Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas-Haynes (born October 13, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was discovered as a teenager and signed to Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records under Def Jam Recordings in 2002. That year, she was featured on Fat Joe's "What's Luv?" and Ja Rule's "Always on Time", two major hits of 2002. She became the first female artist to simultaneously hold the top two spots on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Foolish" and "What's Luv?".

In 2002, Ashanti released her eponymous debut album, selling over 505,000 copies in its first week. The album won eight Billboard Music Awards, two American Music Awards, and a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album. It was certified triple platinum in the U.S. and sold six million copies worldwide by the end of 2003. The single "Foolish" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the second artist after The Beatles to have their first three chart entries peak in the top ten simultaneously. Ashanti also wrote and provided background vocals for Jennifer Lopez's "Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)", which topped the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2003, Ashanti's second album, Chapter II, debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 326,000 first-week sales and was certified platinum by the RIAA for selling over 1.5 million copies. Its singles, "Rock wit U (Awww Baby)" and "Rain on Me", peaked at numbers two and seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Chapter II was nominated for a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album, while the singles received nominations for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. In November 2003, she released Ashanti's Christmas, a Christmas album that received unfavorable reviews. In 2004, her fourth album, Concrete Rose, debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 with 254,000 first-week sales and was her third platinum-certified album. The single "Only U" peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the UK Singles Chart. The second single, "Don't Let Them", saw limited success due to Def Jam's legal issues involving Irv Gotti. Her fifth album, The Declaration (2008), received moderate reception and was her final major label release. Braveheart (2014) was released independently.

Ashanti also pursued acting, debuting in the 2005 film Coach Carter and starring in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, which attracted nearly eight million viewers. She also appeared in John Tucker Must Die (2006) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). Ashanti has sold nearly 30 million records worldwide.