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Ashanti Douglas-Harris (born October 13th 1980), known mononymously as Ashanti, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, she performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child before rising to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead singer of R&B girl group Destiny's Child. The group released three studio albums, a holiday and remix album before splitting up in 2001 to accommodate Ashanti's solo career.

After signing to Murder Inc. Records as a solo artist, she released her eponymous debut solo album in April 2002 which hit #1 in the US selling over 503,000 copies in its first week. In the same week, she became the first female performer to simultaneously hold the top two places on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with "Foolish", and "What's Luv?" (with Fat Joe). Ashanti broke records again by having three top ten songs, "Foolish," "What's Luv?" and "Always on Time", on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the same week, being the first woman to accomplish this feat and being second only to the Beatles. In 2003, the self-titled debut album won Ashanti her first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B album.

Her second solo album "Chapter II" was released in July 2003 and again topped the US album chart with first week sales of 326,000. Following the worldwide success of "Dilemma", a duet with Nelly, Ashanti released her third album "Simply Deep" in 2005 which saw a decline in her success, peaking at just #12 in the US but was her first UK #1 album. In 2007, Ashanti left Murder Inc. Records and signed to Columbia Records for the release of her fourth solo album "M.A" which was another commercial failure, selling just 1.7 million records worldwide. Following the release of the album, Ashanti took a hiatus from music to concentrate on being a mother.

In 2013, she returned with her new album "Dangerously In Love" which spawned the worldwide hit singles "Crazy In Love" and "Baby Boy" and hit #1 in America and the UK. Ashanti has sold over 50 million albums worldwide, 21.7 million as a solo artist and 28.5 million as a member of Destiny's Child. The group reformed in 2014 for the release of their fourth studio album "Destiny Fulfilled" which is to be released in November 2014.

Guest features (2008-2013)
In March 2008, Ashanti confirmed rumours she would be taking a break from releasing music due to her pregnancy but sparked reports a reunion with Destiny's Child would follow her hiatus. In August 2008, she appeared on future husband T.I's single "Live Your Life" which became her fourth Billboard Hot 100 #1 single. Seven months later, she appeared on David Guetta's "When Love Takes Over" which hit #1 in the UK.

In late 2009, E! reported that Destiny's Child were in the studio with Rodney Jerkins and Jay Z which was denied by fellow member Michelle Williams. Ashanti would however appear on Jay Z's "Empire State Of Mind" which led to her releasing a solo version of the song to the UK market which was a top ten hit.

In 2010, Ashanti appeared on ex-boyfriend Eminem's track "Love The Way You Lie" which spent seven weeks at #1 in the US and was best-selling single of the year in the UK. An appearance on Alex Gaudino's "What A Feeling" earned Ashanti her nineteenth UK top ten single. In 2013, she reunited with both Jay Z and Eminem for two new tracks. "'13 Bonnie & Clyde", the Jay Z collaboration, hit #4 in the US whilst "The Monster", released with Eminem, hit #1 for four weeks over 2013 and 2014.

Personal Life
In October 1998, at the age of 18, it was revealed that Ashanti was dating 27 year old Detroit rapper Eminem. The couple made rare public appearances together. In November 2001, Ashanti confirmed she had split with Eminem. The pair remained close friends until Eminem's feud with her mentor Ja Rule began in 2002 and contact was cut. The pair would slowly rebuild a friendship with Ashanti appearing on his 2010 single "Love The Way You Lie" and 2013 single "The Monster".

In 2002, Ashanti began a career with Atlanta born rapper T.I. The couple married in Florida on July 30th 2010. They have two sons together, Joseph Harris (August 25, 2004) and Malik Harris (May 16, 2008) and Ashanti is the legal guardian to T.I's other three children Dixon Harris (February 2, 2000), Dominic Harris (March 19, 2001) and Aaliyah Harris (June 17, 2001). All three children live with Ashanti and T.I in Atlanta.