Ashanti Says Jay Z Was Originally Meant To Feature On “Foolish”

Long Island, New York singer Ashanti recently caught up with VladTV to recall the making of her hit single “Foolish” off her debut, self-titled studio album released in 2002.

After recalling how the song’s concept stemmed from Irv Gotti’s own relationship experiences, Ashanti went on to reveal that Jay Z was originally meant to feature on the record before the Murder Inc. frontman decided not to pursue what he described as the “typical R&B record.”

“Before the record was completed, that bridge wasn’t on there,” Ashanti recalls. “[Irv Gotti] reached out to Jay [Z] to do a verse instead of that bridge. He called him, he sent Jay the record and Jay was like, ‘I’m in.’ He said, ‘I wanna get on the record.’ I don’t know if he came up to office or what, but Irv changed his mind. He was like, ‘You know what? That’s typical. I’m not gonna do the typical R&B record and get the big rapper to co-sign it.’ He said, ‘I’m gonna make her write an ill verse.’ And that’s how that came about.”