For over 20 years, R&B superstar Ashanti has given us chart-topping hits that serve as the background to adolescent memories and heartwarming nostalgia. We’ve watched her evolve from a bubbly young singer to a sophisticated woman who now, at 41 years old, basks in her success and is unshakable in her confidence. You love to see it!

As the cover star for HelloBeautiful’s latest InterludesLIVE issue, the Grammy award-winning artist discussed the evolution of her career and how she’s come to embrace her “natural body.”

Take one look at Ashanti’s Instagram page and you can’t help but admire the goddess level aura that she exudes. Her curvaceous frame not only turns heads but stops thumbs from scrolling. Having lived an active lifestyle, participating in sports like cheerleading, baseball, and track growing up, she shared with HB that she openly celebrates the body she’s worked hard to get, even when others can’t.

“When I moved to Atlanta, I was considered super skinny. I’m sure every woman has gone through being different or looking different or being compared,” she shared.

While navigating fleeting beauty standards has come with its challenges, she believes that loving the body that you have is the key to silencing outside pressures. “I’ve always been a person to take care of myself inside and out. I think it’s important that we show it’s okay to not be perfect and to still embrace being natural,” she said. 

“And maybe you don’t have the biggest booty or the biggest boobs, but it’s yours. And it’s natural. And when you are natural, you’re proud because you work for it. You work out, you eat right, you diet, or not even diet, you try to be healthy.”

Ashanti’s confidence is not only reflected through her self-esteem but in how she’s maneuvered through the industry.

“You’re not gonna make everyone happy,” she said. “Not everyone is gonna love you or, be into your music. I’ll just rock with a few million that do.”

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