Ashanti Puts Music Ownership at the Center of Her Latest R&B Conversation
Ashanti wants artists to understand what they create and who controls it. In a September 11 Rolling Stone AU/NZ interview, the singer made ownership a central concern, discussing masters, songwriting and production as parts of the business that artists need to understand.
She told interviewer Rebekah Manibog that she is rerecording and taking ownership of her masters. The interview does not announce a release date for those recordings or identify a newly completed catalog transaction. Her comments instead describe her current approach to creative control and the importance she places on knowing the business behind the music.
The discussion also considers changes in R&B itself. Ashanti contrasts today’s shorter songs with the longer structures familiar from her debut era, and acknowledges that audiences differ in what they want from lyrical content. She identifies “Foolish” as a lasting performance favorite, describing the connection that comes from hearing crowds sing a song she wrote more than two decades ago.
That catalog remains central to her ongoing career. Tour promoter Destroy All Lines traces “Foolish” to her self-titled debut, “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)” to Chapter II and “Only U” to Concrete Rose. Its artist overview also points to collaborations with Ja Rule, Fat Joe and Fabolous. Together, those records explain why a discussion of ownership has significance beyond a single release.
Her previously announced Australian and New Zealand run remains on the promoter’s calendar for November 9–16, with stops in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. PowerPage covered that tour announcement earlier; the new development here is her September conversation about the decisions behind a lasting body of work.
Hear “Foolish” through the embedded Ashanti official video, and read the complete Rolling Stone interview for her account. For listeners who know the hooks, the business conversation adds another way to consider the artist behind them.
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