Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She was first discovered as a teenager and signed to Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings in 2002. That same year, she was featured on Fat Joe's "What's Luv?" and Ja Rule's "Always on Time", both of which were two of the biggest hit songs of 2002. She became the first female artist to occupy the top two positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart simultaneously with "Foolish" and "What's Luv?" at numbers one and two, respectively.
Ashanti in 2005
Ashanti at the Heart Truth Fashion Show in 2008
Toccara Jones and Ashanti at the New York Fashion Week of 2012
Ashanti performing at the 2023 WNBA Finals in Las Vegas in October 2023.
Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr., professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American DJ, music producer and record executive. He co-founded the record label Murder Inc. Records in 1998, which was an imprint of Def Jam Recordings. He received production credits for most of the recordings by artists signed to the label—including Ja Rule, Lloyd, and Ashanti—as well as other artists such as Jennifer Lopez, DMX, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Fat Joe, and Eve, among others. Gotti is also the creator of the BET series Tales.
Gotti in 2005
Irv Gotti in 2004