|
Chapter II |  | Artist: Ashanti
Label: Def Jam
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy Used: $0.01
as of 3/18/2010 20:05 EDT details
You Save: $13.97 (100%)
New (39) Used (98) from $0.01
Seller: inflatable-madness
Rating:  368 reviews
Sales Rank: 39018
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.9 x 4.9 x 0.5
MPN: 000014302
UPC: 044007715628
EAN: 0044007715628
ASIN: B00009VRDI
Release Date: July 1, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Tracks:
| • | Intro/Medley | | • | Shany's World - (featuring Chink Santana) | | • | Rock Wit U (Awww Baby) | | • | What Are The Gonna Say Now - (skit) | | • | Breakup 2 Makeup | | • | I Found Lovin' | | • | Rain On Me | | • | Then Ya Gone - (featuring Chink Santana) | | • | Living My Life | | • | Black Child - (skit) | | • | Feels So Good | | • | Carry On | | • | Sugar Shack, The - (skit) | | • | Story Of 2 | | • | Ohhh Ahhh | | • | Shany Shia | | • | Sweet Baby | | • | U Say, I Say | | • | I Don't Mind | | • | Outro - (featuring Chink Santana) |
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
This sophomore effort by 2002 hip-pop debutante Ashanti is aimed squarely at the mainstream portion of her audience. Where she made her name with radio-ready duets featuring Ja Rule and Fat Joe, Chapter II goes light on the rap, opting for only a small handful of cameos by co-producer Chink Santana. The mostly mid-tempo tracks are pleasant, but much of the album feels like an unfinished structure that'll only be fully built when the songs are remixed for the airwaves. Still, with the star's assured (and nicely undersold) vocals front and center, it amounts to a breath of fresh air from production company Murder Inc. Note: "Breakup 2 Makeup" once more updates the Chaka Khan/Mary J. Blige classic "Sweet Thing." --Rickey Wright
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 368
 I'd skip this chapter entirely... March 12, 2010
Andrew Ellington (Mulholland Drive)
I love Ashanti; like really, really love her. I consider her voice to be one of the best in the business, and her look is just; well, perfect. I mean, she is simply stunning. That said, this album is atrocious. It saddens me because she showed so much potential on her debut album, and I was so excited to hear new music from her. Thankfully, she has redeemed herself since this album dropped nearly seven years ago (O.M.G. I'm getting old).
First, the album is ridiculously long, but a good seventy-five percent of the album is either skit or filler. I mean, I don't understand the need to open the album with a pointless medley of her radio hits and then, instead of getting right into the album, they give us another intro entitled `Shaney's World' where some mediocre rapper raps about Murder Inc. It's just stupid (not to mention the fact that the `Outro' is just as ridiculous). But that isn't all. About halfway down the album there is another skit, this time by Black Child. I mean, this is Ashanti's album, but tracks like this seem like a tacky way to promote a label. Ashanti also needs to stop doing stupid skits with her little sister, and while I actually think that a skit like `The Sugar Shack' works, it only works if it's the ONLY skit on the album, and it isn't, sadly. `What Are They Gonna Say Now' is just annoying.
And then we have the mediocre musical offerings; and there are plenty.
We'll start with `Found Lovin'. The song is so dated and cheesy. I mean, the whole disco nightclub effect is ridiculous and doesn't do anything for Ashanti as a vocalist or as an artist. It feels so out of place. `Feel So Good' is just boring, and `The Story of 2' has a nice flow and concept but comes off as somewhat lazy to me.
13) Found Lovin'
12) Feel So Good
11) The Story of 2
I don't think that songs like `Then Ya Gone', `Living My Life' or `Sweet Baby' and `U Say I Say' are bad, but they just don't really `do' anything worth mentioning. `Then Ya Gone' has a great idea behind it, but it just doesn't make full use of that idea. The rapping is messy and throws the track off from the start. `Living My Life' is just plain, no real spark, and it almost sounds too conventional. `Sweet Baby' is proof that sometimes an artist can run out of ideas but insist on `just one more track' and wind up stretching themselves too thin. `U Say I Say' is probably the best in the bunch, but I just wish it really had something more to it.
10) Sweet Baby
09) Living My Life
08) Then Ya Gone
07) U Say I Say
I wasn't a huge fan of `Rock Wit U' when I first heard it, and while I don't think it's even near the best she can do, I have grown to really like it. It has a spunk and silky smoothness to it that is contrasted by that heavy bass-line. I still find the way she sings the verses to be a tad awkward, but whatever. `Ohhh Ahhh' has a sultry feel to it that compliments Ashanti's style and draws me into her. `Carry On' has total swagger and really gets me in the groove. Ashanti shows that she has flow here, and I love that about her. `I Don't Mind' really brings me back to her debut album, and I love that. It has a real bite to it, with slinky, seductive vocals and musical arrangements.
06) I Don't Mind
05) Rock Wit U
04) Carry On
03) Ohhh Ahhh
But there are only two tracks here that represent, for me, the best Ashanti can provide. `Breakup 2 Makeup' and `Rain on Me'. I absolutely LOVE `Rain on Me', which not only has a bold and poignant message, but it couples that with stellar vocals, captivating melodies and an overall unforgettable feel. `Breakup 2 Makeup' just has such playfulness to it that I can't help but sink into it. It is fun and fresh and brilliantly handled.
02) Breakup 2 Makeup
01) Rain on Me
In the end, this album is a major disappointment. It's sad, because Ashanti came right out the gate with a debut album that screamed `I AM GOING TO BE HUGE' and then she did this. BUT, this album hasn't really hurt her any. She is still huge, and rightfully so. This may be an overall failure of an album, but she followed this up with the hugely underrated `Concrete Rose' and her recent (and most consistently great) album `The Declaration'.
She's here to stay, and I'm THRILLED about that.
 Pretty Likely Ashanti's Finest Album February 17, 2009
Andre S. Grindle (Brewer Maine)
In large part due to a long standing glut of hip-hop/R&B diva album releases,dating back to the days of Mary J.Blidge and Aaliyah there are a number of wonderful albums that make a strong musical and emotional statement,and they all to often end up ignored. This is one such release. The production as done by the people at Murder Inc.,Ashanti's label at this point definately have Mary J in mind when it comes to the production.The layers of 70's soul and R&B breaks are wound through......actually tasteful and sudtle beats which,as the fair weather oceanic cover art suggests has the feeling and sensuality of a fine summer R&B album. "Rock Wit You" is a fine choice for a single-dancable,mellow and liquidy. Happily Ashanti is able to carry on this feel for the rest of the album with "Breakup 2 Makeup","Rain On Me",Feel So Good" and "I Don't Mind";all are particular highlites. Honestly while this album has many great moments this is actually a very strong album from someone who has always tended to be a big on singles and remixes) There are of course a couple of stand outs-a sped of version of Fatback's classic "I Found Lovin'" is excellent,a nod to lovers of 80's electro funk such as myself.Of course if your board with covers and are seeking the real thing I steer you know further then Fatback's 1983 release With Love,on which the original version is featured and...well as 80's as it is will probably really appeal to Ashanti fans in many ways if her sound rather then vocal style appeals to you. Ashanti again writes most of the material here and the excellent 60's style "The Story Of 2" is really sweet,breezy and soulful even in it's more modern setting. The album has so many strong points and is so potent overall that I've totally chosen to give this a five star review despite it's one flaw,and it's actually one that sticks out like a sore thumb. That is:if your a lover of even modern vocal R&B with hip-hop beats on this album you'll have to endure interludes and tracks such as "Shany's World" and "Black Child";really,that particular title sounds a lot more relevant then it is. These tracks make it clear that Murder Inc's main production team of Irv Gotti and Chink Santana have equally as much need to showcase how much they love Ashanti as much as they stroke their own out of control egos.Chink,for example is an absolutely horrible rapper-unclear,loud and muffled with (as another reviewer stated) the most offensive name available.Not only that the subjects he raps about sound like a bad SNL parody of foul mouthed gangsta rappers;the effect is not even dated-it's pure tasteless nostalgia since that genre has rather lost most of it's usefulness.He thankfully only appears on three cuts on this CD but why Ashanti didn't chose to accociate herself with talented,clever rappers such as Michael Franti,Guru or..YES even Will Smith is completely beyond me. Thankfully with the age of CD's and programming cuts these intrusive elements can be edited out for the benifit of the listener and this album can be enjoyed for the liquidy summer funkiness that makes this so special.
 the album is ok July 20, 2008
M. Debraux (cincinnati, ohio)
the album is ok its really nice my favorite song on her album is
rain on me
living my life
other then that the album is ok its not that bad it could of been better the album is not that bad
 Feel Good Album June 7, 2008
Ciarra Logan
Ashanti's sophomore album is full of sweet melodies, catchy hooks, and feel good music. "I Don't Mind" and "Ohhh Ahhh" are sultry songs that captivate you with their incredibly seductive lyrics. "Rock Wit U", "Breakup 2 Makeup", "Feels So Good" and "Living My Life" are feel good songs with sweet melodies. "Carry On" and "U Say, I Say" have more of a hip-hop vibe to them and have great beats behind their catchy lyrics. Finally, the album's stand-out track "Rain On Me" has a great beat, honest lyrics, and fantastic vocals. Ashanti definitely impressed me with this album. The mixture of songs all offer something different and bring something new and refreshing to the table. Unlike most albums in the same genre, each track has it's own unique sound. Ashanti's vocals are soft, seductive, and sweet to listen to. She may not have a powerhouse voice like some of her peers (Beyonce), but her soft vocals are incredibly seductive and it's refreshing to hear an r&b artist that doesn't try to overdo it with runs and high notes. This was a nice follow-up to her first album, which I was also a big fan of. I knocked off a star for too many skits and interludes. They take away from the album a bit. Other than that, this album is a smooth, enjoyable ride from start to finish. Recommended
Good, but Could Have Been Better April 14, 2008
J Hayes
The songs are pretty good. I like them. Well, most of them. The only thing that holds this album back is all those darn interludes. I'm the kind of music fan who likes to pop in a CD and start hearing the music. With this album though, you have to listen to two LONG interludes before you even get to the first song! And then, after that one song, you get ANOTHER skit. And using Ashanti's album to promote another Murder Inc. artist? For shame, Irv Gotti.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 368
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.
Proud member of the Celebrity Pro Network. Make sure you check out these other great sites:
Lyrics Database
Celebrity Blog
Celebrity Thing
Celebrity PC
Latest Celebrity Photos
Web Portal
Travel Photos
Quotes
Flash Games
|
Is there a better
price available?
Find out:
|
|
|
|
