අශාන්ති
17 songs performed · 1 composition
Ashanthi De Alwis (අශාන්ති), usually credited simply as Ashanthi, is a Sri Lankan singer, rapper, and songwriter from Colombo, widely regarded as the country’s first prominent female rap and R&B artist. She rose to fame in the early 2000s and in 2006 became the first Sri Lankan female artist to sign with the international labels Sony Music and Universal Music.
Ashanthi first reached audiences as the original female voice alongside the duo Bathiya & Santhush, lending rap and vocals to their hits during Sri Lanka’s pop revival. She broke out as a recording artist in her own right with the duo project Ashanthi n’ Ranidu and their album Oba Magemai, pairing her with rapper Ranidu Lankage and bringing Western hip hop and R&B textures into mainstream Sinhala music.
Her 2006 solo album Sandawathuren (සඳවතුරෙන්) is often cited as the first hip hop solo record by a Sri Lankan woman. Across her catalogue she moved easily between bright pop, rap, and ballads, a range reflected in the songs hosted on Lyrics-lk. The playful single Ring Ring remains one of her most recognised tracks, while Raththaran Maage Suranganak Waage and Denayana Hamuwe Anandaya Oba Mage show her softer, melodic side.
Ashanthi helped open Sinhala popular music to rap and contemporary R&B at a time when few women fronted that sound, and she carried her influence into broadcast television as a coach on The Voice Teens Sri Lanka and a judge on Derana Dream Star. For listeners across the diaspora she is remembered as a pioneer who proved a Sri Lankan woman could rap, sing, and chart on her own terms.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Ashanthi.