Ashanti has never been afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve. She's a valiant soldier in both love and business. Just check her resume with songs like 'Foolish' to 'Rain on Me' to 'Baby' and her very public split with the Murder Inc. family years ago. The Grammy Award-winning artist has since moved forward with her own label, Written Entertainment, mended friendships with Irv Gotti and Ja Rule and penned a wealth of original songs based off of her own success and strife.

With the ups and downs Ashanti's experienced, 'Braveheart' is an aptly-fitting title for the fifth album of her career. She's "accepting what is" these days. When hiding under the covers seems better than facing reality -- perhaps when she parted ways with Nelly -- she realized that course of action wasn't going to solve her problems. Writing about them did, which is why this LP is "so sincere."

Some of those new tracks, such as the celebratory 'I Got It' (sans Rick Ross) and the emotional ode 'Scars,' Ashanti performs for The Boombox's Off the Record series. She even showcases her skills with a cover of Chaka Khan's 'Sweet Thing' and reconnects with old fans by singing the song that put her on the map, 'Foolish.'

Take a look as the carefree singer opens up about the project and also explains why she considers herself a "Jafakecan," why one fan took her by complete surprise and who she believes is the epitome of the strongest woman.

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