald, Smokey Robinson, Donna Summer, and Blue Magic as her musical influences

20.  Ashanti has theatre play called The Wiz and acted on films like Bride and Prejudice, The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz, Coach Cater, John Tucker Must Die, Resident Evil Extinction and Christmas in the City