Ashanti Douglas may have been most famous for her duets with Ja Rule and Fat Joe ("Always on Time" and "What's Love?" respectively) but when she brought out the song "Foolish" she proved she could cut it as a solo artist as well. And her album backed up this idea perfectly.
Ashanti's speciality appears to be a more laid-back, soul-based r & b than many of her contemporaries. This contrast is showed to an even greater extent when you consider she comes from Murder Inc records, the same stable that produced Ja Rule and similar acts to him. Her style of music is fairly rare in that area, although the fact that it is the likes of Ja Rule and Irv Gotti that produce much of her music that makes it slightly more streetwise when it could have ended up slightly bland (although them producing it in her second album didn't work out quite as well!)
"Foolish" - most people know this one, as it's her biggest solo hit. It's fairly sad in content, about a girl who is hurt by her man but is stupid enough to keep going back. It's fairly slow but has a great hook which keeps you listening, and you can hear the emotion in Ashanti's voice, as if she is singing from experience (which, as she co-wrote the song, is a possibility)
"Happy" - this is quite a laid-back soulful number with a cute little tune which sounds almost like a mobile phone ringtone to me! Ashanti's voice sounds lovely and clear on it - and . . . well, HAPPY!
"leaving (Always on Time Part two)" (featuring Ja Rule) - it sounds similar to "Always on Time" (bet that's a surprise!!!) but I reckon it's better, possibly because it wasn't played to death on the radios. It's got a similar catchy rhythm in the chorus which continues into the verses, and Ashanti, rather than Ja Rule in the previous, dominates this song. So in a way it is "Always on Time" in reverse!
"Scared" (featuring irv gotti) and "Rescue" are two I always get confused between but I really like them both. They're both fairly slow and sensual, and very sexy. They'd sound good played by candlelight with someone special around . . . if you know what I mean!!!
"Baby" is my favourite song on this album. It's dark and sexy with an almost jazzy feel to it, and Ashanti's voice sounds so smoky and husky on it. The song just sends shivers up and down my spine - I absolutely love it.
"Unfoolish" - there's a current trend for reply songs right now (Frankee to Eamon, Shola Ama and Naila Boss to Mario Winans) - this is like Ashanti's reply song to herself. It has the exact same tune to Foolish, but completely different verses, and a slightly modified chorus in which she things "I won't come running back to you" and features a rather "dirty" Notorious B.I.G sample which sounds great in it mainly because it seems so out-of-place. I prefer this to Foolish, because it's "girl power" at its best!
I think one of Ashanti's best qualities is that she sounds different in different songs - for example, her voice can go from clear to husky depending on the mood of the song - and I think this makes her more interesting as an artist. This album really showcases her vocal and song-writing talents and I hope she can develop further from here (hopefully further than she did with Chapter II, her second album) because she clearly has a lot of talent. The one criticism I had was that there were no REALLY upbeat songs - the songs were either mid-tempo or slow. But then fast and showy clearly isn't her style I guess!
This is definitely an album that grows on you. If you are an r & b fan who likes brandy, aaliyah or other american female r & b stars, you will definitely like this. There are a couple of dodgy tracks that'll make you cringe but the majority of tracks are fairly superior r & b.
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Sep 21st, 2004
(Feb 9th, 2005)
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