Ashanti

Despite the mostly pedestrian beats and expected boy-girl motifs, Ashanti seems relatively unscathed from her label scuffle with The Inc. On "The Way That I Love You," she sings like an impassioned/enraged prima donna, while "You're Gonna Miss" works over a playful electro soundscape. "Girlfriend" is a sexy daydreamer in the vein of a much safer version of Janet Jackson's "If." Robin Thicke takes your BPM up a notch on the satiny "Things You Make Me Do," and "Body on Me" is a freaky menage a trois featuring Akon and Nelly.

This season, while R&B fans spin albums by Mariah, Usher and Janet, Ashanti needs more
pizazz to compete. On her fourth album, she's still doing the diva-by-numbers thing,
alternating between angry-at-her-man anthems and lovey pleasantry. The shuffling "Body
on Me," featuring Nelly and Akon, and the shiny electro-pop "So Over You" are a step up
from her Ja Rule duets of old. But even with A-list producers like Babyface, Jer... More >