Ashanti is re-recording her Grammy-winning debut album after reclaiming ownership of her masters.
The R&B singer’s 2002 self-titled LP is now back in the rightful hands of the creator, and she is feeling “blessed” to be in the position.
Appearing on the ‘Tamron Hall Show’, she said: “I have an amazing legal team. I was first signed to a record label at the age of 14. Seeing how things have changed so much from then to now; conceptually understanding what you are signing is so important.
“The fact that I’ll be able to re-record my album and put everything together is such a blessing, I am grateful. The fact that we are still here and living through a pandemic and these blessings are still coming in makes me so humbled.”
The landmark record – which included the hit singles ‘Foolish’, ‘Happy’ and ‘Baby’ – sold six million copies worldwide and saw the 40-year-old star nominated for three Grammy Awards for Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best Contemporary R&B Album, the latter of which she took home.
The LP features guest vocals from Gotti, Ja Rule, and the late The Notorious B.I.G..
And the ‘Always On Time’ hitmaker recalled how she recorded the songs in her basement while watching kids’ TV shows.
She remembered: “I wanted to feel like I had my own apartment. So I used to be downstairs in my own section and I would put on the Cartoon Network on mute and I would just write.
“It allowed me to kind of get into my zone.”
Ashanti followed up her debut album with four more records, her most recent being 2014’s ‘Braveheart’.
It was released on her independent record label Written Entertainment after she departed Murder Inc Records.
The singer’s first album in six years also became Ashanti’s fifth consecutive top 10 album in the US.