Ashanti remembers her youth like it was the other day.
Long prior to carrying out huge hits like “Foolish” and “Rock Wit U” for countless fans, the 41- year-old was simply a girl at school who didn’t constantly seem like she suited.
“Growing up having a very unique name, there were moments,” Ashanti solely shown E!News “I remember there was circle time and the teacher would call out names. The kids would go, ‘Why doesn’t her name sound like this or that?'”
The experiences motivated Ashanti to compose her extremely first kids’s book My Name Is A Story, an empowering tale about a lady who finds out to enjoy her special name. It’s a journey Ashanti understands all too well.
“My name originates in Ghana,” she discussed. “When you travel outside of the country, sometimes the women are considered low on the totem pole. But there’s a tribe of people called the Ashanti and in this specific tribe, the women run things. It means woman of strength and I thought this is perfect for me.”
