S. Samuel
Murder Inc. head Irv Gotti has broken his silence on the shaky business relationship between himself and Ashanti and said his next move is to drop her.
While summarizing her career’s run under the Inc’s umbrella, Irv explained what ultimately ended their partnership.
“The relationship has run its course,” Gotti explained in an interview. “The chemistry of what’s needed — we’re in two totally different places. You’re talking to somebody that took her and shaped and molded her and put her out there for the world, and it blew up. We in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest selling debut by a female R&B artist, 503 [thousand]. We did it! My views and philosophies and her views and philosophies is not meeting up…I don’t think she can win. She needs some guidance with that…But she’s not thinking like that. Really, I couldn’t tell you what she’s thinking. So that relationship has run its course and honestly, I’m gonna just drop her.” (MTV)
Irv helped launch Ashanti’s career around 2002 with the help of Ja Rule and Fat Joe.
With hitmaker Irv Gotti at the helm, Ashanti blasted into the urban music scene in 2002, topping the charts with multiple singles at once. She quickly became a sensation, gracing the covers of magazines and dominating urban radio. Ashanti built her reputation with duets, where she would complement an already popular rapper — Ja Rule (“Always on Time”), Fat Joe (“What’s Luv?”), the Notorious B.I.G. (“Unfoolish”) — contrasting the tough-guy male perspective with her own. (All Music)
Despite a strong selling debut, her following efforts were overshadowed with The Inc’s legal troubles.
Chapter II, topped the Billboard album chart on the heels of its hot lead single, “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby).” The album’s success was somewhat eclipsed, however, by all the negative drama surrounding the Murder Inc. camp at the time (i.e., the FBI investigation and the G-Unit feuding). A Christmas album followed late that year and Concrete Rose appeared in December 2004. Though she remained with The Inc. for 2008’s The Declaration, she sought out a number of producers outside the label’s in-house team. (Billboard)
Aside from his music, Irv recently launched the second season of “Gotti’s Way” on VH1.
This season follows the unique lives of record producer Irv Gotti, his estranged wife Deb and their three children where we’ll see Irv under pressure to keep up with the changes in the music industry while trying to keep his record label relevant. We’ll also focus on Deb as she struggles with their “arrangement” while she takes steps to gain some independence from Irv in an attempt take more control of her life. (PR Newswire)
Check out Irv talking about Ashanti below:
[For more on your favorite R&B singers peep SOHH Soulful]
