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BY: JANEL SPIEGEL
Musikfest 2022
Ja Rule & Ashanti
Friday, August 12, 2022
711 E. 1st Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015
Bethlehem was “Livin’ It Up” tonight with Ja Rule and Ashanti
The party was at Musikfest tonight, and Bethlehem was having a blast. The DJ’s had everyone on their feet. Some of us grew up listening to Ja Rule and Ashanti. Those songs that take us back to a certain moment in life. A love, a friend, heartache or a party. Just having fun and living life. Music tends to do that, it can you right back to a place you were happy or sad.
Musikfest, ArtsQuest, and SteelStacks did such an amazing job putting everything together. The staff, the volunteers, the Bethlehem Police Department, and the absolutely stunning Police Horses. People tended to follow the Officers on the horses to see the horses, tonight a beautifully adorable dog that resembled Scooby-Doo saw the horses and he looked so excited.
My amazing friend Doe went along tonight. She stopped at Slabs and Crabs for a pulled pork sandwich, she said it was good. https://www.facebook.com/slabsandcrabs – Check them out on Facebook. I have been sticking with Island Noodles. We also made a stop at Mishka Vodka and thanks to the lady who told us her drink was from Mishka Vodka. https://mishkapremiumvodka.com/ – They were onsite with the drink pouches.
During the show, Ja Rule and Ashanti paid homage and tribute to The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, Nate Dogg, Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg, and more. The DJ’s had the crowd hype. They had everybody up dancing, singing. THE BASS WAS DROPPED. Ashanti and Ja Rule had a DJ. Ashanti looked beautiful; she had such a pretty sparkly ensemble on. Ja Rule looks the same, he did take the shirt off and went into full-on Ja Rule mode.
DJ Menace was onstage tonight along with along with DJ Lil Bruh https://www.instagram.com/djlilbruh/?hl=en – the man sounds a little bit like Fatman Scoop. He’s a DJ and a producer, he played all the good songs. https://www.djlilbruh.com/ – DJ Lil Bruh was into the whole show, I don’t think he wanted to leave. He had Bethlehem going and going.
When Ja Rule and Ashanti came out, the whole crowd was in a frenzy and happy. They sang together and separately. They did everything from “Mesmerize”, “Into You”, “Can I Get A…”, “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby), “Put It on Me”, “Baby”, “Thug Lovin’”, “Down 4 U”, “What’s Luv?”, “You Deserve It”, “Livin’ It Up” – that song had the entire crowd up and dancing, and singing.
This was an amazing show and these two have been working together for what seems like forever. They did an amazing job.
“Ja Rule, born Jeffrey Atkins, made his debut in 1999 with his single “Holla Holla,” on the platinum-selling album Venni Vetti Vecci. He quickly topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart with hits “Between Me and You” featuring Christina Milian, “I’m Real” and “Ain’t It Funny” both featuring Jennifer Lopez. Ja Rule joined forces with R&B singer Ashanti for songs “Always on Time,” “Mesmerize” and “Wonderful,” gaining four Grammy Award nominations and two American Music Award nominations. In 2000 he released Rule 3:36 and Pain Is Love in 2001, gaining him triple platinum status. Keeping the momentum of his success going Ja released platinum album The Last Temptation in 2002, Blood in My Eye in 2003 and R.U.L.E in 2004. Over the course of his career, he has sold over 30 million records worldwide.
Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter, actor and author Ashanti debuted with her self-titled album Ashanti featuring hit song “Foolish,” in 2002. Her album landed her at the top of the Billboard charts by selling 504,593 in the first week of its release. She was named to Guinness Book of World Records for the most albums sold by any debut female artist and still holds the record today. Over the course of two-decades Ashanti has recorded six studio albums, receiving an array of awards including eight Billboard Awards, a Grammy Award, two American Music Awards, two Soul Train Awards and six ASCAP Awards. In 2005 Ashanti starred as Dorothy in “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz” followed by roles on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Army Wives,” “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and films such as John Tucker Must Die and Resident Evil Extinction. Dipping into the entrepreneurial pool she partnered with AMC Beauty and was the first African American to land a national campaign with Herbal Essence. She recently penned a book of poetry “Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love” set to be released this year.”
https://www.musikfest.org/ja-rule-and-ashanti-to-headline-musikfest-2022/
