R&B singer
Ashanti recently shared her thoughts on the ongoing federal investigation of
The Inc. record label to which she is signed the rampant rumors of a romantic
link between her and Nelly.
The New York Daily
News recently reported that Nelly was frequently spotted on the set of Ashanti’s
upcoming feature film debut "Coach Carter."
"Nelly would
bring her organic vegetarian meals all the time because she didn’t like the
commissary food," a source told the Daily News.
Ashanti’s co-star
Samuel L. Jackson also confirmed in an interview, "Let’s just say I ate
more craft service because Nelly wasn’t bringing food to me every day."
Ashanti has denied
an amorous relationship with the St. Louis rapper, stating to AllHipHop.com,
"Me and Nelly [are] just cool, we [are] just friends."
A rumor that Ashanti
would distance herself from The Inc. as a result of a pending federal investigation
of label associates for murder, drug dealing and money laundering connections,
is also untrue the singer stated.
"There was
never any truth to that. Its like everyone goes through a little bit of drama,
and it would be different if it was just business and they were all just acquaintances,
but that’s my family," Ashanti told AllHipHop.com. "Every one goes
through their hard times, but they had so much to do with my career. It wouldn’t
make sense for me to bounce."
Ashanti added that
she had little knowledge about the investigation, calling it unfortunate, and
she hoped it would end. Regarding The Inc. label mate Ja Rule and his return
to the rap scene after a short hiatus, Ashanti said, "Ja is feeling great
because the reception has been incredible and the shows he did a little something,
something I was heated when I heard about what happened with Jay. I was in Van
when I found out what happened with Jay and R. He did a couple more dates with
Jay and the reception was incredible. You hear New York at least 500 times a
day."
Many hip-hop fans
are wondering about the future of the remaining artists on The Inc., including
Charli Baltimore and Tah Murder.
"Obviously,
we all ask what’s gonna happen, and what I get is, it doesn’t make sense to
come out without a big bang, and you know, not sell any records," Ashanti
said. "Once you put a single out there and it doesn’t work you don’t necessarily
want to put your album out after that. And you wanna go for a million plus,
you don’t just want to go gold."
According to Ashanti,
the situation with her label mates Charli Baltimore and Tah Murder, who have
seen little exposure lately, is about coming out at the right time.
"For each
of them – Charlie, Tah, Black Child and everybody – you know, that takes time.
With me, Ja, and then the newest edition, Lloyd, everyone wants their exact
right shine," Ashanti said. "You don’t wait this long to just put
any thing out and try to struggle."
