Ashanti |
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Mon. June 16.2003 10:50 AM EDT |
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Ashanti: What Do You Do For an Encore?R&B's "it girl" avoids the diva tag, lets lizards in the house, and spins her own songs when it's time to do the wild thing. by C. Bottomley |
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Ashanti (Linda Zacks) |
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Irv Gotti, Murder Inc.’s boss of bosses, has a master plan for this summer, and it all kicks off when Ashanti’s Chapter II drops into stores on July 1.
“We want this to be the album you play on the way to the beach on July 4,” he
Those doubting such boasts should glance back at Ashanti’s track record. Two years ago she was an unappreciated New York wannabe from Glen Cove, Long Island. Last year she was the hottest hook girl in hip-hop. While Ja Rule and Fat Joe flaunted their thug credentials, her silky vocals smoothed out the rough spots. In one week, Ashanti was on every record in the Top 3: Ja’s “Always on Time,” Joe’s “What’s Luv?” and her own smash, “Foolish.” Ashanti ruled the summer of 2002. Her self-titled debut entered the chart at No. 1 and became the fastest-selling album ever by a female artist. And she knew about the power of marketing. With barely a pause from the sensuous cooing, the singer published the journals she had kept since she was 13. Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love positioned her as an author, too. These triumphs were the culmination of a long haul through the music biz that began when Ashanti signed to Jive at age 14. After hopping from label to label and getting nowhere, Irv Gotti took the former dance student under his arm. Soon she was writing hits for Jennifer Lopez (“Ain’t It Funny”) and singing on Big Pun’s “How We Roll.” Her new single “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)” is a fail-safe smash, complete with a keyboard sample copped from the Michael Jackson hit of the same name and a breathy performance that sends male blood pressure into the stratosphere. While Chapter II has plenty of erotic moments, Ashanti warns there’s more drama than usual, too. Speaking with VH1, she shared hints on kicking back, home decoration and elephant riding. VH1: Last year you topped the charts and published a book. Barely 12 months later you’re back with another album and an Australian tour! Do you ever get a break? Ashanti: Honestly? Not really. For my birthday we went to the Bahamas for four days, and when we had that snow storm in February we was stuck in Puerto Rico for five days. That was a great snow storm! [Laughs.] But I haven’t had like a week or two to just chill yet. VH1: How do you chill? Ashanti: Chillin’ consists of different things. Sometimes I like to just get in my bed, put the heat on at 90, have a nice Haagen Daz ice cream and watch Cartoon Network. Sometimes that’s chillin’. Sometimes it’s going to the beach and getting a nice bronze tan lying in the sun. It varies. [Watch Clip] VH1: Not too different from the “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)” video, really. Ashanti: No. I usually don’t have the elephant there with me! VH1: What’s the secret to riding an elephant? Ashanti: The secret is digging your heels into the side of her stomach and just holding on with the muscles in your thighs because the skin shifts from side to side. It’s hard to keep your balance. Me and Bubbles got very acquainted. I was on her for about two or three hours. The next day I felt it. My thighs were like “Oh my God! I got to work out.” [Watch Clip] VH1: Are you an animal person? Ashanti: I guess so. Everyone got so mad at me when we rented a house in Miami. I left the back door open and a couple of lizards got in the house. Everyone was like “Kill it!” I was like, “No, don’t!” I put a cup over it and tossed them out. VH1: You appeared on VH1 Divas with the Isley Brothers and Stevie Wonder. Do you see yourself as a diva? Ashanti: I don’t play around with the word “diva,” because people’s perception is too different. Some see it as being like a snob. I just say I’m Ashanti. That’s it. VH1: So you don’t allow yourself to have just a teensy bit of attitude? Ashanti: I’m always going to be down-to-earth. If I feel like something is wrong I never hold my tongue. I’m not afraid to speak out. VH1: Was it your first time singing with Stevie Wonder? Ashanti: No, that’s my guy! We met at the ASCAP awards last year. He was like, “I love ‘Always on Time.’” I couldn’t believe he knew it! The comedian Steve Harvey and Stevie Wonder are really tight, so I went on his radio show and we surprised Stevie. They were auditioning people to sing with him. I called pretending I was a postal worker, saying, “I want to sing!” He was like, “That’s not a Post Office worker. Who is that?” We were singing Christmas carols on the radio and he was playing the keyboard, so it was hot. Stevie’s son and myself share the same birthday, so every time Stevie sees me he calls me little Libra. Well, not every time he sees me but … [Laughs.] [Watch Clip] VH1: Did you grow up with his music? Ashanti: Stevie was a little bit before my time but I remember listening to The Delfonics and Blue Magic. I loved all of those old guys from back in the day like Heatwave. And Stevie was always heavy spinning in the record player. VH1: They say you have all your life to make your first album, and then you only get a few months to write the second. What did you draw on for Chapter II? Old experiences or your crazy last year? Ashanti: It was kind of both. It definitely had a lot to do with what I’ve learned last year. I tell everyone we kept the same formula as the first album, but we moved everything up a level - vocally, musically, and lyrically. It’s more versatile. I played the album for the top retail people and they’re like “It’s so deep.” You can tell that there’s been growth. VH1: What song is the biggest leap from the first album? Ashanti: Topic-wise there’s a record called “One Day.” It’s fast-paced - not really singing, not really rhyming. It talks about how one day you’re here, one day you’re gone. You have to live your life to the fullest because you never know what’s going to happen the next day. There’s another song called “Living My Life.” It’s basically what happened from the time I started when I was about 13, feeling like my life was going nowhere, to where I have three singles in the Top 10. It mashes everything into one record. VH1: You’ve described “Carry On” as “very dramatic.” Can you tell us about that? Ashanti: “Carry On” is another accident that turned out to be something hot. The producer Chink Santana was playing a DAT geared for rappers. The beat was so hot, but he was like, “You can’t do anything with that beat. That beat is for a rapper.” I said, “Just give it to me. I’ll see what I can do.” It spoke so much pain and drama, that it brought a great record out of me. It’s about not being able to carry on living life the way it’s going, whether it’s school or dealing with your parents when they’re not accepting what you’re doing. It’s very descriptive. I’m talking about holes in the wall and glass on the floor. VH1: What do you do to get yourself in the mood for recording those kinds of vocals? Ashanti: Honestly, it’s all in the music. That’s where I get my lyrics from. I wouldn’t be able to write “Rock Wit U” to a track like “Carry On.” I’ll hear a track and say “That sounds like summertime,” and that’s the zone I’ll be in. Sometimes a track will remind me of being depressed. Then something will remind me of high school, with everyone [hanging] outside in the parking lot. VH1: “Rock Wit U” reminds me of lovemaking. What music do you put on when you’re getting down? Ashanti: [Laughs.] This is the explicit interview! When you’re getting in the mood, everyone wants to hear a slow jam. There’s a record called “I Don’t Mind” on my album, which is a very get-in-the-mood record. It’s going to be a No. 1 get-in-the-mood record. I’m all about being sensuous and nice and slow. You don’t want to be into bouncy music or something loud and ra ra ra. You want to get mellowed out. [Watch Clip] VH1: Seriously: You’re with a guy and you put on your own music? Ashanti: No, no, no. Well, maybe. That might boost his ego - like I’m singing to him. [Laughs.] VH1: You’re surrounded by guys in Murder Inc. Who can you go to if you need to talk or gossip? Ashanti: When it’s time to gossip and talk and just running the mouth and saying what I want to say, I call on my family. I have a very close-knit family. That’s the safest way to go. VH1: Is there a similarity between your family and Murder Inc.? Ashanti: Most definitely. What makes Murder Inc. so unique is that we’re so family-oriented. If Ja Rule has a show and we’re all in town, we’ll travel as a group to Ja’s show. If I have a show it’s the same thing. It’s not like we’re co-workers. We go to the baby showers; we go to the birthday parties. It’s all love. VH1: When Ja sticks his neck out in a rap battle, do you get involved or try to be a peacemaker? Ashanti: I’m all about the peace. They all know I support them 110%, but they’ll tell me “Don’t say anything! You’re not in this! You go over there, little princess, and I’m going to do what I’m going to do.” VH1:You’ve bought a new house. What was the one luxury item you just had to have? Ashanti: I’m so happy it has the Jacuzzi with the columns and a steamer in the bathroom in the shower. It’s very relaxing environment. VH1: So what are you going to do the next time Stevie Wonder sees you? Ashanti: That’s not funny! |
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