Old skool Hip Hop singer Ashanti’s concert at a New York college was canceled after only 24 tickets were sold, prompting unfavorable headlines on various blogs and sites and social media posts for the singer, who for years battled accusations that she couldn’t sing worth squat.
Ashanti was recruited to replace Teyana Taylor, who had to cancel the event, and was set to perform at Stony Brook University’s Back To Brook event this month.
But only 24 tickets were sold, forcing the school to shutter the show.
To help Ashanti save face, the school took the blame for the stunning lack of interest in the show, saying it failed to properly market the event. The school said this in a statement:
As an organization, we do our best to host programs for students while providing diversity and inclusion. However, we have struggled to execute certain aspects. With a week before the concert, only 24 tickets are sold to students.
Ashanti, who rode a wave of fame as a Murder, Inc. artist and frequent collaborator with then-hot rapper Ja Rule back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, is working on new music: reportedly, a collaboration album with Ja Rule.
Fans of Ashanti stood up for the singer on Twitter.
Its unclear how many of them actually purchased show tickets though.
NO ASHANTI SLANDER WILL BE TOLERATED ON MY TIMELINE !! They Booked Her At A COLLEGE, That’s Like Booking Cassie,Amanda Perez, 3LW, B2K,Romeo,Bow Wow.. Ashanti Shit Only For The 90’s Babies Born Between 90-94
— peaceful savage??♀️??? (@_LionHeartBay) October 21, 2018
Considering Ashanti was at her prime when I was a teen, it’s not surprising to me she would have trouble selling tickets at a university. Those students are from a different generation that came of age in the late 2000s.
— Gerren Keith Gaynor (@MrGerrenalist) October 20, 2018
Her contribution to music is clear, but put it in context. https://t.co/8eAidtJ4W7
Inaccurate headline, it was a uni gig that she got booked to replace Teyana Taylor last minute and the promo was trash
— Travis Jay #CNFAP (@travisjayent) October 20, 2018
We not about slander @ashanti, not on my watch… I rebuke this tweet https://t.co/AJ7BolihZX
“The school added that they were already on a hard deadline since Teyana Taylor pulled out on the event two weeks prior, which left them no time to properly market and promote Ashanti as the new headliner — so technically, it’s no ones fault.” Y’all are trash for the headline. https://t.co/SP78e7dEgf
— ? (@MrMouthAlmighty) October 20, 2018
50 Cent, who has maintained a decades-long beef with Rule, also chimed in:
“I thought I told everybody not to fuck with this fool,” he wrote on his Instagram, which he claimed he was abandoning due to censorship. “I want the names and socials of everybody who bought a ticket now,” he added jokingly.
He later urged Ashanti to do “basement parties”. That way, he said, “It can still feel like its lit”, he posted.
“I don’t know what to say”, he added.
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