Ashanti – La Declaration Album Review
The R&B princess is back after a four-year hiatus with her fourth studio release, The Declaration. She spread her wings and ventured out of her Murder Inc team for the first time. Irv Gotti and Ja Rule are nowhere to be found, and instead Ashanti has worked with a variety of notable producers, including Jermaine Dupri, Rodney Jerkins, and Babyface. The singer / songwriter is still writing the lyrics for all of her songs and often arranges and performs the background vocals.
Ashanti first burst onto the scene in 2002 with her debut album Foolish. The album earned her countless awards, including a Grammy and even the Soul Train Aretha Franklin Award for Artist of the Year, albeit controversially. Ashanti took Murder Inc to new heights and was the golden voice for chart-topping singles hooks, including Ja Rule’s Always on Time and Fat Joe’s What’s Love.
Ashanti got instant props for her video Foolish, directed by Martin Scorsese. Needless to say, it was a breath of fresh air for the urban music scene. However, since then, while maintaining a stable track record, Ashanti has not delivered anything so groundbreaking. She is still a contender for poppy R&B fun, but each album has fewer soul elements than the last and the tracks get repetitive.
The Declaration sounds like an album title set to mark or define an artist. However, in that sense, this one is a bit weak. Sure there are some good tracks, but nothing too unique and outstanding. There are symbolic inspirational songs near the end of the CD, Shine and Mother, as well as loads of heartthrob and female empowerment numbers. Noteworthy is the collaboration with Robin Thicke in Things You Make Me Do and the style of Mariah You’re Gonna Miss. Ashanti’s boyfriend Nelly also appears on Body on Me, which also includes Akon, who seems to appear on every album these days. The first single is The Way that I Love You, a ballad that shows Ashanti vocally but a little lyrically tired.
Ashanti and her people may think that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, as no other artist who debuted in the 21st century has had as many top 40 hits as her. However, it might be time to branch out, not just from your Murder Inc box, but lyrically and stylistically as well. She needs to bring in an album that meets or exceeds Foolish’s expectations and once and for all find a decent stylist. Happy’s Aladdin-like spandex outfits for his debut album were arguably the worst fashion disaster since the MC Hammer pants and tacky lion-shaped cover for The Declaration did him no favors.