Ashanti has officially confirmed that her new album will not be called Chapter VI. The singer is hoping to release her sixth studio album by the end of 2016.
“It’s really confusing. I have no idea where that came from,” Ashanti said in an interview with Billboard. “The next album is absolutely not called Chapter VI. But the music on there is incredible. I’m really excited. I can’t wait for people to hear the new music.”
The singer revealed that she has 15 or 16 songs already recorded for the as yet untitled album.
“I’m probably in love with about six or seven of them, like IN LOVE in love,” Ashanti said. “I’m working with different people, different sounds, different things on this album, just kind of going places I haven’t gone before. But being an adult now, times are different. People want more of you, you know. But I’m very happy.”
Ashanti describes herself as a “workaholic” during the interview and told the publication that most of the recording has been taking place in Los Angeles. She has allegedly been working with Ty Dolla $ign, DJ Mustard, J-Roc, Hit-Boy, L.T. Hutton and others on the new material.
The singer is also currently co-starring in the drama Stuck, and also has television projects on the horizon. She is reportedly producing two of them. Although 15 years have passed since the release of her debut album, she expressed "being excited for the future."
“I would put myself in the lane of being extremely focused and about to embark on even more greatness,” Ashanti said. “I’m so excited about the new projects coming up - the new music coming up, the new television stuff coming, the new films coming. I’m really grateful, and I’m just really excited for the next part, the next chapter.”
In other Ashanti news, the singer and her old duet partner from the early 2000’s Ja Rule recently decided to switch the name of their tour from Natural Born Killers to Natural Born Tour. The name was changed in order to avoid insulting victims at the hands of the Natural Born Killers around the country. The tour began on August 25 at The PlayStation Theater in New York and will run until September 10 at the Joy Theater in New Orleans.
