Ashanti Chapter II CD

Personnel includes: Ashanti (vocals); Chink Santana, Gunnz (rap vocals); Demetrius (keyboards); Rob Bacon (bass).
CHAPTER II was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album. "Rain On Me" was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. "Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)" was nominated for Best R&B Song.
Personnel: Robert Bacon (guitar); Demetrius McGhee (piano).
Audio Mixer: Duro.
Recording information: Crackhouse Studios, New York, NY; The Hit Factory Critera, Miami, FL.
Photographer: Daniela Federici.
The pictures on Ashanti's album covers mean something -- not just because she's gorgeous, but because they signal in which musical direction she's heading. On her first album, she was a streamlined, diva-esque spin on Alicia Keys; on her second, she was styled like Beyoncé Knowles, the Destiny's Child leader who had released her solo debut a week before Chapter II. Ashanti is malleable like that. She has a sweet, appealing voice that has no defining characteristics -- she doesn't have the dizzying range of Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston, the sexiness of Janet Jackson, the riskiness of Aaliyah, the elegant smarts of Alicia Keys, the sheer ambition of Knowles, or, needless to say, the hell-bent skankiness of Christina Aguilera. She sings well and sounds good on modern R&B tracks, fitting into the fabric of the production more than delivering the song. That lack of personality, incidentally, makes her a good vocal foil for rappers, since she never overshadows them. This explains why Irv Gotti used her as the diva for his Murder Inc empire; he's also savvy enough of a producer (along with his colleague Chink Santana) to keep Chapter II entertaining -- more entertaining than her debut, actually -- all the way through. The key is that the production is seductive, whether it's on the actual ballads or the bright, sunny dance numbers, and that Ashanti's crooning fits right in without ever drawing attention to herself. She's not enough of a singer to really belt out the tunes and depart from the melodies with showy runs that are all about her, so she just sings the material straight, which is quite refreshing. The songs have about as much personality as Ashanti's voice, but that actually is a point in its favor, since it keeps everything on an even keel and makes Gotti and Santana's stylish production the star. They are the secret ingredients that make Chapter II good romantic mood music for the summer. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Skits notwithstanding, Ashanti's sophomore album is a confident leap away from her self-titled debut. She makes the most of her lightweight, breathy voice, incorporating airy, summery, string-laced arrangements in a variety of settings that go down extremely smoothly even, as in "Living My Life," when they're about that thorniest of topics, the struggle to make it.
Ashanti never hectors or browbeats, instead soaring effortlessly above the Murder Inc. goons who populate the skits between the cuts, sounding persuasive even on an ostensibly downbeat song such as "Carry On." The lyrics may tell us she's had enough, but there's a quiet, constant center to her voice that says otherwise. She's also at home with a sexy lyric such as that of the self-descriptive "Ohhh Ahhh," and her delivery is confident and understated even here. CHAPTER II is an assured, leisurely ride with an artist who's becoming more accomplished with time and experience.Mojo (Publisher) (9/03, p.110) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...She co-writes all the material, which ranges from the effervescent and catchy 'Rock Wit U' to the sensual slow-jam, 'Rain On Me'..."