Ashanti Talks Debut Album & Nelly Hug, Plus She Has a Huge Announcement

Ashanti said she had not seen or talked to nelly in 6 years. So from that, the beef had to be deep. Nelly is not ready to be anybody’s husband and he was just extending an olive branch she is shining now.

Ashanti was one of several high-profile guests at Fat Joe and Ja Rule’s legendary Verzuz battle on Tuesday night (Sept. 14). The Madison Square Garden event has generated lots of conversation in the days since it went down, leading Joey Crack to hold a recap discussion with Ashanti, Ja Rule and Remy Ma on Instagram Live Wednesday night (Sept. 15).

Around 15 minutes into the group chat, Fat Joe and Ja Rule pressed Ashanti on her Verzuz reunion with Nelly. As viewers may remember, the ex-couple met on stage for a hug during the night.

Fat Joe revealed that within “three seconds” of announcing the battle, Nelly reached out to him wanting to attend in hopes of, Joey believes, seeing Ashanti.

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The “Foolish” singer, meanwhile, had no idea that her ex-boyfriend would be present at the event. The pair dated for 11 years before going their separate ways in 2013.

“Listen, there’s nothing happening,” Ashanti said of her current relationship with the “Ride Wit Me” singer. “Now look, this is the crazy part. I had no idea he was gonna be there and I haven’t seen him or spoken to him since we broke up. Six years or something? So, I didn’t know what to expect. I seen him move you out the way.”

“I wasn’t expecting it,” she continued between laughs. “And that’s the crazy thing! I seen his eyes get big and I didn’t know what was gonna happen. I didn’t know what to expect. It was positive.”

11 classic moments of Ja Rule and Fat Joe’s Verzuz

Ja Rule further asked Ashanti whether there’s any chance of the pair rekindling their romance, which she denied. “You know, Nelly’s single now,” he told the singer, to which she responded, “Yeah but I ain’t!”

“Listen I’m a very positive person and very private… and I wish him the best and all that good stuff,” Ashanti added.