PR.com (Allison Kugel): Why did you title your latest album The Declaration, and why the four year break in between this album and the last one?

Ashanti: In the four years there were a lot of things going on. I was used to dropping albums consecutively since 2002, and there were a bunch of political things that have happened. I switched labels. Obviously, The Inc. Records (formerly Murder Inc.) was under investigation, so I wouldn’t necessarily say I took a break (laughs). I would say, more so, that stuff was kind of put on pause. I took that time and it was almost like a double edged sword because I had the opportunity to film two movies, John Tucker Must Die and Resident Evil: Extinction. You know, you take the good with all of the other stuff that comes with the music industry. The reason why I named the album The Declaration is because this time around, during that four year gap, I learned so much and I grew up so much. This time around I handled my project completely on my own. I executive produced the entire album from the behind the scenes to the creative process. So, The Declaration just stands for declaring a sense of independence, a sense of freedom and just a sense of growing up.

PR.com: By the way, John Tucker Must Die is a great movie; it’s very funny. So, it was time well spent.

Ashanti: (Laughs).

PR.com: I noticed that in the content of your lyrics this time around there’s more of a heaviness and a depth to them. You sound like a woman. In some of your earlier work you sounded like a girl. What was the turning point, other than some of the stuff that went on with your old label? What re-shaped you as a person over the last few years?

Ashanti: I definitely learned a lot of my strengths and a lot of my weaknesses; again, just growing up. I had my first record deal when I was fourteen, but I didn’t have an album come out until I was about twenty or twenty-one (laughs), you know? You learn so many things, and just becoming an adult in your twenties and growing, and being around different people, and learning and networking. On a personal level, what I’ve gone through in my life. My family and friends, and things like that, just molded me into what direction I was headed. Being that I write my own lyrics, my life experiences are what I write about. And other people’s experiences around me, like my friends are going through something, or somebody in [my] camp is going through something. It’s all a reality. I think that’s why a lot of people are able to relate to my music.

PR.com: In the title song, The Declaration, it’s about being misled and manipulated and then coming out on the other side. Where did that song come from?

Ashanti: That’s where I was in my life. It was a point in my life where I felt like a lot of manipulation was being done. In this music industry, it’s a lot of smoke and mirrors and sometimes you have to learn the hard way that you can’t trust everyone.

click to read interview with Ashanti