Ashanti (album)

Ashanti (album)

Ashanti is the self-titled debut studio album by American R&B singer Ashanti, released by Murder Inc. Records and Def Jam Records on April 2, 2002 in North America and April 8, 2002 in United Kingdom. The album saw the singer active in songwriting and producing, with chiefly producers and rappers Irv Gotti and Chink Santana.

Ashanti debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with first-week sales of an impressive 503,000 units. The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 17, 2002. It earned Ashanti three Grammy nominations for Best New Artist, Best Contemporary R&B Album, and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Ashanti also received two additional Grammy nominations in the same year for other projects, both in the category of Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Billboard magazine ranked Ashanti at number 100 on magazine's Top 200 Albums of the Decade. Ashanti mentioned on Ustream that she plans to re-release the album for its 10th anniversary in 2012. She planned on adding Tracks such as "Down 4 U" and "The Pledge" to the album which were huge hits in 2002 the same time "Foolish" "Happy" and "Baby" were on the charts.