Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is an accomplished singer, actress, record producer and dancer, born on October 13, 1980. She was born and raised in Glen Cove, New York by musically gifted parents. Growing up, Ashanti was active in the arts, taking dancing lessons and singing in the quire at church since she was 6. Her mother realized her full potential when she was 12 and started sending out demo tapes.
She was first discovered by Bad Boy Record's at 14 and had to sing in front of P. Diddy himself. He was impressed, but because of a faulty contract she didn't sign with the company. Following that, she signed with Jive Records but when they tried to make her more pop, the relationship came to an end. Waiting for another break, Ashanti spent a lot of time at Murder Inc. studio, where she was subsequently discovered by Irv Gotti, an established music producer. He is the man behind her duets with Ja Rule- "Always on Time" and Fat Joe- "What's Luv?", which became number one and two hits, in that order, bringing her great success.
Her first single "Foolish" took her to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, staying there for 10 weeks. This was her biggest hit ever. Her debut album "Ashanti" went triple platinum and won her many awards including a Grammy Award in 2003. Since then she has released three more full albums "Chapter II" (2003), "Concrete Rose" (2004) and "The Declaration" (2008). Her acting resume includes films such as "Coach Carter" (2005), "Resident Evil: Extinction" (2007).
She has been named one of the sexiest and hottest stars by magazines such as Maxim, FHM. Her philanthropy work includes donating and raising money for the "Make A Wish Foundation" well as attending numerous charity events to help Katrina victims, cancer patients, victims of domestic violence, etc.
