New to Blender: Ashanti

We’ll call it the shoe incident, and because of it, an early-afternoon chat between Blender and rising R&B star Ashanti bites the dust.

	Join Blender behind the scenes at the video shoot for Ashanti’s hit song “Happy.” Windows: Hi | Low
	Watch the full-length video for “Happy” courtesy of Murder Inc./Def Jam Recordings. Windows: Hi | Low Real

Hours later, resting in a Manhattan hotel wearing slippers and tattered jeans, Ashanti’s ready to speak. Not about her hit “Foolish,” which smoothly rides the melody of Notorious B.I.G.’s “One More Chance.” Or her smash hip-hop tune du jour, “What’s Luv?” (with Fat Joe). Or her self-titled debut, which marks her as the heir apparent to urban diva Mary J. Blige. Instead, the 21-year-old, named for a tribe in Ghana, launches into a giggly discourse on high-end footwear.

“I flew into New York City today,” she begins. “I had my luggage with me at the curb. I got in the car, and the skycap forgot to put my suitcase full of shoes in. I went bananas! Thank God I got them back. There’s $20,000 worth of shoes in there . . . about 10 pairs.”

She laughs at the absurd-sounding figure. “One pair isn’t that expensive, like $380. One pair’s $2,000 — but they’re boots and go with everything!”

Clearly, Ashanti Douglas is the practical type. The Long Island native sings on Def Jam’s top-selling single ever, Ja Rule’s stone classic “Always on Time,” and is poised for big things on her own — yet she still lives at home with her parents and 14-year-old sister. “I have a residence in the basement with its own entrance,” she explains.

Now Ja Rule will be guesting on her album. However, another certain famous artist will not be appearing, she says, due to “problems in the industry.”

Perhaps this mystery singer’s name rhymes with Far Nelly? “I ain’t saying!” Ashanti admonishes. “You nut!”