Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas, known simply as Ashanti, was born on October 13, 1980 in Glen Cove, New York. When she was six, Ashanti sang in a gospel choir and her mother noticed her singing talents early. By the time Ashanti hit puberty, her mother was sending out demo tapes of her singing and dancing. The family could not afford to go to a studio and record a formal demo, so when labels called, Ashanti would have to sing and dance in front of the record company executives. When Ashanti was fourteen, she was discovered by P.Diddy’s Bad Boy Records. Initially, she went to Bad Boy Records and sang one of Mary J. Blige’s songs in front of P.Diddy and Biggie Smalls. After being impressed by her singing ability, Diddy pulled out a bottle and told her it was his new fragrance, which he said he loved. After one sniff, Ashanti said, "Oh pew, it stinks. I hate it!" Diddy started laughing, later stating that it was a test to judge her character. In the end, due to a bad contract, Ashanti did not sign with Diddy. Ashanti subsequently involved herself in schoolwork, cheerleading, and running on her school’s track team. Then in 2002, she released her debut album Ashanti. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and has sold over five million copies worldwide. Since then, Ashanti has released three more albums, Chapter II(2003), Concrete Rose(2004) and The Declaration (2008). She has also acted in several films including, Bride and Prejudice (2004), Coach Carter (2005) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007).
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