ASHANTI THE AUTHOR? SINGER/ACTRESS TO RELEASE LIFE & STYLE BOOK, 'ASHANTI STYLE.'

Ashanti will soon add author to her career resume. The singer/actress will not only release Declaration, her first album in four years, she also plans to release a life and style book aimed at teenagers aptly titled, Ashanti Style. Let's hope she'll tell teen girls how NOT to wear shirts as dresses....especially when you have thighs and legs, (like her little sister, 19-year-old Shi-Shi) that resemble brown cottage cheese and dimpled donuts. A poetry book is also on the horizon, with the working title of Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love. Bless her heart. She's coming back full force. Declaration, which is set to hit shelves on June 3, will be the singer's fourth solo LP and will be the follow-up to 2004's Concrete Rose. The record is being propelled by the lead single The Way I Love You, which has been gaining an increased amount of both radio and video airplay.

Producing the R&B star are Robin Thicke, Jermaine Dupri, LT Hutton, Babyface and Pharrell Williams, among others. More details are still to come, including the tracklisting.

.....