Ashanti is back with a new longly anticpated album, The Declaration. This album is not what I expected, but in a very good way. Ashanti has came out of the box and broaden her lyrics and melodies. This album is an R&B album but it’s an upbeat album that doesn’t give you a lot “ballads” which I feel would be a good thing especially listening to new music from Ashanti. I listened to Diddy’s philosophy on new tracks. Ashanti definitely passed the “5 second rule”. Ashanti collaborated with many great producers on this new project. She’s worked with Kanye West, Jermaine Dupri, Akon, BabyFace, Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, and more. The first single, “The Way That I Love You” which is still in heavy rotation on the radio was one of the hottest singles and videos of 2008. Some of the tracks on this album that stood out the most would be, “In These Streets”, “Things You Make Me Do” featuring Robin Thicke, “Good Good”, and “Shine”. This is a great return for Ashanti. If you haven’t picked up this album it’s now in stores on iTunes.