Ashanti is a Grammy Award-winning R&B/pop singer, songwriter, record producer, author, and actress. She first appeared as a background vocalist on Big Pun's "How We Roll".

Ashanti also appeared on The Fast and the Furious soundtrack in 2001 and as a background vocalist on the "I'm Real (Murder Remix)", by Ja Rule and Jennifer Lopez. Fat Joe and Ja Rule featured Ashanti in their "What's Luv?" and "Always on Time" tracks, which were released simultaneously.The songs later became two of the biggest pop and urban hits of 2002. At one point, the tracks sat at #1 and #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, making Ashanti the first female to occupy the top two positions on the chart as a featured female artist.

Shortly thereafter, Ashanti's debut single, "Foolish" was released, spending ten weeks at #1 and becoming the biggest hit of 2002 according to Billboard. This made Ashanti the only artist, other than The Beatles, to have three chart entries in the top ten at the same time. The album was certified triple platinum in the U.S. and earned her numerous awards including two American Music Awards, eight Billboard Music Awards, two MOBO Awards, a Lady of Soul Award, and a Grammy Award.

Ashanti's sophomore album was released in 2003, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was certified platinum and it's first single became a hit at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single's video was also nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards in 2003. Also in 2003, Ashanti released her Christmas album titled Ashanti's Christmas and a year later released her third studio album titled Concrete Rose. Ashanti released a compilation album titled Collectables by Ashanti in 2005, featuring six remixes of previous tracks and four newly recorded songs.

Ashanti has also emerged as a songwriter in addition to her singing career. She has penned hits for performers such as Jennifer Lopez and Christina Milian.

She has released a book of poetry titled Foolish/Unfoolish Reflections on Love as well as a fragrance, Precious Jewel by Ashanti.

The artist has signed an exclusive deal with Sears stores to release her own denim brand  Delicious Curves to go along with Princeess, her already existing clothing collection for teenage girls in Europe. In 2006, "Ashanti's OPC-3 Beauty Blend," a nutritional supplement was also released.

In 2004, Ashanti appeared in the movie Bride and Prejudice,and one year later made her feature film acting debut in Coach Carter. In 2005, she also starred in the made-for-television film The Muppets' Wizard of Oz.