Ashanti Over the Years | Celebrating Her Legacy in the Industry

In the early 2000s, Ashanti emerged as a fresh face and voice for a new R&B sound that would become the decade’s soundtrack.

She was only 22-years-old when she launched her breakthrough hit, “Foolish.” It was difficult not to hear an Ashanti song or feature on the radio back then. She was a chart-topper! She gave us countless year-round anthems that we still sing to this day.

As we celebrate her HelloBeautiful cover story and being the first act to revive their InterludesLIVE concert franchise, we’re taking a look at Ashanti’s fabulous career throughout the years!

2001 – 2003: Ashanti, Chapter II, and Ashanti’s Christmas

We knew a star was born when we first heard the late Big Pun’s posthumous hit “How We Roll” featuring Ashanti.

The Long Island native was featured on “What’s Luv?” by Fat Joe and “Always on Time” by Ja Rule. These two singles were released simultaneously and were two of the year’s biggest hits in 2002.

When “Always on Time” and “What’s Luv?” were at number one and two, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Ashanti became the first female to hold both positions.

After the success of her collaborations with Ja Rule and Fat Joe, Ashanti released her debut single, “Foolish,” which includes a sample of DeBarge’s 1983 hit “Stay with Me” (also used by The Notorious B.I.G. in his 1995 single “One More Chance,” and by Big L in “MVP”).

Source: Jim Spellman / Getty

This is her biggest hit, having spent ten weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. She became only the second artist (after The Beatles) to have three chart entries in the top ten of the Hot 100 at the same time.

Ashanti’s self-titled first album was released in April 2002 on Irv Gotti’s Murder Inc. label. In the United States, the album was certified triple platinum, and six million copies were sold worldwide.

Chapter II, Ashanti’s second album, was released in July 2003 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with 326,000 copies in the United States’ first-week sales. The album went platinum in the United States, selling over 1.5 million copies.

Ashanti released her Christmas album, Ashanti’s Christmas, in November 2003.

**2004 – 2007: Concrete Rose, Collectibles by Ashanti and Acting**

Ashanti’s fourth studio album, Concrete Rose, was released on December 14, 2004.

The lead single “Only U,” which received positive reviews and charted in the top twenty in several countries, preceded Concrete Rose. In the United States, the album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200.

Ashanti released Collectables by Ashanti, a remix album of Concrete Rose, in December 2005.

In the same year, Ashanti shifted her concentration to acting as she debuted in the 2005 film Coach Carter, starring Samuel L. Jackson. She portrayed Kyra, a pregnant adolescent who must decide whether to terminate her unborn child.

Ashanti Presents Memorabilia from her New Movie "Coach Carter" to Planet Hollywood

Source: Carley Margolis / Getty

Shortly after, we see Ashanti starring as Dorothy Gale in the made-for-television film The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz, which drew nearly 8 million people when it premiered.

She starred in the teen comedy John Tucker Must Die, which debuted at number three at the box office in the United States in 2006. In the 2007 action picture Resident Evil: Extinction, Ashanti also appeared as a supporting character.

2008–2010: The Declaration

The Declaration is Ashanti’s fifth studio album, released on June 3, 2008.

The single “The Way That I Love You” is included on the album. During a visit to 106 & Park on June 2, Ashanti revealed that she recorded fifty-two songs for the album, fifteen of which were selected, including the extra tracks “Why” and “Hey Baby (After the Club).”