Ashanti – Rain On Me

Ashanti became an almost unstoppable pop-R&B powerhouse in 2002. She was primarily known for her longing love songs and melodies, but she was also capable of delivering agonizing cinematic ballads with her silky, sweet, meringue-like voice. The singer-songwriter became just the second artist to have three consecutive charting singles concurrently land in the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100 that same year, following the Beatles in that regard. That week of March 30. She appeared on the fourth and fifth-place hits, “Always on Time” by Murder Inc. labelmate Ja Rule and “What’s Luv?” by Fat Joe. Her debut solo single, “Foolish,” debuted at number nine. Her self-titled album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 upon its arrival the following month and went on to become triple platinum and win Grammys. Following the financial success of Chapter II (2003), Concrete Rose (2004), and The Declaration (2008), Ashanti left Murder Inc. (also known as The Inc.), yet she went on to achieve her fifth Top Ten studio album with the independently released Braveheart (2014). A variety of hits and well-known remixes to albums ranging from DaBaby’s “Nasty” (2020) to The Hamilton Mixtape (2016) followed these achievements.

The Quick and the Furious [Originally Featured Soundtrack]
Ashanti Douglas began performing, singing, and creating music from a young age. She was born and raised on Long Island. Her long-lasting acting career began with dance performances in music videos, uncredited roles in Malcolm X and Who’s the Man?, and commercial roles. She was a track star at Glen Cove High School, where she broke the record in the triple jump. She received an athletic scholarship to Hampton University. Ashanti chose to focus on her music, and she became friendly with Irv Gotti at Murder Inc. Records after a few possible label deals fell through. She debuted in 2001, contributing “When a Man Does Wrong” to the soundtrack of The Fast and the Furious, as well as featured appearances on Big Pun’s “How We Roll,” Ja Rule’s “The Inc.” and “Always on Time,” and Fat Joe’s “What’s Luv?” Before Ashanti achieved her solo breakthrough with “Foolish,” “Always on Time” peaked at number one on the Hot 100 and “What’s Luv?” peaked at number two. Shortly after the self-titled parent album’s release in April 2002, the ballad became the number one song. The full album Ashanti, which the singer co-wrote, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and had two further songs, “Happy” and “Baby,” which peaked at numbers eight and fifteen, respectively. Ashanti was featured on another Top Ten entry during this surge of activity, which was Irv Gotti’s “Down 4 U.” The album went triple platinum by year’s end, and Ashanti was nominated for four Grammy Awards: Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (for “Always on Time” and “What’s Luv?”) and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (for “Foolish”), in addition to Best New Artist and Best Contemporary R&B Album. The following February, Ashanti was the recipient of the Best Contemporary R&B Album award at the ceremony.

Christmas in Ashanti
Ashanti has a long way to go in her hot streak. Released in July 2003, her follow-up album, Chapter II, peaked at number one on the Billboard 200. Her previous singles exuded sunnier nostalgia with servings of reheated DeBarge and the Gap Band; the deeply contrasting “Rock wit U (Aww Baby)” and “Rain on Me,” the latter a marked shift into filmic soul with a sample from Isaac Hayes’ version of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic “The Look of Love,” yielded Top Ten hits. Ashanti received three more nominations: Best R&B Song (“Rock wit U”), Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (“Rain on Me”), and Best Contemporary R&B Album. Mostly a covers set, Ashanti’s Christmas was released in time for the holidays that year. Concrete Rose, which debuted in December 2004 at number seven and went on to become her third platinum album, was preceded by featured performances on the singles “Wonderful” by Ja Rule and “Southside” by Lloyd, and heralded by the gritty number thirteen hit “Only U.” Ashanti collected remixes and never-before-heard songs for Collectables, which was released in December 2005. Ashanti had committed more time to acting by that point. Parts in Coach Carter’s and The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz opened doors to additional work with Resident Evil: Extinction and John Tucker Must Die in between albums.

The Declaration, which was released in June 2008, was Ashanti’s final album with Murder Inc., or The Inc., as the group had come to be called. However, it was by no means an internal project. Irv Gotti was a hands-off producer, unlike Ashanti’s prior LPs, and the only Inc. regular to make a major contribution was Channel 7 (aka 7 Aurelius). Ashanti brought on a large group of collaborators and producers, including Akon, Babyface, Diane Warren, Rodney Jerkins, Robin Thicke, and Diane Warren. “The Way That I Love You,” one of the album’s few collaborations with L.T. Hutton, went on to become the album’s biggest single and a number 37 pop hit. Approximately concurrently, she was audible on Nelly’s “Body on Me.” Over the following few years, Ashanti released a few supporting vocals, a Christmas EP, and the single “The Woman You Love,” which were the first releases under her own Written Entertainment label. The artist’s fifth official album, Braveheart, was released in March 2014. Featuring Beenie Man, Rick Ross, Jeremih, and French Montana as guests, it made its Billboard 200 debut at number 10. Ashanti released intermediate singles in between her prominent appearances over the course of the following few years. She appeared alongside Ja Rule once more on The Hamilton Mixtape, contributing to the songs “Start This Shit Off Right” by Lil Wayne and “Nasty” by DaBaby. She released a variety of singles during this period, including the Afro B-assisted “Pretty Little Thing” and the DJ Mustard and Ty Dolla $ign collaboration “Say Less.” Following her 2021 comeback with the lean slow groove “235 (2:35 I Want You),” cowritten with Jerome “J Roc” Harmon, and her 2022 comeback with the Aitch collaboration “Baby” and the solo tune “Falling for You.”