There has been a surge in chatter about Irv Gotti and Ashanti after a recent Drink Champs episode caused a stir. Irv and Ja Rule joined the popular platform to discuss all things related to Murder Inc, including, apparently, Gotti's relationship with his former artist Ashanti decades ago. The pair briefly dated and were said to be hot and heavy, but the romance ended and Ashanti moved on to rapper Nelly.
Irv talked about learning of Ashanti's relationship with Nelly—a union that lasted 11 years—while watching a basketball game, and he even shared a story about how her hit song "Happy" came to be. According to Irv, he got the idea for the melody immediately after having sex with the singer.
The Ashanti Tales from Gotti have caused him to become a focal point of backlash as the public seemed a little put off with his recounting his former romance. However, it isn't just fans who have a bad taste in their mouths following the Drink Champs interview; Fat Joe, a longtime fired of Ja, Irv, and Ashanti, didn't like how the music mogul spoke about the award-winning songbird.
In a video, Fat Joe said, "Ashanti, right, and so, whatever Irv has with Ashanti is twenty years old, right? I know he was making some points that mean a lot to him in his heart and soul, but when you keep ranting about somebody, twenty years later? It felt like he's not over the young lady. And so also, we didn't know that they was f*ckin', right? 'Cause the whole time, I'm there!"
He recognized that something went on, but he never witnessed anything to suggest a hot and heavy romance behind the scenes. "I don't need to know! I don't need to know!"
"Now, it's okay if it's on a documentary. You gotta say your truth on your documentary, but to go to Drink Champs and keep calling her a b*tch, keep disrespecting," said Joe, who said he's not coming forward to necessarily defend Ashanti because her "brother" was there. "Ja Rule was standing right next to him... But I'm not telling stories about a girl I was with twenty years ago."
Check it out below and let us know if you agree with Fat Joe.