Ashanti Will Re-Record 2002 Debut Album After Owning Masters!

Ashanti will soon revisit her 2002 smash debut album!

During a recent daytime talk show appearance, the “Rock Wit U” singer revealed that she now owns the masters to her self-titled LP and will be re-recording and releasing it independently.

“It’s so surreal,” she said about the announcement.

In the interview, the musician discussed how important it is for artists to understand the deals they are signing.

“I have an amazing legal team, and I got my first record deal when I was 14 years old, so understanding and seeing how things have changed so much from then to now and conceptually understanding what you’re signing is so imperative, it’s so important nowadays,” she said. “The fact that I’ll be able to re-record my first album and put everything together.”

When asked how it feels to “own” the album that launched her career, the songstress exclaimed, “It’s so humbling. It is such an honor. I’m so grateful.”

“It’s such a blessing, you know, the fact that we are still here. We’re living through a pandemic, and these blessings are still coming in. It just makes me so happy again, so humbled and such a believer,” she continued. “There’s a higher power, and I think that just being as a person and praying and putting your heart into things, you get that energy back, and I think that’s so important. So I’m just really, really happy.”

The LP spawned multiple hits, including “Foolish,” “Happy,” and “Baby.”

In her sit-down, Ashanti also discussed her highly publicized hug with ex Nelly at Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s recent Verzuz battle.

“I really didn’t expect it. I didn’t know he was going to be there, honestly. So when I saw him kind of coming across the stage, I was just like, ‘Oh…’ and it was so weird because we haven’t seen or spoken to each other for over six years. So that was the first time in six years, so it was a weird feeling.”

She added, “I always, like, when we first broke up, I would be like, ‘Oh my God,’ when I see him. You know I went through that, and then it was like, ‘Oh, I’m okay.’ You know what I mean? So it had been so long, I didn’t know how to feel or what I was going to feel when I actually did see him. So, that’s what it was like.”