Ashanti - Chapter 2
 (Murder INC/Def Jam Records)

- reviewed by Robin

Before I begin, I just want to say that I'm not an Ashanti hater. I actually bought her first CD and no, it wasn't a masterpiece, but the beats were hot and the lyrics were catchy enough. Basically, it was worth the nine bucks I spent on it. She's not Whitney by any stretch of the imagination but her live performances have improved somewhat and her latest song was nice; had a hot summer flow to it. So I decided to cop her new joint while it was still on sale, figuring it would be something I could blast in my ride.

This brings me to why I wrote this. Chapter II is not to be blasted in the ride, the home, the club, or anywhere else where people may have to listen to it. It's a sad disappointment to say the least. Which is saying a lot because who listens to Ashanti with high expectations? Anyway, after the first listen I was hoping that it would grow on me, but as I sit here writing this I'm listening for the fifth time, and I'm just finding more things that irk me about this record.

1. There are about seven unnecessary skits that have nothing to do with the music; instead they just mess up the flow. Most of them involve either Chink Santana or Irv Gotti running off at the mouth talking about how great and beautiful Ashanti is or how hot this album is, leaving the listener wondering, 'Why are they trying to convince me? Is it that unbelievable? Maybe they're trying to convince themselves.' more..

- reviewed by Robin

Before I begin, I just want to say that I'm not an Ashanti hater. I actually bought her first CD and no, it wasn't a masterpiece, but the beats were hot and the lyrics were catchy enough. Basically, it was worth the nine bucks I spent on it. She's not Whitney by any stretch of the imagination but her live performances have improved somewhat and her latest song was nice; had a hot summer flow to it. So I decided to cop her new joint while it was still on sale, figuring it would be something I could blast in my ride.

This brings me to why I wrote this. Chapter II is not to be blasted in the ride, the home, the club, or anywhere else where people may have to listen to it. It's a sad disappointment to say the least. Which is saying a lot because who listens to Ashanti with high expectations? Anyway, after the first listen I was hoping that it would grow on me, but as I sit here writing this I'm listening for the fifth time, and I'm just finding more things that irk me about this record.

1. There are about seven unnecessary skits that have nothing to do with the music; instead they just mess up the flow. Most of them involve either Chink Santana or Irv Gotti running off at the mouth talking about how great and beautiful Ashanti is or how hot this album is, leaving the listener wondering, 'Why are they trying to convince me? Is it that unbelievable? Maybe they're trying to convince themselves.' To add insult to injury there is even an advertisement for a new artist, Black Child, who makes Ja Rule sound like B.I.G. Yeah he's that bad.. Anyway, it just ticked me off because I'm just like, you couldn't drop a shameless plug at the BET awards like everybody else? Why you gotta force feed me this mess on an album that doesn't even have a hip-hop feel to it?

2. As far as the lyrics, every song sounds just like the old album. It feels like she took all her old songs, erased some words, added some new hooks and called it a day. Every song feels like deja vu. My suggestion is to stop letting her write and hire an expert cause her well is dry; it feels like she wrote this album in a hurry.

3. The production is pretty shoddy. Every song feels sampled and like it needs a hot remix. Somebody call the Neptunes because Irv Gotti is done as a producer. In addition, they tried to let Ashanti stretch as an artist on this album, letting her write, produce, and even ad lib on a lot of the songs. Big mistake. For a better part of the album she sounds strained, like she's doing a live performance. I thought they could fix that in the studio, but whatever.

4. The worst part about this album is Irv Gotti. For a minute I thought it was his album. He screams over almost every track, trying to force-feed the listener his gangsta. It didn't work; it just irritated me. Murder INC is dead in my eyes, and trying to rep it like it's number one is about as funny as trying to rock a Members Only jacket like it's a throwback. Ashanti needs to get out of that contract quick because Irv seems intent on bringing her down right with him.

Sorry about the tangent but this album is really bad. If you want something to bob your head to, buy the new Beyonce or Joe Budden CD. But if you decide to go ahead and get Ashanti's Chapter II, do so at your own risk.

back to the ratings..

Track By Track

-- Degrees --	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100
1.  Intro (medley)
2.  Shany's World      feat. Chink Santana
3.  Rock Wit U
4.  What Are They Gonna      Say Now (skit)
5.  Breakup 2 Makeup
6.  I Found Lovin
7.  Rain On Me
8.  Then Ya Gone
9.  Living My Life
10. Black Child (skit)
11. Feel So Good
12. Carry On
13. Sugar Shack (skit)
14. Story of 2
15. Ohhh Ahhh
16. Shany Shia (skit)
17. Sweet Baby
18. U Say, I Say
19. I Don't Mind
20. Outro feat Chink

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