Braveheart [Pink Vinyl] [B&N Exclusive]

by Ashanti

Overview

A little over four years in the making, Braveheart is Ashanti's first album for an independent -- technically her own Written Entertainment, distributed by eOne. This, her fifth album, went through a series of delays and revised track lists, including at least one with "The Woman You Love," a charting single the singer performed on national television back in early 2012. It didn't make the final cut. Perhaps the setbacks only fortified Ashanti's embattled warrior approach to her first album since 2008's The Declaration, which was her first non-platinum release and her last work with Irv Gotti. Braveheart begins with a theatrical monologue in which she declares, among other things, "Every uphill battle and every betrayal -- the fight in me remains." After that, the album settles into her finest assortment of distressed ballads with piano and strings, playful trunk rattlers, and window-fogging slow jams, with a list of guest appearances -- one including Rick Ross, French Montana, and Jeremih -- befitting a high-priority major-label artist. Nothing jumps out quite as much as earlier hits "Foolish," "Rock wit U (Awww Baby)," or "Only U," but the material, produced by a mostly new set of Ashanti collaborators (including Sharif Slater, Mansur Zafr, and Detail), is remarkably consistent and satisfying. Although it took longer to complete than Ashanti, Chapter II, and Concrete Rose combined, Braveheart doesn't sound like it. More importantly, The Declaration's lack of success -- relative to those previous albums -- doesn't seem to have changed Ashanti's direction one bit. ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	07/01/2022
Label:	Mnrk Music Group
UPC:	0634164666316

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ashanti   Primary Artist
Beenie Man   Featured Artist
Rick Ross   Featured Artist
French Montana   Featured Artist
Jeremih   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

L.T. Hutton   Producer
Drone   Producer
DJ Clue   Producer
Paul Gross   Design,Art Direction
Kevin Randolph   Producer
Ashanti   Executive Producer
Fresh   Vocal Producer
E Bass   Producer
Roger "Mista Raja" Greene   Producer
Detail   Producer
Sharif Slater   Producer
Mansur Zafr   Producer
Yusef "Sef Millz" Alexander   Producer
Robert Ector   Photography
Jaramye Daniels   Vocal Producer
Teetimus   Producer
Timothy Bullock   Producer