Ashanti Talks Covid 19 Diagnosis, Verzuz, The “Into You” Song And More

Ashanti sat down to chat with Hot 97’s “Ebro In The Morning” show and shared some behind-the-scenes details about the Verzuz battle with Keyshia Cole, her recent Covid-19 diagnosis, Fab’s “Into You” song, and more.

Ashanti shared that she went out to “entertain the audience” after Keyshia experienced some technical difficulties that delayed their showcase’s official start time.

“If someone is late-you know-you hold on a little bit, give them a few, you know- I know Ja (Rule) has done that for me several times being late for a show, he’d wait for me- you know what I mean, so that we could go out together,” the Grammy award-winning singer said.

Ashanti said there was no beef between her and Keyshia, and she said she holds nothing against her Verzuz opponent.

Ashanti also opened up about her Covid-19 diagnosis that caused the original Verzuz show to be scrapped and sent her mother to the hospital for almost a week.

The “Foolish” singer revealed she got her COVID-19 test results right before she was about to get on a flight to attend the original Verzuz date in person.

“I got tested the night before we were supposed to leave,” she said. “I got tested as a precaution. I know I don’t have it, so I’m just doing this as a solid for them, so I can get on the plane. So the plane was ready, bags were packed, my stylist was at my house, we were doing fitting … So when I got the results, I was like, ‘Me? Are you sure this is mine?’ I was stunned.”

Ashanti also revealed that she did have some sniffles and lost her sense of smell but thought it was just allergies during her African Safari trip and made it clear that she got the virus from a family member and not from her travels.

Ashanti also addressed the controversy surrounding Fabolous’s hit “Into You,” which famously features two different versions: one with Tamia singing the hook and one with Ashanti.

Ashanti admitted that the lines in the track were originally Tamia’s but claimed she agreed to re-record the vocals per Fab and his team’s request. She also explained that she didn’t appear in the video due to a simple business move.

“Fab and them wanted me to shoot the video, and I think Irv [Gotti] … he didn’t want me to shoot the video,” Ashanti explained. I guess he felt like I was being oversaturated. So for them, business-wise, it’s like, ‘Why would we have the single out with her and then not be able to shoot the video?” she explained to Ebro and the panel.