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| Ashanti - Ashanti Classification: Pop Band: Ashanti Tracks: - Intro - Foolish - Happy - Leaving (Always on Time Part II) - Narrative Call (Skit) - Call - Scared - Rescue - Baby - Voodoo - Movies - Fight (Over Skit) - Over - Unfoolish - Shi Shi (Skit) - Dreams - Thank You MADE-FOR-"106 & PARK" R&B Ashanti S. Douglas is a pretty girl as her self-titled debut's heavily airbrused album cover and her television apperances prove BUT she does have a Sweet yet light voice which is pleasant and she writes most of her own material(she also co-wrote Jennifer Lopez & Ja Rule's #1 collabration "Ain't It Funny").But even with good looks and a knack for songwriting,<BR>Ashanti's debut isn't anything new. This is radio-ready,"106 & Park"-tailored R&B.Stricly for the kids not fans of earthy soul or trendy folks.<BR>Ashanti-who wrote much of "Ashanti"-talks about about three things:love,love,and more love.Groundbreaking... Sugary,radio-friendly cuts like the first single "Foolish"<BR>(already a hit),"Baby","Call"(featuring her labelmate,Ja Rule)<BR>are pure polite,cutesy teen-R&B fare with easy,elementary,easy-to-sing lyrics to boot.It sounds like these aren't neccesarily songs Ashanti wants to sing,but songs she thinks a photogenic,cute young girl SHOULD sing.And that's the problem,<BR>there seems be no real respect for R&B and it shows.<BR>Since this album was produced by Irv Gotti(like Ja Rule,Ashanti is a Murder Inc. artist;she's the crew's first non-rap artist),<BR>it shows that the folks here are on the more street,hip hop tip and they feel that R&B is just folks singing about love. Ashanti never passes the line of "R&B Girl",which I think she can easily pass-with more mercurial material,that is.<BR>Fourtnaly,tracks like "Over","Rescue",and "Movies" are a little more earthier than the sweeter songs on here. Ashanti will most likely become a star.She should.But why does mainstream music have to be so predictible? Don't Be Foolish Ashanti is hardly the most innovative of stars on today's music scene. This aside, her album is fun and mellow, and though it's hardly anything special, her voice does have a nice kick and sweetness to it that makes the whole package very enjoyable. The leading single comes with two faces, one being the laidback heartache of "Foolish", and the other being the equally smooth, but much more fiesty groove of "Unfoolish". The latter features a sampled rap section by the Notorious Big and a new bit of vocal from the star of this record. Two more solo tracks also fill the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart at the moment, besides "Foolish". A fun laidback bit of hip-hop pop simply titled "Happy", which is the second single, and the Sweet groove of third single "Baby". Other noteable cuts here include the Ja Rule collaboration "Leaving", which is a follow-up track to their smash duet "Always On Time", and the exotic "Voodoo". An epic length devotional ballad called "Rescue" is also a definite highlight. Sure, nothing here is innovative, but it's still some catchy jams and radio hit ready tunes. I'm already looking forward to a nice follow-up album from Murder INC's Princess of Hip-Hop and R&B... Miss Ashanti. Nice Surprise...Great Debut Ashanti, the most hyped and anticipated debut album ( or any album for that matter ) since Aaliyah's Self titled release last year in July. Does she deliver? You bet she does. At first when I heard Ashanti was dropping an album I immediately thought it was gonna be garbage. I wasn't too impressed with her singing on songs like Big Pun's How We Roll or Always On Time by Ja Rule. I thought of her as just another fine dime in the videos trying to sing the hook. I especially didn't appreciate her trying to make her first hit over a beat that has been sampled numerous times; most popularly by the Notorious B.I.G. I was wrong. Dead Wrong. While also appearing on Fat Joe's What's Luv, where her singing skills really skyrocketed, she drops the solo joint. For one thing her singing is excellent and vastly improved on this cd, I was really surprised and impressed. The songwriting is superb as well. The highlight of this album is the production. Every song is tight production wise. In the booklet she promoted t-shirts that said Princess of R&B and rightfully so. This record sounds very similar to how a Mary J. Blige cd would sound. When I say sound I mean the type of beats and the way she sings them. In fact this is the closest thing to a Mary cd that I own ( the only thing it lacks is the raw pure emotion ). For example the song 'Happy' sounds a little like Mary J's Love Is All We Need. For me, this type of sound is excellent because I Love Mary J and her sound. Other standout songs include Leaving feat. Ja Rule, a nice sequel to Always On Time, Rescue, Scared, Over etc. etc. 'Movies' could possibly be the best song on the album. Beautiful singing and production. Unfoolish features Notorious B.I.G. who drops the same verse from his song F. You Tonight. Dreams is basically dreamy; a nice feel good song. Ashanti's album delivers through all the hype. An impressive debut if I must say. As a matter of fact I wouldn't hesitate to Call this the best female R&B album of the year (so far). I definitely recommend it to all fans of the songs she is on right now and to all who like contemporary R&B. Buy Ashanti Ashanti at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.comJamster - the latest ringtones for your phone! |
