The Declaration - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Album Description
The incomparable Ashanti is back with "The Declaration"!!This multiple Grammy winner and R&B superstar has delivered some of her most powerful and passionate songs yet. "The Declaration" features the smash hit "The Way That I Love", which showcases the power of Ashanti's soulful voice as she tells the heart wrenching story of a scorned lover. This 13 song set is Ashanti's 4th studio album and first since 2004. Ashanti has been busy developing her acting career with John Tucker Must Die, Coach Carter, and Resident Evil, and now she returns to deliver a career defining album!

Album Description
Ashanti is a woman on a mission with the 'I Declare Me' campaign focusing on the empowerment of women's issues kicking off in spring 2008. 'I Declare Me' is a take on her LP title The Declaration, which was an accomplishment of personal empowerment for Ashanti having written and co-produced many songs on this her 2008 album. Ashanti felt that it was important to tell her story to other women to encourage them to dream big and focus on their own personal sense of empowerment from their career, to relationships, etc. Ashanti will be the spokesperson for the 'Hip To Be Fit' organization focusing on Teen Obesity and she will also be doing PSAs for Lifetime TV for their 'Every Woman Counts' campaign which focuses on women voter registration.

Customer Reviews: Read 55 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

"The Declaration" June 3, 2008
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

I really fell in love with "The Way That I Love You" when I saw its graphic video. The haunting piano rift, strong drumming arrangement and great vocal delivery all stuck with me after just one view of the video. From there, I knew I had her hear the album it was featured on. In short, Ashanti is the same old Ashanti. She's the same little lady from "Foolish", "Baby" and "Happy" from her self-titled debut. She still has that bubbly side which separates her from her contemporaries. But Ashanti has always had a dark side which is brought to life in her music. Songs such as "Rain on Me", "Rescue", "Scared" and "The Way That I Love You" are just a few of those songs. All of her albums are decent or better; "The Declaration" is easily one of her finest works to date; it's just as good as her impressive debut. This album contains mostly up-tempo, light-hearted numbers, but, like with every Ashanti album, there are darker, more serious moments here, also.

Tina Douglas has a heartfelt tribute on this album called "Mother." Ashanti gets very emotional on this song; her emotions are felt all throughout her delivery. She gives one of her best vocal performances ever on this song and there is no wonder why, Tina Douglas raised a sweet, mature and talented woman. I appreciate the fact that guest appearances were few on this album. After all, this is the "declaration." However, Nelly and Akon are featured on one of the album's finest moments entitled "Body On." This piano-heavy up-tempo track is pretty explicit in lyrical content, but it's very enjoyable nonetheless. I'm not a fan of Akon, but he does very well on this track, even better than Nelly, who does just alright. Of course, neither outshine the star of the show, Ashanti. Robin Thicke is featured on the sexy "Things You Make Me Do." Both artists gave a very smooth and sensual delivery on this slower track. Jermaine Dupri produced a wonderful track, "Good Good." There is no doubt that those who own this album will be playing this song along with "The Way That I Love You" over and over. Ashanti is bragging on how great her stuff is on this song. Also, this song features a great sample of Michael Jackson's song, "The Girl is Mine."

You have probably figured this out by now, but I really had a good time listening to this album. There is nothing groundbreaking or innovative on this disc, but it is still entertaining. I recommend this album to R&B lovers because it is just easy to enjoy.

Mikeisha's Top 5
1."The Way That I Love You"
2."Good Good"
3."Body On"
4."Girlfriend"
5."Mother"

5 out of 5 stars

SIMPLY OUSTANDING!!!! BEST ALBUM SO FAR THIS YEAR.. June 3, 2008
9 out of 12 found this review helpful

Ashanti really delivered with this album. You can hear the growth in lyrically and vocally. Ashanti has always been one to make hit records, but in my opinion, this project surpasses all over her past albums. This happens to be the most versatile albums of the year. It displays so many genre's of music from pop to R&B, and just as the title implies, it is THE DECLARATION. I can listen to this entire album from the begninning to the end. The Way that I love You was just amazing, and is still topping the urban charts. You're gonna miss, a pop inspired is also incredible, I love the beat changes in this song. Things you make me do with Robing Thicke just puts you in the mood, their voices are so great together. Struggle has great vocals and it takes you to a place that everyone can relate to. Girlfriend -HOT!!! just gets you back in the mood. So over YOU - MY FAVORITE -club banger, the beat is just crazy. MOTHER and SHINE are two amazing tracks that display some of Ashanti's best vocals to date. Ashanti always create songs with meaning, and they are two beautiful songs. Body on ME is surely a summer hit with Nelly and Akon. The Declaration climaxes the album where she releases all her inner-thoughts and lets loose. It's amazing with great vocals as well. EVERY SONG is a winner for me. You should definetly BUY this album.

2 out of 5 stars

The Final Chapter June 3, 2008
9 out of 19 found this review helpful

Ashanti came to promise in 2001 when she appeared on Ja Rule's "Always On Time", the song became a smash hit reaching #1 and when Ashanti's self titled debut album was released one year later she was already a well known star. Big hits like "Foolish" #1 and "Happy" #8 followed and one year later further successful rap duets continued with the #2 single "What's Luv" with Fat Joe, and "Down 4 U" #6 and "Mesmerize" #2 with partner in crime Ja Rule. The HipHop/R&B duets between a R&B singer and a Rapper became a standard and still is to a certain degree. On Ashanti's sophmore album "Chapter II" big hits like "Rock Wit U" #2 and "Rain On Me" #7 followed and Ashanti was without a doubt one of the best selling female R&B singers in America. Under the surface it's quite strange actually, despite being beautiful Ashanti's not a great singer, she's competent in modern R&B tracks but she lacks personality and mostly deliver the song the way she's suppost to without much charisma or elegance, she's rather following the fabricated production style in 2000's R&B and is dependent on the quality of the music. Her record label The Inc (Formely known as Murder Inc) was one of the most successful R&B/Hip Hop labels of the early 00's and can be seen as simular to how No Limit Records was for Hip Hop in the 90's with fabricated singles over albums that mostly was about selling copies rather then artistic integrity. Ashanti's singles were mostly lightweight radio friendy ballads/midtempos about hearbreak and relationships and quite often they used samples from oldies, while the rap duets were simular midtempo's with Ashanti singing seductive easygoing hooks without taking too much space the rapper able to shine and also having a beautiful woman singing a hook for a potential big radio hit. This formula worked fine and made both of Ashanti and J Rule big time stars and also founding the popular trend of Hip Hop/R&B duets that came to dominate the early 00's with Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and plenty of others doing the same. But it's funny how fast trends come and go in the world of music, cause only a few years later when her third album "Concrete Rose" was released both she and Ja Rule were going downhill aswell as Murder Inc that eventually split and to be reformed as simply The Inc. The song "Only U" which was a mixture between a ballad and retro electro only reached #13 and became the only charting single from that album. Ja Rule also started losing his popularity around 2004 after beefing with the much tougher 50 Cent that came to take over his role as the materalistic Hip Hop thug. His last hit "Wonderful" with R. Kelly and you guessed right Ashanti! reached a #5 position before dissapearing from the charts aswell.

4 years later she's back with her 4th album "The Declaration" and my initial wish would be that she finally tries to emancipate herself from the grip of Irv Gotti and his handymen with some fresh producers that can change her sound to something more trendy and also give her more artistitic freeedom to shine on her own. Rumours circulated that both Timbaland and Neptunes would help her out but when her allbum is finally released there are mostly fammiliar faces on the production like 7 Aurelius (now called Channel 7) and then plenty of work from the quite unknown produder LT Hutton and other veterans like Jermaine Dupri and Darkchild show up while Akon makes his almost obligatory appearence on a R&b/Hip Hop song. The first single, the heartbreaking relationship ballad "The Way That I Love You" failed to become a big hit and despite sounding fascinating on the paper Ashanti tries to hard to sound like Alicia Keys but unfortunately the song ain't too memorable either. The retro electro/pop song "You're Gonna Miss" simular to "Only U" got some decent beats but almost feels like nostalgia minus the beats. One of the finest R&B producers of the 90's Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins appears on "So Over You" which is a decent addition reminiscent of Kelly Rowlands recent material, a tough attitude swagger in uptempo made for the clubs. More relationships on "Struggle" a midtempo/ballad which could have been better if someone like Mariah Carey performed it. The seductive "Girlfriend" never leads anywhere and the lyrics sound quite desperate too me. Robin Thickle joins her on "Things You Make Me Do" which is another seductive slow pace but while it got nice produuction it lacks a killer hook for a TKO. "In This Streets" from Neff-U is another sleeping pill of a ballad while Dupri's "Good Good" is bad bad with him constantly using his hype man image and successfully killing another song with constant mumbling. Akon produced "Body On Me" with Nelly reminds me of "Hypnotized" he did with Plies and is a typical Akon song with catchy but fammiliar sing-a-long hook. The lyrics give the impression of Ashanti as a stripper that Akon/Nelly got the hots on here, which is rather deluding on her comeback album and all. The next song is a Babyface penned song called "Mother" and is followed by a Diane Warren penned "Beautiful" ripp off called "Shine". The title track which is an uptempo closes the album. Mario Winans 80's sounding "Hey Baby (After The Club)" which could have been one of the best song here is only included as a bonus track, why?.

Overall, I was hoping for a change but instead we got a more of the same. After 4 years away Ashanti is still doing the same music that she did in the early decade and considering that none of her albums was that stellar it is a dissapointment that they haven't changed much from it's formula. There aren't many highlights either, most songs go into one ear and out of the others while some are just too fammiliar with older material. The Declarion is a dissapointment and it is further proof that Ashanti couldn't fulfill her early promise. Unless you're a big Ashanti fan, you shouldn't bother.

3 out of 5 stars

2.75 Stars Ashanti's worst album June 22, 2008
6 out of 8 found this review helpful

In The Vocal department, Ashanti has improved greatly. Since this album has no samples, as difficult as that is to believe, Ashanti has improved in the instrument department. But here's where she got worse : the lyric department. This album is not as hip-hop as the last 3 (Not counting Collectables By Ashanti) but it's also not as good. "Body On Me", which features Akon and Nelly is one of the worst songs on the album and it's mainly because of Akon's over-sexualized chorus. The Way That I Love You, one of the better songs on the album was an excellent first single choice. "You're Gonna Miss" sounds like a part 2 to Mariah Carey's "I'm That Chick". "Shine" Has great lyrics but she has a child choir and the children in the choir have no singing abilities so, that ruins that song. "Mother" Is one of the highlights on the album (It's also a dedication to her mother/Momager). Honestly, This album could have been a lot better. Plus, In My opinon, the best track is an iTunes only track (In the US) : "Why". That is the best album track and should have been on the CD.

It's great that she dropped the excessive guest rappers, the sampling, and has improved her vocals but this album just doesn't add up. If her 5th album is like this, I think she'll be doing as well as Toni Braxton is right now (And I am still waiting on a comeback from Braxton). This album is not that great.

Standout Tracks
Mother
The Way That I Love You
The Things You Make Me Do (With Robin Thicke)
Struggle

5 out of 5 stars

Declared Quality, Originality & Substance!!! June 3, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

Although the Princess of Hip Hop often gets lost in the shuffle of pop-tart mania, Ashanti has truly set the pace and opened the door for EVERY SINGLE FEMALE that came on her heels! From Foolish, to Baby, Rain On Me, Only U, The Way That I Love You, Girlfriend, Mother, and so on...Ashanti is a certified lyricist and no amount of booty shaking can take that credit from Ashanti. People see pass the vanity, sex appeal and embrace good meaningful writing! Keep your head up Ashanti and just smile at the doubters because your supporters know where you stand in the fray!

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