Ashanti (entertainer)

Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas (born October 13, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She was first discovered as a teenager and later signed to Murder Inc. Records in 2002. That year, she was featured on Fat Joe's "What's Luv?" and Ja Rule's "Always on Time", both of which became 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.

In 2002, Ashanti released her eponymous debut album, which sold over 505,000 copies throughout the U.S. in its first week of release. The album earned her many awards, including eight ''Billboard'' Music Awards, two American Music Awards, and a Grammy Award in 2003 for Best Contemporary R&B Album. The album has since been certified triple platinum in the United States and sold six million copies worldwide by the end of 2003. The lead single for the album, " Foolish", was a critical and commercial success; it reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. With "Foolish", she became the second artist (after The Beatles) to have their first three chart entries in the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 simultaneously. Ashanti wrote and provided background vocals for Jennifer Lopez's "Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)", which also reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100."Billboard Chart Rewind"

In 2003, Ashanti released her second album, '' Chapter II'', which debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, with first-week sales of 326,000 copies in the U.S. The album went platinum, selling over 1.5 million copies in U.S. since its release. The album's singles, " Rock wit U (Awww Baby)" and " Rain on Me", were both commercial successes, peaking at number two and number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, respectively. ''Chapter II'' was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album, and "Rock wit U (Awww Baby)" and "Rain on Me" were each nominated in the categories of Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. In November 2003, Ashanti released a Christmas album titled ''Ashanti's Christmas'', which was a modest commercial success.

In 2004, Ashanti released her third studio album, ''Concrete Rose'', the title of which took on Tupac Shakur's pseudonym "The Rose That Grew from Concrete". The album debuted at number seven in the U.S., with first-week sales of 254,000 copies, and became her third platinum certified album. The first single, "Only U", reached number thirteen on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became her biggest hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number two. A second single, the ballad " Don't Let Them", garnered little chart success after Def Jam refused to fund a music video due to Irv Gotti's legal troubles during his money laundering trial. Her subsequent albums include ''The Declaration