Oblivious as I am to the machinations of the endless rolling programme that is the US R&B market I do believe that I may have heard of ASHANTI. No doubt she has sold a truckload of records and won lots of awards and attended a shedload of premieres in slightly revealing clothes and possibly hankers after an acting career. If her name wasn’t emblazoned all over the CD I may have mistaken her for Beyonce.
‘Don’t Let Them’ (ok ASHANTI, I won’t) is taken from her latest album ‘Concrete Rose’. Her previous album was called ‘Ashanti’s Christmas’ which unfortunately I missed due to excessive digestion of turkey and egg-nog over the Festive period. Hopefully I’ll stay sober enough for her to release an ‘Ashanti’s Easter’ and an ‘Ashanti’s Yom Kippur’ in 2006. Assuming she’s up for it.
‘Don’t Let Them’ is a slowed down bass driven slice of R&B, immaculately presented and given a welcome soulful edge by the inclusion of a Hammond and the exclusion of overtly fussy and intrusive percussion. Her voice is pretty enough if without sufficient punch to carry the emotion required: something about not letting them (it’s always “them” isn’t it?) tell her man what to do when it comes to loving her. Thankfully there is a distinct lack of shrill warbling and it’s a blessed relief that she avoids the excessive “ooh listen to me ain’t I got a proper voice” vocal gymnastics that Mariah Carey vomits all over her releases.
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Stop Press: My exhaustive online research has revealed that ASHANTI appeared in an episode of ‘Sabrina, The Teenage Witch’ and is set to appear in the new Muppets movie. You go girl!
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