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Jim Dyson/Getty ImagesAshanti was a fixture in R&B/hip-hop in the early 2000s. Her long list of Billboard Hot 100 hits includes “Always on Time,” “Foolish,” “Ain’t It Funny,” which she wrote for Jennifer Lopez, and “What’s Luv,” with Fat Joe.
The Grammy-winning singer became the second artist after The Beatles to have three top-10 entries at the same time, Cardi B. became the third in 2018. But that almost wasn’t the case.
“Did y’all know they didn’t want me on “What’s Luv?” Ashanti wrote, sharing an Instagram Live conversation with Joe.
During the conversation, Joe revealed Ja Rule and Murder Inc.’s Irv Gotti wanted J.Lo for the song, to keep it “for the Latinos,” being that Joe and Lopez are both Puerto Rican.
Joe claimed, “That’s a fact,” before Ashanti admitted, “Yo, I never knew that.”
Joe said he decided to leave Ashanti’s “amazing” vocals on the track, which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on that chart for nearly 25 weeks.
Yet, the situation sounded all too familiar for Ashanti. “OMG, yo he stayed pulling records or trying to pull records from me…Damn,” she said. “What the! You know I don’t curse in front of my fans.”
Fans believed Ashanti was speaking about Irv, being that the two have had a rather sour relationship over the past several years.
On another topic, Ashanti addressed a potential Verzuz battle with Keyshia Cole, saying, “If they want to see it, I ain’t mad.”
And it looks like Keyshia may be up for the challenge, posting a fan-made list of hits for her and Ashanti on her Instagram.
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