Irv Gotti has opened up about Ashanti’s decision to re-record her earlier work.
His comments come as the R&B superstar caught up with Angie Martinez on Power 105.1 and explained her decision to re-record her debut album to display the importance of ownership of her material to her fans.
“The thinking behind that is showing the business side of ownership,” Ashanti explained. “And how important it is to own. And once I re-record the first album, [I own it]. When that goes, everything purchased from that moment, I own.”
When the host asked Ashanti about a potential release date, she explained that she has her eyes peeled on her Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony in April, with hopes that the press are ready for “the new Ashanti.”
Gotti—who has production credits on the entirety of Ashanti’s self-titled debut back in 2002—commented on a post from Martinez to share that he owns “all those great Ashanti albums.”
“I produced all those great Ashanti albums,” Gotti wrote. “So I also own a good portion of the Publishing. What she is trying to do is re record all those great records. And put them out on her label. She can do this under the COVER laws. But she is basically trying to fuck me out of my Masters. And make people decide which album to listen too or stream. Hoping her loyal fans will choose her version.”
He continued, adding that he stands on the “magic that was created” and would like to see her “duplicate that magic.”
“It’s fucked up really,” Irv wrote. “But such is life.”
Ashanti previously announced her re-recording decision back in September on the Tamron Hall Show, after revealing that she had control over her masters. Her decision to re-record comes as Taylor Swift, and other artists such as Jojo, have done the same.
“I have an amazing legal team, and I got my first record deal when I was 14 years old, so understanding and seeing how things have changed so much from then to now and conceptually understanding what you’re singing is so imperative, it’s so important nowadays,” Ashanti said while on the show. “The fact that I’ll be able to re-record my first album, and put everything together.”
