Admitting "a lot of things have happened," former The Inc./Murder Inc singer Ashanti is looking forward to a fresh start.

In promoting her rising single "The Woman You Love" this week, the former "Foolish" and "Always On Time" singer has compared the last three years of her life to getting out of a "black cloud."

"It was like a black cloud that I had to come out of," said Ashanti. "I wanted to kind of distance myself from that. I did Broadway. I did some films. John Tucker Must Die. Resident Evil. And I just kind of had to regroup and say okay, we're going to start, we're going to have a fresh start. I'm going to put my business hat on and approach music at a different angle because it felt like the industry, the music industry, was changing dramatically."

Undeniably attentive, Ashanti is now working on making sure her music is not only right but provides monetarily.

"We know that music changes and three years is a lot of time. I have my own record label, called Written Entertainment, which I am super excited about. Being with the majors it taught me that I need a way bigger percentage than what they were giving me," said Ashanti. "Everything (now) is digital. I'm cutting my own deal with iTunes. It's about learning the behind the scenes to become a better businesswoman."

With a distribution deal with E1 in place, things appear to be looking up for the woman listeners fell for in 2002. In that year, Ashanti debuted atop the Billboard 200 with over 500k sold. That self-titled album went on to sell over six million copies worldwide.

Ashanti's new single and fresh start, "The Woman You Love," featuring Busta Rhymes, is now available.