Ashanti‘s work ethic was the topic of discussion on Tuesday, Sept. 14, following her appearance at Fat Joe and Ja Rule‘s Verzuz battle.
“Verzuz” is a music competition stream that was developed by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz last year at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fat Joe and Ja Rule battle took place at the Madison Square Garden in New York, where both rappers are originally from.
The sole reason why Ashanti stole the spotlight from Fat Joe and Ja Rule was because of the proclaimed “double shift” the 40-year-old had to pull performing hit songs with them.
Ashanti initially collaborated with Fat Joe and Ja Rule in the early 2000s. The vocalist, alongside Ja Rule, was featured on Fat Joe’s Grammy-nominated song “What’s Luv” while the former Murder Inc. label mates spanned several chart-topping singles. The tracks included “Always on Time,” “Mesmerized,” “Wonderful” and “Down 4 U,” many of which were performed at the battle. In addition to Ashanti’s onstage appearance, other artists such as Jadakiss, Remy Ma, Lil Mo, Vita, and Nelly attended and performed on New York’s biggest night.
As fans watched the event unfold, many of them expressed through memes how exhausted Ashanti must be going back and forth on stage. One even stated that the true winner of the competition was the singer because both rappers used her as a “cheat code.”
“Ashanti is the artist to perform for both sides, she won 🔥Ashanti is both Fat Joe & Ja Rule’s cheat code. Sis has hits on both ends of the stage & still looks as good (or even better) than she did when the songs came out. #Verzuz#verzuztv#verzuzbattle.”
“Ashanti performing for Fat Joe and Ja Rule.”
“Ashanti singing for both Ja Rule and Fat Joe the whole night #VERZUZ.”
“Ashanti after her double shift at the #VERZUZ tonight.”
Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s “Verzuz” battle was first announced on the streaming competition’s official Instagram page on Sept. 2, one week following The Lox and Dispet’s event. “Verzuz” wrote alongside the Statue of Liberty emojis, “Summer ain’t over!! @FATJOE VS @JARULE 🗽🗽🗽 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH.”
