The Declaration

Performer: Ashanti
Artist: Robin Thicke; Akon; Nelly
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Maybe it's the minor key piano flourishes, or the emotionally honest narrative, but there's something about "The Way That I Love You," the smash single from Ashanti's THE DECLARATION, that harks back to the vintage 1970s soul of Gloria Gaynor and Roberta Flack. The contemporary R&B singer's fourth studio album is both familiar and compelling. Yet Ashanti's sound is never retro. Steeped in hip-hop beats and state-of-the-art production, THE DECLARATION marries passionate expression to urban contemporary standards in a way that will please fans of Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson, and Faith Evans. This confident, convincing release is one of Ashanti's best. On her fourth proper studio album, Ashanti remains with The Inc., but you would not know it unless you checked for the logo. The closest tie is the occasional presence of ex-Irv Gotti associate and longtime Ashanti collaborator Seven Aurelius (who now calls himself Channel 7), followed by a minor assist from Chink Santana. Gotti himself is nowhere to be found. L.T. Hutton (Snoop Dogg, Bone) is behind most of the production work, with a handful of notables -- Rodney Jerkins, Jermaine Dupri, Ron Feemster, Babyface, Akon, and...Diane Warren -- on separate tracks. Even though this album marks a nearly complete break from The Inc., it's very much in line with what came before it, hardly a major departure. Each Ashanti release has had at least one major single, and in this case it's "The Way That I Love You," more in the mold and spirit of "Rain on Me" -- full of similarly effective melodramatic flourishes -- if much more vengeful in nature than depressive. Nothing is quite as irresistibly fun as "Baby" or "Rock wit U," or as sexy as "Only U," but "You're Gonna Miss" comes close in the case of the former, while the lifeless Akon/Nelly feature "Body on Me" is no good at all, containing no distinguishing qualities. Bottom line, this is neither a great nor a poor Ashanti album. It's decent, just like the rest of them. ~ Andy Kellman

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