Ashanti needs to send Sam a thank you card, b/c he has been shouting her out all these years, even if with a little shade. But no publicity is bad publicity . . .

While the struggle may be real, keep in mind that Ashanti is in a different ballgame royalty-wise because she's an independent artist. She isn't getting cents on the dollar from her record sales and income from streaming. She gets it all minus fees charged by iTunes and other retailers. So, even if she only sells 10k first week, she makes more money than any of the haters here made last year.