Young, pretty, sexy, stylish, and hip, Ashanti is everything a modern, post-hip-hop soul crooner should be.
She looks the part, trucks with hitmakers -- at the time her eponymous debut was released, she was featured on a hit single by Fat Joe -- and even approximates Alicia Keys' visuals on the back cover.
She can sing, but she's not showy; she never hyperventilates, she croons.
Her first album sounds modern, with fairly fresh beats and lightly insistent hooks, and is just naughty enough to warrant a parental advisory sticker (though if you're just listening to this record, it's nigh on impossible to figure out where the objectionable lines are).
So why doesn't Ashanti play as greater than the sum of its parts? Largely because it lacks distinctive material, in either terms of the actual songs or the production -- and when that's combined with a singer who is good, yet not distinctive herself, the entire production sounds as if its treading water or providing nifty aural wallpaper.
It's not bad by any means, and it has its moments, but at 17 tracks, including skits, it all becomes a blur.
A pleasing blur, one that shows promise, but a blur all the same.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IntroAshanti Douglas, Irv Gotti, T.J. Green, A. Parker | Ashanti | Play | 01:25 | 3 MB | 8 MB |
| 2 | FoolishMark DeBarge, Ashanti Douglas, Irv Gotti, E. Jordan | Ashanti | Play | 03:47 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 3 | HappyRaymond Calhoun, Ashanti Douglas, Irv Gotti, A. Parker | Ashanti | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 4 | Narrative Call (Skit) | Ashanti | Play | 00:36 | 1 MB | 2 MB |
| 5 | CallAshanti Douglas, Irv Gotti | Ashanti | Play | 05:05 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 6 | ScaredAshanti Douglas, Irv Gotti, A. Parker | Ashanti | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 7 | BabyAnselm Douglas, Irv Gotti, Brad Jordan, A. Parker | Ashanti | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | VoodooAshanti Douglas, Irv Gotti | Ashanti | Play | 04:42 | 10 MB | 34 MB |
| 9 | MoviesAshanti Douglas, Irv Gotti, J. Karen Thomas, R. Douglas Wright | Ashanti | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 10 | Fight (Over Skit) | Ashanti | Play | 01:18 | 3 MB | 7 MB |
| 11 | OverAshanti Douglas, Irv Gotti, A. Parker | Ashanti | Play | 05:34 | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| 12 | UnfoolishMark DeBarge, Ashanti Douglas, Irv Gotti, D. Jones, E. Jordan, R. Kelly, Christopher Wallace | Ashanti | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 13 | Shi Shi (Skit) | Ashanti | Play | 00:14 | 0 MB | 0 MB |
| 14 | DreamsAshanti Douglas, Irv Gotti | Ashanti | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 15 | Thank YouAshanti Douglas | Ashanti | Play | 01:47 | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| 16 | Leaving (Always On Time Part II) | Ashanti, Ja Rule | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 28 MB |
| 53 mins | 122 MB | |||||
| 53 mins | 368 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asif Ali | Engineer |
| 2 | Ashanti | Primary Artist |
| 3 | Robert Bacon | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Bass) |
| 4 | Raymond Calhoun | Composer |
| 5 | Kenneth Crouch | Piano |
| 6 | Mark DeBarge | Composer |
| 7 | Chris DeLaPena | Assistant |
| 8 | Anselm Douglas | Composer |
| 9 | Ashanti Douglas | Composer |
| 10 | Tony Duran | Photography |
| 11 | Chris G.O.T.T.I. | A&R |
| 12 | Brian "Big Bass" Gardner | Mastering |
| 13 | Irv Gotti | Composer, Featured Artist, Mixing, Producer |
| 14 | Deidre Graham | Marketing |
| 15 | T.J. Green | Composer |
| 16 | Charles "Chee" Heath | Assistant |
| 17 | Ja Rule | Featured Artist, Performer, Primary Artist |
| 18 | D. Jones | Composer |
| 19 | Brad Jordan | Composer |
| 20 | E. Jordan | Composer |
| 21 | R. Kelly | Composer |
| 22 | Darcell Lawrence | A&R |
| 23 | Trevor Lawrence | Drums |
| 24 | Rosie Michel | Stylist |
| 25 | Milwaukee Buck | Engineer |
| 26 | Erica Novich | A&R |
| 27 | A. Parker | Composer |
| 28 | Chink Santana | Drums, Multi Instruments, Producer |
| 29 | 7 Aurelius | Engineer |
| 30 | Brian Springer | Engineer, Mixing |
| 31 | David Tan | Marketing |
| 32 | J. Karen Thomas | Composer |
| 33 | Jared Thomas | Producer |
| 34 | Tony Vanias | Recording Coordinator |
| 35 | Christopher Wallace | Composer |
| 36 | Glen Williams | A&R |
| 37 | R. Douglas Wright | Composer |
| 38 | Reggie Wright | Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |