Ashanti– Concrete Rose

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If there was ever an award for least threatening R&B singer, Ashanti would win hands down! In the past she has been the poster girl for teens all over the world. Her third album’s title, however, shows that the Muder Inc diva has adopted a grittier side; with ‘concrete’ representing her Hip Hop side, and ‘rose’ showing her R&B affiliations. She has also added a few surprises. 

On the first single, Only U, we hear a very broody sound scape laced with dark keyboards. With content, however, we see nothing really different from her past work. Don’t Let Them has a slow paced hip hop beat over one of many tracks professing love.

One thing that did blow me away was 7 Aurelias’ decision to use one of the lewdest tracks ever as backing for Love Again. The lewd track I’m referring to is F*** Faces by Scarface, and I giggled when I heard the line “Boy when you put your hands in certain places / Boy I can’t help but make them silly faces.” 7 Aurelias also features on the track Don’t Leave Me Alone. 7 produced most of the tracks on Concrete Rose, with other big contributions coming from Irv Gotti and Jimi Kendrix. 

Guest artists are used sparingly, with the only other appearances being made by dirty south rapper, T.I. on Still Down and Murda Inc’s new male vocalist, Lloyd converses on Take Me Tonight. Turn It Up is a more upbeat track that features Ashanti’s long time partner in crime, Ja Rule.

Die hard Murda Inc fans will love Every Lil’ Thing, a track with soft percussion and soothing strings that is reminiscent of Always On Time and Mesmerize. My favourite here is Focus, a funky mix of bass guitar and percussion that speaks of moving on, “Now I got my head down time to finally say goodbye / To all the times and the lonely nights, so focus.” A younger audience and loyal Ashanti fans will love this slice of contemporary pop R&B. I’d like to see more of the Hip Hop side Ashanti promises to show off so, maybe she should bust a rap and put her money where her mouth is.

Available through The Inc Records