Ashanti Talked To Us About “Dark Times” With Murder Inc., Passing On A Hit Single, And Why “Rain On Me” Holds A Whole New Meaning For Her

This year marks the 20th anniversary of your debut, iconic album Ashanti. You’re currently in the process of re-recording the album and regaining ownership of your masters. Can you tell us what that process has been like so far and have you encountered any challenges along the way?

It’s been hard, because of the way my schedule is set up right now. I would love to carve out a good two weeks to really get in and get it done, but I’ve kind of been all over. Like, I recorded “Foolish” in Canada, I recorded “Happy” in LA, and I think I recorded “Baby” in New York, so yeah, I’ve really been all over the place. 

But [as far as recording the songs themselves] it definitely has not been hard. The memories come back like, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it. It feels so surreal to be re-cutting these records!” It’s a different vibe. It’s a different understanding now, you know, just going in as a new artist, you never know what’s gonna happen. It’s a really cool feeling. The one thing I will say though is I have to remember not to do my show ad-libs on the records. I’m like, “Wait, that’s what I do in the show, I have to keep it to the original.”