Ashanti wants that old thing back. The singer is done with Nelly, but there's another man she'd like to get back with — in the studio, that is. Ashanti says a collaboration with Ja Rule could happen down the road.  
Back in 2000, the duo made waves as a musical tag team, stacking hits, and turning Murder Inc. into a household name. In 2009, Ashanti split from her longtime label, but a year prior Ja had already lashed out at her with the diss record "Judas," which paled in comparison to the tongue lashing Irv Gotti served up. Gotti founded Murder Inc. and turned to the media to blast Ashanti over her lack of "loyalty" to the crew, and blew the whistle on allegedly having had an affair with his former artist.
Fast forward to now: the Murder Inc. family has moved on, settling their differences. Ashanti and Irv teamed up for "No One Greater," and she and Ja have kept in touch since his prison release.

"I spoke to him the other day," Ashanti told Hot 97's Ebro Darden and K. Foxx last week, "He's in great spirits. He has a studio downstairs in the house. That's where he's gonna be all the time. He's super excited about the music."
With her fifth studio album, BraveHeart, in the works, a collaboration with Ja coudn't be better timed. "Hopefully we get it all poppin.' There's no denying our chemistry," she said. "I mean, he has to focus on his stuff right now, and I gotta' focus on mine."
Confirmed guest appearances on her new release include Meek Mill, French Montana and Cool & Dre. And chances are that her former rap comrade could join that list, since the Army Wives star has already figured out a way to get around Ja's house arrest, ending this month. "Me and Ja's gonna Skype! That's what I'll do, and I'll play him some records," she said.
BraveHeart is slated for a July 30 release.

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