| Product Summary | | Label: Polygram Label Group | | UPC: 00731458683025 | | Release Date: 4/2/2002 | | Buy.com Sku: 60549392 | | Item#: MC9GQJ | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 25530 | Format:  CD |
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(P) 2002 Murder Inc. Records L.L.C.
(C) 2002 Murder Inc. Records L.L.C.
| Ja Rule, J. Lo, Big Pun, Fat Joe. She's worked with some of the industry's best--writing lyrics and singing hooks that help their records reach the top of the music charts. Now it's time for 21-year-old Ashanti Douglas to take center stage and shine on her very own self-titled debut, the much-anticipated Ashanti. In April Ashanti hit the scene as the first R&B vocalist on Murder, Inc. Although this is a departure for the hip hop powerhouse label that has a roster including rappers Ja Rule, Vita and Charli Baltimore, all indications show that the transition has been more than smooth and successful. Ashanti's lead single, "Foolish," has already made waves at radio--getting heavy rotation on urban stations and galvanizing fans to demand an earlier-than-planned release of her album, a tantalizing blend of edgy hip hop grooves and subtle R&B styling. With Ashanti's clever lyrics and slick production by Murder Inc.'s president Irv Gotti, "Foolish" immediately reminds music lovers of the Notorious B.I.G's popular "One More Chance" remix. (True old school heads will remember the familiar melody from De Barge's 1983 hit "Stay With Me"). Either way, you're sure to be hooked.
"Her voice is supple and pretty..." Jon Caramanica, Entertainment Weekly
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: Ashanti (vocals); Ja Rule, Irv Gotti (rap vocals); 7, Chink Santana (various instruments); Rob Bacon (guitar); Butch Smalls (percussion). | | Producers: 7, Chink Santana, Irv Gotti. | | ASHANTI won the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album. | | Ashanti was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. "Foolish" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. | | Personnel: Robert Bacon (guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar); Kenneth Crouch (piano); Chink Santana, Trevor Lawrence (drums). | | Audio Mixers: Irv Gotti; Brian Springer. | | Recording information: Crackhouse Studios, New York, NY; Soundcastle Studios, LA. | | Photographer: Tony Duran. | | The young R&B thrush Ashanti makes an impressive showing on her self-titled debut album. Unlike many of her peers, Ashanti doesn't resort to vocal histrionics; this siren is more concerned with communicating the emotion of a song than showing off her chops. In fact, the reigning mood on this disc is a gauzy, slow-burn feel that makes the most of Ashanti's sensual, low-key style. Often she seems to be whispering right into your ear. Though there's an undercurrent of hip-hop-influenced production, that simmering, late-night feel remains consistent through the torch ballad "Foolish" (when will these spurned lovers learn?), the considerably less tortured "Happy," and the irresistible come-on of "Movies." Perhaps most telling of all, however, is the closing track "Thank You," which affords us the opportunity to hear Ashanti sing unaccompanied, revealing in plain sight the considerable pipes whose strength she tastefully downplays to fine effect throughout ASHANTI. |
Engineer: Milwaukee Buck; Asif Ali; 7 Aurelius; Brian Springer |
Musical Guests | | Ja Rule | | Irv Gotti |
| | Artist Overview | | Beginning her career as a featured back-up singer on tracks by Jah Rule, Jennifer Lopez, Big Pun, and a host of other Irv Gotti/Murder Inc. projects, Ashanti's solo career exploded upon the release of her self-titled Murder Inc. debut, which topped the Billboard charts the week of its release. Various award nominations and wins later, the singer released CHAPTER II, which also debuted at number one. The juggernaut that was her career slowed just a bit for the release of 2004's CONCRETE ROSE, but film and television work, as well as song writing and producing credits kept her firmly fixed in the spotlight, and solidified her position as one of the most powerful women in hip-hop and R&B. |
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| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 04/02/2002 | | Original Release Date : 2002 | | Catalog ID : 586830 | | Label : Murder Records | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00731458683025 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (12/26/02, p.102)
- Included in Rolling Stone's "The 50 Best Albums of 2002" - "...Overflows with dimmed-lighting delights..."Rolling Stone (12/26/02, p.102)
- Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Best Albums of 2002" - "...Overflows with dimmed-lighting delights..." Q (p.132)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "[H]er midtempo love, with its satin-y mid-'80s sheen, is phenomenally slick and intelligent." |
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