Today (April 7) Ashanti was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
This morning the “Rock Wit U” singer was celebrated at a ceremony that featured Tichina Arnold (“Martin,” “The Neighborhood”) and Murder Inc. frontrunner Ja Rule as guest speakers.
Ashanti shot to fame in 2002 when her debut single “Foolish” was released from her self-titled album. The track sampled DeBarge’s 1983 song, “Stay with Me,” although most probably think of The Notorious B.I.G.’s “One More Chance” from 1995 — at least for us millennials.
Ashanti was a welcomed addition to the Murder Inc. family and together she and Ja Rule collaborated on tracks like “Mezmorize,” — which paid homage to the 1978 film Grease — “Always On Time” and “Happy.”
The two created such magic that two decades later, they are still performing those classics together. The “Wonderful” hitmakers were among the headliners at the Dreamville Festival that took place in Raleigh, North Carolina on April 2 and 3. Other acts included J. Cole, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, Bia and Ari Lennox.
Ashanti’s debut album scored her a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records when it landed No. 1 on both the Billboard Top 200 and R&B album charts and sold 504,593 units in its first week. It was recorded as the most albums sold by any debut female artist in the chart’s history.
In addition to Ashanti’s stellar music career, she has also appeared on the big screen in movies like John Tucker Must Die (2006) and Coach Carter (2005).
To celebrate 20 years in the game, Ashanti recently released an NFT collection that dropped yesterday. The NFT promises to offer a digitized way to own music collectibles such as tour merchandise.
Hollywood Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez stated, “Ashanti is an award-winning singer, author, actress and executive producer. She has proven her talent in many different Hollywood industries and is an example for young girls who want to be in the ‘biz.’”
Ashanti’s star can be found at 7060 Hollywood Boulevard.