Ashanti debuted in 2002 with an untitled album. Rapper Ja Rule took the r & b singer in tow and with him she became a big star. Her hits Foolish, Rock With U and her duet with Ja Rule Always On Time did well with the 'urban' audience. The big man behind the scenes is producer Irv Gotti, also hit baker of Ja Rule. And also on the third album Concrete Rose he is responsible for most of the songs
… together with Seven Aurelius. The R&B we also know from the well-known list of Mary J Blige, Destiny's Child, Lauryn Hill and so on is being elaborated on. Nice to handle, but not shocking to the stomach, shall we say. Concrete Rose starts with a spoken intro in which Ashanti tells the listener that this album is her best and that the lyrics go a little deeper than the predecessors. Then she opens with a song that swings but is again about the usual themes. The hit singles Only U and Focus are bombastic R&B songs that have an original slant in terms of production, but are lyrically cliched together. (JdD)more
