Ashanti | "Braveheart" Era - 03/04/14

[think pink.]

I honestly think she's signed to Cash Money so they're just quietly releasing this album and she will re-launch with them next year.

[nardy08]

Feb 26, 2014 10:30:58 GMT -5 no apologist said:

The album is basic as hell. It's no mystery why singers like Ashanti and Ciara flop. They flopping because they keep trying to give people this sound that no one wants to hear. Ciara dropped the smash Body Party (finally got it right), and followed it up with I'm Out, a Gimme Dat knockout, and was wondering why no one was trying to feature that album on their car stereo, home stereo, ipod, ipads and other electronics. I do not like Beyonce's new album, but one thing I admire about her and her material is that she switches it up. Ciara and Ashanti are stuck in this sound and have been for several albums. WIth that said, this album sounds like material from her 3rd album upward.

When she first came out, everybody thought she was a baby Mary. Irv smelt money so he rush released her second album and just put everything and anything on it. Then she dropped her third album and it has been generic R&B ever since. 

Another misinformed "poster"….since that 3rd album, Ashanti has ONLY had one album and it happened to be her most varied album to date( she had never done songs anything like Shine, Declaration, Good Good, You're Gonna Miss,Switch). And with this album, what has Ashanti ever done that has sounded like 'I Got It"? Even without hearing the full album, Ashanti has never done songs like She Can't, Count, First Real Love….her song 'Runaway' sounds like a throwback MARY J jam…she did 'RIP' with live instruments. With that said, i'm confused as to what 'this' sound that Ashanti has been stuck in……because neither album nor the selected singles have sounded alike. Hey Baby-The Way That I Love You- Good Good- The Woman You Love- I Got it-First Real Love/Count……not a damn one sounds the same.

[nardy08]

Feb 27, 2014 9:30:27 GMT -5 think pink. said:

I honestly think she's signed to Cash Money so they're just quietly releasing this album and she will re-launch with them next year.

I know we aren't supposed to do double quotes BUT i really thing the same thing. I think Braveheart was very personal to her and at this point she just wants to put it out and show she has overcome adversity , survived and never given up……and then move onto the real thing and announce signing on with a major! It may not be Cash Money, but i'm pretty sure she already has a deal set up and this era/material was just transitional.

i mean she took over 3 years to record this album, then in early Jan( without a single on radio or video out!!) she announces an arbitrary release date less than 2 months away, March 4. The video for the single is released 3 weeks away from album launch, the song may/may not have even been released to radio, she hasn't had one live performance and other than a venue concert the day prior, she has no promo/ tv showings lined up for launch week!!! To have been so deliberate for 3+ years and then bam a rush release…fishy! And anyone who knows Ashanti, knows that she is a very indecisive, purposeful, planned and calculated person…….this isn't like her at all.

[think pink.]

Feb 27, 2014 10:15:06 GMT -5 nardy08 said:

Feb 27, 2014 9:30:27 GMT -5 think pink. said:

I honestly think she's signed to Cash Money so they're just quietly releasing this album and she will re-launch with them next year.

I know we aren't supposed to do double quotes BUT i really thing the same thing. I think Braveheart was very personal to her and at this point she just wants to put it out and show she has overcome adversity , survived and never given up……and then move onto the real thing and announce signing on with a major! It may not be Cash Money, but i'm pretty sure she already has a deal set up and this era/material was just transitional.

i mean she took over 3 years to record this album, then in early Jan( without a single on radio or video out!!) she announces an arbitrary release date less than 2 months away, March 4. The video for the single is released 3 weeks away from album launch, the song may/may not have even been released to radio, she hasn't had one live performance and other than a venue concert the day prior, she has no promo/ tv showings lined up for launch week!!! To have been so deliberate for 3+ years and then bam a rush release…fishy! And anyone who knows Ashanti, knows that she is a very indecisive, purposeful, planned and calculated person…….this isn't like her at all.

I think she's signed to Cash Money because of all the rumblings we heard about it and then Birdman being at the end of the "I Got It" video.

[no apologist]

Feb 27, 2014 10:02:30 GMT -5 nardy08 said:

Feb 26, 2014 10:30:58 GMT -5 no apologist said:

The album is basic as hell. It's no mystery why singers like Ashanti and Ciara flop. They flopping because they keep trying to give people this sound that no one wants to hear. Ciara dropped the smash Body Party (finally got it right), and followed it up with I'm Out, a Gimme Dat knockout, and was wondering why no one was trying to feature that album on their car stereo, home stereo, ipod, ipads and other electronics. I do not like Beyonce's new album, but one thing I admire about her and her material is that she switches it up. Ciara and Ashanti are stuck in this sound and have been for several albums. WIth that said, this album sounds like material from her 3rd album upward.

When she first came out, everybody thought she was a baby Mary. Irv smelt money so he rush released her second album and just put everything and anything on it. Then she dropped her third album and it has been generic R&B ever since. 

Another misinformed "poster"….since that 3rd album, Ashanti has ONLY had one album and it happened to be her most varied album to date( she had never done songs anything like Shine, Declaration, Good Good, You're Gonna Miss,Switch). And with this album, what has Ashanti ever done that has sounded like 'I Got It"? Even without hearing the full album, Ashanti has never done songs like She Can't, Count, First Real Love….her song 'Runaway' sounds like a throwback MARY J jam…she did 'RIP' with live instruments. With that said, i'm confused as to what 'this' sound that Ashanti has been stuck in……because neither album nor the selected singles have sounded alike. Hey Baby-The Way That I Love You- Good Good- The Woman You Love- I Got it-First Real Love/Count……not a damn one sounds the same.

Clearly you're a big fan stuck on STAN mode. 

She's a flop because of all the things I mentioned. She needs to work with some current producers and songwriters cuz this generic R&B kick she has been on since Don't Let Them is tired. She writes about the same s*** and sings to the same old tired ass melody. There is no growth with Ashanti, none. She's just a basic artist...there is nothing that puts on her on the level of Beyonce or Rihanna, and that's why people are over her. What she does, amateurs do...and that there makes her average.

[nardy08]

Feb 27, 2014 12:33:40 GMT -5 no apologist said:

Feb 27, 2014 10:02:30 GMT -5 nardy08 said:

Another misinformed "poster"….since that 3rd album, Ashanti has ONLY had one album and it happened to be her most varied album to date( she had never done songs anything like Shine, Declaration, Good Good, You're Gonna Miss,Switch). And with this album, what has Ashanti ever done that has sounded like 'I Got It"? Even without hearing the full album, Ashanti has never done songs like She Can't, Count, First Real Love….her song 'Runaway' sounds like a throwback MARY J jam…she did 'RIP' with live instruments. With that said, i'm confused as to what 'this' sound that Ashanti has been stuck in……because neither album nor the selected singles have sounded alike. Hey Baby-The Way That I Love You- Good Good- The Woman You Love- I Got it-First Real Love/Count……not a damn one sounds the same.

Clearly you're a big fan stuck on STAN mode. 

She's a flop because of all the things I mentioned. She needs to work with some current producers and songwriters cuz this generic R&B kick she has been on since Don't Let Them is tired. She writes about the same s*** and sings to the same old tired ass melody. There is no growth with Ashanti, none. She's just a basic artist...there is nothing that puts on her on the level of Beyonce or Rihanna, and that's why people are over her. What she does, amateurs do...and that there makes her average.

So much fail…first off I'm NOT a delusional stan! I was the first 2 admit her first 2 singles off BH FLOPPED!! And both videos were questionable at best. Don't twist it. Secondly, Ashanti writes about REAL s**t, it's rhythm and blues and she talks about real life stuff….so fail logic for expecting her to be writing and talking about stuff that SHE HASN'T GONE THROUGH. If you don't see the growth in Ashanti, then you are blind. Her lyrics are deep and she ventured outside her safe zone. Point blank. Finally, once again, since Don't Let them she hasn't had a single 2 songs out that have sounded the same…..so much for her singing to the same old ass tired melody. Shame you don't even see the irony in your own defense( fyi though, Rihanna and Beyonce are NOT RnB , hell if Rihanna were white then she wouldn't even be mentioned)….so to compare them is just wrong, and totally against your original stance. Pick a point and stick with it.

Beyonce is a cross over R%b pop star and Rihanna is about as "urban" hip hop/pop as they get. Ashanti isn't either.Hell people were already getting on her for "coping" the style of those 2 her 'I Got It' video, so if she actually starting singing like them then its 'sellout' 'copy cat' 'wannabe'….damned if she do, damned if she don't.

And let's not pretend just a few years ago Beyonce tried a 'true' RnB album , with "4"……and we all know how that turned out. IJS

[Deleted]

Feb 27, 2014 14:17:04 GMT -5 nardy08 said:

Feb 27, 2014 12:33:40 GMT -5 no apologist said:

Clearly you're a big fan stuck on STAN mode. 

She's a flop because of all the things I mentioned. She needs to work with some current producers and songwriters cuz this generic R&B kick she has been on since Don't Let Them is tired. She writes about the same s*** and sings to the same old tired ass melody. There is no growth with Ashanti, none. She's just a basic artist...there is nothing that puts on her on the level of Beyonce or Rihanna, and that's why people are over her. What she does, amateurs do...and that there makes her average.

So much fail…first off I'm NOT a delusional stan! I was the first 2 admit her first 2 singles off BH FLOPPED!! And both videos were questionable at best. Don't twist it. Secondly, Ashanti writes about REAL s**t, it's rhythm and blues and she talks about real life stuff….so fail logic for expecting her to be writing and talking about stuff that SHE HASN'T GONE THROUGH. If you don't see the growth in Ashanti, then you are blind. Her lyrics are deep and she ventured outside her safe zone. Point blank. Finally, once again, since Don't Let them she hasn't had a single 2 songs out that have sounded the same…..so much for her singing to the same old ass tired melody. Shame you don't even see the irony in your own defense( fyi though, Rihanna and Beyonce are NOT RnB , hell if Rihanna were white then she wouldn't even be mentioned)….so to compare them is just wrong, and totally against your original stance. Pick a point and stick with it.

Beyonce is a cross over R%b pop star and Rihanna is about as "urban" hip hop/pop as they get. Ashanti isn't either.Hell people were already getting on her for "coping" the style of those 2 her 'I Got It' video, so if she actually starting singing like them then its 'sellout' 'copy cat' 'wannabe'….damned if she do, damned if she don't.

And let's not pretend just a few years ago Beyonce tried a 'true' RnB album , with "4"……and we all know how that turned out. IJS

You mean outselling Ashanti's last two albums combined x2....Having the #1 R&B Song of the YEAR...
When's the last time a "true" RnB album sold 1.4 Million copies???

Ashanti seems like a nice girl, but between her sub par music, no label, and the fact she isn't anything special, it's no surprise her career has taken the path is has.

She still has 2002 to hold onto though :)

[Deleted]

So much unnecessary shade.

First of all, I am so sick of reading that Beyonce is not an R&B artist. Do y'all really wanna hold on to Irreplaceable and Halo that hard and claim that that disregards all the undeniably R&B music she has made her entire career starting from a freaking Isley Brothers cover on DC's first album? Oh alright.

Secondly, regardless of what you think of her music, it's pretty obvious that Ashanti's biggest issue has been management and promotion. She's like a less extreme version of Cassie in that she seems to be perfectly content counting the millions she made in her glory days than to get back out there and compete for a top spot. All of her albums have had songs that were tailor-made for radio and she's never released an album that didn't get a top 10 R&B hit before this one. Let's not act like she was some one album wonder who flopped and flopped for decades after that. She was lowkey but she was still a force back in the day and her first 4 projects all had radio hits. The problem has always been the follow-up and her complacency. If she had Rihanna's backing, there's no doubt in my mind that she'd be able to rack up at least 2-3 urban hits with the material off Braveheart. But she doesn't. People like to act like she's Keri Hilson or Blu Cantrell, who had one moment in the sun and then fell off because they couldn't sustain interest. She sustained interest in her music for half a decade, and after the first album campaign it's not like she was really everywhere. So you may not like her music but I would say that is probably the last of her issues regarding her fall from relevance.

[/lowkey Ashanti stan rant over]

[nardy08]

Feb 27, 2014 19:39:02 GMT -5 @yonkab said:

Feb 27, 2014 14:17:04 GMT -5 nardy08 said:

So much fail…first off I'm NOT a delusional stan! I was the first 2 admit her first 2 singles off BH FLOPPED!! And both videos were questionable at best. Don't twist it. Secondly, Ashanti writes about REAL s**t, it's rhythm and blues and she talks about real life stuff….so fail logic for expecting her to be writing and talking about stuff that SHE HASN'T GONE THROUGH. If you don't see the growth in Ashanti, then you are blind. Her lyrics are deep and she ventured outside her safe zone. Point blank. Finally, once again, since Don't Let them she hasn't had a single 2 songs out that have sounded the same…..so much for her singing to the same old ass tired melody. Shame you don't even see the irony in your own defense( fyi though, Rihanna and Beyonce are NOT RnB , hell if Rihanna were white then she wouldn't even be mentioned)….so to compare them is just wrong, and totally against your original stance. Pick a point and stick with it.

Beyonce is a cross over R%b pop star and Rihanna is about as "urban" hip hop/pop as they get. Ashanti isn't either.Hell people were already getting on her for "coping" the style of those 2 her 'I Got It' video, so if she actually starting singing like them then its 'sellout' 'copy cat' 'wannabe'….damned if she do, damned if she don't.

And let's not pretend just a few years ago Beyonce tried a 'true' RnB album , with "4"……and we all know how that turned out. IJS

You mean outselling Ashanti's last two albums combined x2....Having the #1 R&B Song of the YEAR...
When's the last time a "true" RnB album sold 1.4 Million copies???

Ashanti seems like a nice girl, but between her sub par music, no label, and the fact she isn't anything special, it's no surprise her career has taken the path is has.

She still has 2002 to hold onto though :)

Wrong . 4 sold 1.4 million, Ashanti's Concrete Rose alone sold 1.1 million and 1.4 mill/2 is 700,000 and 1.1 mill is greater than 700k. If you are gonna try and be cute, you better damned sure be right.

My point was we know what happened by having no hit singles, no top 10's, her lowest opening week sales, her lowest album sales……For someone at Beyonce's level, 4 was a flop. And the 2002 Ashanti shade is pretty dumb, homegirl was still having hits and platinum albums into 2005…..

[chalvvvvvvic]

In regards to the Cash Money signing rumors, I remember an interview Ashanti did and they asked her about the Cash Money rumors and she said slyly "maybe". So we'll see. For some reason though I would like to see Diddy EP a future Ashanti project just because.

[Deleted]

I remember that interview too. That was like a year ago though and nothing's happened. Maybe she's waiting for them to drop Christina...

[think pink.]

New "Braveheart" promo shot.



The jokes write themselves

[no apologist]

Feb 27, 2014 22:49:41 GMT -5 nardy08 said:

Feb 27, 2014 19:39:02 GMT -5 @yonkab said:

You mean outselling Ashanti's last two albums combined x2....Having the #1 R&B Song of the YEAR...
When's the last time a "true" RnB album sold 1.4 Million copies???

Ashanti seems like a nice girl, but between her sub par music, no label, and the fact she isn't anything special, it's no surprise her career has taken the path is has.

She still has 2002 to hold onto though :)

Wrong . 4 sold 1.4 million, Ashanti's Concrete Rose alone sold 1.1 million and 1.4 mill/2 is 700,000 and 1.1 mill is greater than 700k. If you are gonna try and be cute, you better damned sure be right.

My point was we know what happened by having no hit singles, no top 10's, her lowest opening week sales, her lowest album sales……For someone at Beyonce's level, 4 was a flop. And the 2002 Ashanti shade is pretty dumb, homegirl was still having hits and platinum albums into 2005…..

LOL at this stan going hard for Ashanti. We'll just wait until the album sales come in boo. Ashanti peaked with Chapter 2. After that, her mainstream success was never the same. It has been null and void for years now. LOL at you bringing up Beyonce when she is still killing the game. One flop album and she recovered majorly meanwhile Ashanti is on her 4th flop album with no return insight ? But who's counting, right? I personally think that Ashanti is done, much like Ciara. They could get a new label, find new management and get the same results just like Brandy. It's sad because Brandy is actually talented.



All that aside, Ashanti is a sweet girl and I do wish her well after this reading, but she needs to take heed and work with some new people because why she is flopping and has been is no mystery to me.

[nardy08]

Mar 1, 2014 12:01:40 GMT -5 no apologist said:

Feb 27, 2014 22:49:41 GMT -5 nardy08 said:

Wrong . 4 sold 1.4 million, Ashanti's Concrete Rose alone sold 1.1 million and 1.4 mill/2 is 700,000 and 1.1 mill is greater than 700k. If you are gonna try and be cute, you better damned sure be right.

My point was we know what happened by having no hit singles, no top 10's, her lowest opening week sales, her lowest album sales……For someone at Beyonce's level, 4 was a flop. And the 2002 Ashanti shade is pretty dumb, homegirl was still having hits and platinum albums into 2005…..

LOL at this stan going hard for Ashanti. We'll just wait until the album sales come in boo. Ashanti peaked with Chapter 2. After that, her mainstream success was never the same. It has been null and void for years now. LOL at you bringing up Beyonce when she is still killing the game. One flop album and she recovered majorly meanwhile Ashanti is on her 4th flop album with no return insight ? But who's counting, right? I personally think that Ashanti is done, much like Ciara. They could get a new label, find new management and get the same results just like Brandy. It's sad because Brandy is actually talented.



All that aside, Ashanti is a sweet girl and I do wish her well after this reading, but she needs to take heed and work with some new people because why she is flopping and has been is no mystery to me.

But it's your correlation as to why her mainstream success has faded , that is wrong here. But switched your goal posts is nothing new around here. And please list her 4 flop albums…. Last i checked Concrete Rose is platinum and spawned a worldwide hit; the ONLY other album she has had since did indeed flop. My basic math counts that as 1, 2 if you want to count Concrete Rose and 3 if you wanna be cute and add Braveheart.

Anyways, you can't REALLY legit read Ashanti, homegirl has records and chart history for days. Has and always will. :)

[no apologist]

Mar 1, 2014 19:55:09 GMT -5 nardy08 said:

Mar 1, 2014 12:01:40 GMT -5 no apologist said:

LOL at this stan going hard for Ashanti. We'll just wait until the album sales come in boo. Ashanti peaked with Chapter 2. After that, her mainstream success was never the same. It has been null and void for years now. LOL at you bringing up Beyonce when she is still killing the game. One flop album and she recovered majorly meanwhile Ashanti is on her 4th flop album with no return insight ? But who's counting, right? I personally think that Ashanti is done, much like Ciara. They could get a new label, find new management and get the same results just like Brandy. It's sad because Brandy is actually talented.



All that aside, Ashanti is a sweet girl and I do wish her well after this reading, but she needs to take heed and work with some new people because why she is flopping and has been is no mystery to me.

But it's your correlation as to why her mainstream success has faded , that is wrong here. But switched your goal posts is nothing new around here. And please list her 4 flop albums…. Last i checked Concrete Rose is platinum and spawned a worldwide hit; the ONLY other album she has had since did indeed flop. My basic math counts that as 1, 2 if you want to count Concrete Rose and 3 if you wanna be cute and add Braveheart.

Anyways, you can't REALLY legit read Ashanti, homegirl has records and chart history for days. Has and always will. :)

Girl, you are clearly delusional. There is no point in arguing with you. It's clearly evident that you're living in 2002 when Ashanti was actually popular. The girl is so F list right now, and the fact that you're pretending not to notice is comical. I mean, she was on Lifetime. What artist who is doing their numbers is on Lifetime? Or had 101 lead singles that all bombed and had 201 album pushbacks? Not an artist doing their numbers. Like I said, Chapter 2 was the start of her downfall. Actually, Beyonce was but we won't go there.

Sorry, sweetie, in this business you're only good as your last hit, especially if you don't have many and isn't a legend already. Mariah is a legend, Ashanti is not. 

[nardy08]

Mar 2, 2014 4:36:15 GMT -5 no apologist said:

Mar 1, 2014 19:55:09 GMT -5 nardy08 said:

But it's your correlation as to why her mainstream success has faded , that is wrong here. But switched your goal posts is nothing new around here. And please list her 4 flop albums…. Last i checked Concrete Rose is platinum and spawned a worldwide hit; the ONLY other album she has had since did indeed flop. My basic math counts that as 1, 2 if you want to count Concrete Rose and 3 if you wanna be cute and add Braveheart.

Anyways, you can't REALLY legit read Ashanti, homegirl has records and chart history for days. Has and always will. :)

Girl, you are clearly delusional. There is no point in arguing with you. It's clearly evident that you're living in 2002 when Ashanti was actually popular. The girl is so F list right now, and the fact that you're pretending not to notice is comical. I mean, she was on Lifetime. What artist who is doing their numbers is on Lifetime? Or had 101 lead singles that all bombed and had 201 album pushbacks? Not an artist doing their numbers. Like I said, Chapter 2 was the start of her downfall. Actually, Beyonce was but we won't go there.

Sorry, sweetie, in this business you're only good as your last hit, especially if you don't have many and isn't a legend already. Mariah is a legend, Ashanti is not. 

Yeah i'm delusional yet 9/10 of your 'facts' are wrong. And you can't comprehend on top of that……now THAT'S comical. Where or when DID i ever say (or even imply) that Ashanti is any of A list, relevant, popular?? And what's wrong with Lifetime, last i checked she is getting PAID for that. Actually as i said before, you have said so much wrong and incorrect statements that it really isn't worth the responses anymore.

[SHOOTER]

Just realized that Pharrell, Rick Ross and Lea Michele are all releasing tomorrow; Ashanti should've followed suit.

[Deleted]

Is she really doing no promo at all this week?

[Keep’n It Real]

Mar 2, 2014 18:00:03 GMT -5 @soblu said:

Is she really doing no promo at all this week?

She'll be performing on 106 & Park this Thursday.

[think pink.]

5k-15k is my prediction.

[takingmytimetoday]

Poor thing. She couldn't get a #1 even if she paid her way to the top spot. I guess that's what happens when a young woman let's greasy old men in the industry take advantage of her!

[George]

$9.99 at Target (which includes the two bonus tracks)!

[SHOOTER]

She made it in the circular ahead of Pharrell and Lea. Impressive.

[SHOOTER]

For some reason she's flooded her social media accounts telling everyone that the album is now available everywhere today.

[gbaby]

Didn't realize her album was being released -- went ahead and purchased it. Listening now. "Scars" is a jaaaam!

[think pink.]

Really good interview. She said she might sign with a major label for the next album.



@ Envy asking about her sideburns.

[SHOOTER]

#1 on iTunes R&B; #13 on the main chart.

[wavey.]

Oh, she realized the Indie route did not work?!

[Deleted]

That was a great interview. People gave her a lot of shit back when she was part of the Murder Inc hype machine, but she seems like a really sweet girl.

[nardy08]

Funny how it's Never Should have that is the top selling song so far, and sits in the top 20! lol