Ashanthi De Alwis (Sinhala:අශාන්ති ද අල්විස්), known simply as Ashanthi, is a Sri Lankan rapper, singer and songwriter. She is the only Sri Lankan female rapper who signed with international record labels Sony Music and Universal Music in 2006.[1][2][3] She began her career as a rapper with BnS, and continued that role after achieving solo success.
Ashanthi | |
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Background information | |
Born | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
Genres | Hip hop, crunk&B, folkhop |
Occupation(s) | Rapper, singer, songwriter |
Years active | 2002–present |
Labels | Sony Music, Universal Music, M Entertainments |
Website | ashanthi |
Ashanthi's first major label album was as half of the duo Ashanthi n' Ranidu, with the album Oba Magemai released in 2002 through M Entertainments.[4] Her debut solo album Sandawathuren was released in 2006.[5][6] This was the first hip hop solo album to be released by a Sri Lankan female.[1] Her general style of music is ethnic hip hop with massive market appeal. Sandawathuren was sung in Sinhala, with the exception of two English songs.[6]
Ashanthi has toured internationally in countries throughout Europe, North America, Australasia and Asia.[1][2][7] In 2008, Dialog signed up Ashanthi to be a brand ambassador for their pre-paid brand KIT.[8]
At the 2013 Derana Music Video Awards, Ashanthi won the award for 'Best Hip Hop Video' for Alawanthiyak.[9] She also recorded the 11th anniversary jingles for Y FM, Sri Lanka in November 2016. From 2020 onwards she joined the widely popular The Voice teens (Sri Lanka) as a coach.
Ashanthi released her first English Language Album 'Rock the World' in August 2013, aiming for an international market. The lead single off the album was 'Let's Give Peace a Chance', which was also recorded in Sinhala with additional vocals by Benny Dayal.
Year | Title | Channel | Language | Role |
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2020 | The Voice Teens Sri Lanka(Season 1) | Sirasa TV | Sinhala | Coach - Herself |
2023 | Derana Dream Star(Season 11) | TV Derana | Sinhala | Judge - Herself |