Ashanti

On her fourth studio album, Ashanti's attempt at asserting her independence from the producers that have controlled her career yields lackluster results. For a lead single, "The Way That I Love You," which is also the record's first real song, is dullsville. Sure, it has a nice, real tone on the piano. However, there's no real hook to the melody, and most of L.T. Hutton's production, while serviceable, refuses to call attention to itself, leaving it feeling more wallflower than cool and laidback.

The numbers on which Ashanti should shine in exactly this context, establishing herself as more than a pretty but flavorless voice, are, sadly, the ones that fail to impress most, while the songs on which she has help from guest stars (Akon, Nelly, Robin Thicke) or more notable producers (Jermaine Dupri, Babyface) are more memorable, if not always better. "Good Good," which Dupri shapes around the star's image—still more invested in innocent come-ons than in full-on sexpot antics—with a little shimmy that allows her to keep things light and casual, is a pleasant little song, but much of the record is a blurry bore at worst and merely forgettable at best.

—Hillary Brown
07.01.08