Ashanti Discusses "Army Wives" Role, New "Braveheart" LP and Working with Ja Rule

Long gone are the days when Ashanti was a foolish chick on the come-up.

Charting hits including "Foolish" and "Rock Wit U," the former first lady of Murder Inc. is bursting back onto the scene with a few new endeavors, including a spot on the Lifetime reality series "Army Wives."

"It's just about being believable and committing yourself," she tells VIBE. "They get the script from real army wives and they travel...I think that's what gonna generate people to come to the show even more."

She also plans to dabble in new territory for her forthcoming LP Braveheart, her fifth album since 2008's Declaration. "I'm super excited about it! I'm doing different records that I haven't done before," she says about the project, which will be released under her own label Written Entertainment.

When asked if she'll return to her R&B roots, Ashanti says "At this point, everyone just feels pressure to get that hit, whatever genre, we want a multiplatform record. As long as everyone loves it, it'll be a hit."

With the singer's return to the spotlight and rapper Ja Rule's release from prison this month, the obvious question is: will there be a collaboration coming soon? Watch the interview above to find out.