On the 20th anniversary of her eponymous debut album, Ashanti shared news about her first NFT collection. The R&B singer made the announcement on her Instagram, saying she’s excited to reward her fans who have shown their support for two decades.
“I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since my debut album Ashanti!!!!!!!!,” she wrote. “I’m so grateful that y’all been rocking with me for over 20 years!!!!! Now I finally get to give you something in return. I’m beyond excited to officially announce that my NFT collection with EQ.Exchange celebrating 20 years of Ashanti will be available Wednesday, April 6th.”
The beloved singer also offered an option to her fans.
“I want y’all to have ownership in these new Masters!!! Which re recording should be first???” she wrote.
On Thursday, Ashanti came back with an update for her fans, revealing a recreated image of the album’s cover.
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According to AfroTech, Ashanti already made history this year when she partnered with EQ Exchange, the woman-owned Web3 platform. When the company officially launched on March 25, Ashanti became the first Black female artist to be a co-founder of a Web3 company.
“It’s so important to me to get the message out that artists should own their intellectual property,” the Chapter II artist said in a statement. “By empowering myself through new technology, I’m trying to help other women avoid going through the things that I’ve been through. The future belongs to those who take control and make it their own.”
Speaking on The Tamron Hall Show in 2021, Ashanti reflected on the evolution of the music industry.
“I have an amazing legal team, and I got my first record deal when I was 14 years old, so understanding and seeing how things have changed so much from then to now and conceptually understanding what you’re signing is so imperative, it’s so important nowadays,” she said. “The fact that I’ll be able to re-record my first album, and put everything together.”
