Ashanti shows off her hourglass figure in a strapless bikini as she soaks up the sunshine in Malibu

She's been kept busy promoting the release of her album BraveHeart in recent weeks.
But Ashanti still managed to find a few minutes to take some time out and enjoy the sunshine in Malibu, California, this week.
The 33-year-old singer showed off her hourglass figure in a patterned strapless two-piece as she alternated sunbathing with swimming in the sea.

Hourglass curves: Ashanti showed off her figure in a strapless bikini as she soaked up the sunshine in Malibu and then posted images to her Instagram page

Clearly proud of her stunning curves, Ashanti posted the pictures on her Instagram page - much to the delight of her fans.
She captioned one shot: 'Soaking up this Cali Sun... #Malibu #braveheart', before adding on another, 'Be U. #BeBrave #braveheart #malibu.'
Ashanti's day on the beach came as she opened up about her musical influences and how she has managed to forge a successful career for herself despitea few setbacks.
In an interview with R&B lifestyle magazine Singers Room earlier this week, Ashanti said: 'I have definitely had moments where I felt like, agh, this is not what it's suppose to be, this cannot really all be happening at once. You do get a little discouraged when you're putting in everything and you're doing what you're supposed to do and you're not getting a return - it's very frustrating.

Stunning: Ashanti drew attention to her toned stomach and enviable figure in the yellow, orange and brown two-piece

Soaking up the sunshine: Ashanti looked to be in seventh heaven as she raised her face to the sky and absorbed the sunlight

'There have definitely been lots of low points when you question things. But I don't think I ever got to a point where I was gonna completely give up. It's not really in my nature to give up on things.'
As well as her music, Ashanti has also enjoyed a successful acting career - starring in series including Army Wives and Law & Order, as well as films including John Tucker Must Die.
But Ashanti added that she would never limit herself to just one venture, and prefers having her fingers in many pies.

Tummy time: Last Thursday, Ashanti visited boxer Manny Pacquiao at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood

She said: 'I'm always going to have my first love and my passion be music but I definitely want to continue with television and feature films.
'You can never limit yourself. I think the best thing to do is to continue to grow and find and create other avenues  - whether it's music or television, or even behind the scenes, or producing.'
Laughing, Ashanti then added: 'Me personally, I feel like television is where the money is.'