Ashanti: Ashanti : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Ashanti Douglas' voice is the perfect radio-ready R&B instrument: strong enough to ride over street-savvy beats but unassuming enough to be open to interpretation; better than Britney but less distinctive than Mary J. Blige. Lately, she has gained so much attention for her cameos on records by Ja Rule, Fat Joe and the late Big Pun that her mentor Ja Rule feels justified in labeling her "the princess of hip-hop and R&B." Like any princess, Ashanti is still working at figuring out the other sex. She doesn't know whether she wants her man around or not, and she is fighting a war between her heart, mind and body on tracks such as "Foolish," "Leaving" and "Scared." Ja Rule's producers mine samples from DeBarge (three times) and the Gap Band ("Happy") to create bass-heavy, slow-burning R&B grooves that sound like everything else on R&B radio. Ashanti may be foolish when dealing with men, but she's no idiot when it comes to selling records.

KRIS EX
(RS 895 - May 9, 2002)