Ashanti has been a very influential figure since the early 2000s and has had many successful hits. What people tend to overlook are her other areas of income, including her brand deals, books, and acting roles. Here is a recap of the endeavors Ashanti has pursued as an artist and her net worth as a whole.
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Murder Inc. and Written Entertainment
Ashanti’s rise to fame started in the 2000s. In 2002, Ashanti was signed to Murder Inc., a record label founded by Irv Gotti. There, she released her first album Ashanti with hits including “Foolish” (2002), “Rock Wit U” (2002), and “Happy” (2002). This album was a hit, and sold more than six million copies worldwide. She went triple platinum within months and was also labeled as the first woman artist to have two songs chart on the Billboard Hot 100 within her first year (Afro Tech).
Over the next few years, she went on to release more albums under Irv Gotti’s label including Concrete Rose in 2003, which includes her single “Only U” and ranked number seven on the US Billboard 200. The Declaration was her last album under the label, which was released in 2008 and included collaborations with Robin Thicke, Nelly, and Akon. She left Murder Inc. in 2009 after the company started going into decline.
In 2011, Ashanti launched her label Written Entertainment. There she released her album Braveheart (2014), her first album in six years since she made Declaration. It got to number 10 on the Billboard 200. As of this writing, that is her last album release.
Acting, Writing, and Brands
In the midst of her music career, Ashanti also got into acting and writing. One of her first movie roles was in The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz in 2005 where she played Dorothy. She then played in John Tucker Must Die in 2006 and Resident Evil: Extinction in 2007.
In terms of writing, Ashanti released ‘Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love’ which showed a raw version of her relationships and experiences, and poems she wrote as a teenager. She then released ‘My Name Is a Story’ in 2022, a story of growth and empowerment that talks about her journey with self love and embracing herself as a person. The book won the 2023 Best Children’s Book at the African American Literary Awards (Gotham Artists).
Ashanti has also collaborated with multiple brands that align with her, mainly in health and beauty. She has worked with Herbal Essence, American Express, Shea Moisture, and more. She has also worked with Miss Circle and Pretty Little Thing to create her own clothing and swim suit lines. Furthermore, she has done work with the Boys and Girls Club of America, which she has a past with, as her mother initially taught her how to dance and she had her first performance (BCGA)
Where is She Now?
Though they were previously broken up, Ashanti and Nelly reconnected at a Verzuz event event in 2021 where they spoke again and rekindled, even performing together shortly after. In 2023, she married Nelly, and by July of 2024, she gave birth to her son Kareem. She has said that she wants to have more kids with Nelly in the future. She considers her son to be her best friend and says that he makes her very happy.
Nelly and Ashanti currently star in a reality series on Peacock following their relationship.
Between her original hits, the music she owns, her books, movie roles, and collaborations, Ashanti has a net worth of about $5 million.
