Grammy Award-winning artist Ashanti has teamed up with woman-owned Web3 company EQ Exchange.
The partnership makes Ashanti “the first Black female artist to be a co-founder of a Web3 company.” The news was announced at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas.
“It’s so important to me to get the message out that artists should own their intellectual property,” Ashanti said of the platform founded by Janice Taylor, per Complex. “By empowering myself through new technology, I’m trying to help other women avoid going through the things that I’ve been through. The future belongs to those who take control and make it their own.”
Celo 🤝 @EQ_Exchange 🤝 @ashanti #BuiltOnCelo #SXSW pic.twitter.com/WMKhVE3uMG
— Celo 🔦 (@CeloOrg) March 16, 2022
Last year, Ashanti announced that she had acquired all of her masters and that she would be re-recording her debut album.
“It’s so surreal. I have an amazing legal team, and I got my first record deal when I was 14 years old,” said Ashanti on “The Tamron Hall Show.”
“So understanding and seeing how things have changed so much from then to now and conceptually understanding what you’re signing is so imperative. It’s so important nowadays.”
The EQ Exchange partnership will reportedly include the release of special “creative experiences” and NFTs, all of which will be exclusive to the platform.
“Ashanti is paving the way for the next generation of artists in the new creator economy. EQ Exchange could not have asked for a better partner as we work together to change the game for all artists, particularly women and people of color,” said Taylor.
Grammy Award-winning @Ashanti will lead a groundbreaking conversation about the creative economy & female empowerment at #SXSW
— EQ Exchange • Music 🤝 NFTs (@EQ_Exchange) March 14, 2022
She will be joined by our Founder/ CEO @JustBeJanice
Moderated by @Essence Editor @brooklynrwhite
Don’t miss it!#WHM #SXSW2022 #WomensHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/OkSmsZSOdK
Ashanti’s self-titled album was originally released in 2002 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The Grammy Award-winning project spent an impressive 55 weeks on the chart and featured some of the star’s most beloved hits, including “Happy,” “Baby” and “Foolish.”
