The Declaration
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''The Declaration'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Ashanti, released on June 3, 2008, by The Inc. Records and
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.Ashanti and Nelly Get New Release Dates
Accessed January 28, 2008.
The album includes the single "
The Way That I Love You "The Way That I Love You" is a song recorded by American singer Ashanti from her fourth studio album, ''The Declaration'' (2008). It was released as the album's lead single on February 26, 2008, through Universal and The Inc. Ashanti wrote and ...
". Ashanti said during her June 2 appearance on the television program ''
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'' that she recorded fifty-two tracks for the album, of which fifteen—including the bonus tracks "Why" and "
Hey Baby (After the Club) Hey Baby may refer to: * "Hey! Baby", a 1961 song by Bruce Channel, covered by Anne Murray in 1982 and DJ Ötzi in 2000 * "Hey Baby" (Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Diplo song), 2016 * "Hey Baby" (Marty Stuart song), 1993 * "Hey Baby" (No Doubt s ...
"—were used. This is her last album to be released on Irv Gotti's label The Inc. Records.


Singles

*"
The Way That I Love You "The Way That I Love You" is a song recorded by American singer Ashanti from her fourth studio album, ''The Declaration'' (2008). It was released as the album's lead single on February 26, 2008, through Universal and The Inc. Ashanti wrote and ...
" was referred to as the real "first single" in press material and media reports. It was released in February 2008 to Urban radio. It was released to digital retailers in March 2008 and to Rhythmic radio in April 2008. It reached number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number thirty-seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Ashanti's first song to reach the top forty since " Only U" in 2004. *" Good Good" was released to urban radio stations on July 16, 2008. The song contains elements of Elton John's 1974 single "Bennie and the Jets", and has the same melody arrangement as Michael Jackson's "The Girl Is Mine".


Other Songs

*In mid-2007, MTV News reported that the first single from ''The Declaration'' was "Switch", which was produced by Shy Carter and released digitally in the United States on July 24, 2007. It was later reported that "Switch" will not be included on the album's track listing, and that the first single would be "Hey Baby (After the Club)". *"Hey Baby (After the Club)", featuring
Mario Winans Mario Mendell Winans ( Brown; born August 29, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for his 2004 song " I Don't Wanna Know", which reached number 2 in the United States and number 1 in the United Kingdom. Wina ...
, initially replaced "Switch" as the album's lead single. It samples Prince and The Revolution's 1984 single "
Erotic City "Erotic City ("make love not war Erotic City come alive")" is a song by the musician Prince. It was released as the B-side to the 1984 single "Let's Go Crazy" and the 12" version of the 1986 single " Girls & Boys". The dance mix of "Erotic City" wa ...
"; music reviewers criticized this decision as
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had already used this sample earlier that year for " Last Night". The song peaked at number eighty-seven on the ''Billboard''
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chart. "Hey Baby (After the Club)" was later replaced by "The Way That I Love You" as ''The Declaration'''s official lead single; it was not included on the US editions of the album, but was a
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for international releases. *" Body On Me" was recorded not only for Ashanti's ''The Declaration'', but also for Nelly's fifth studio album ''Brass Knuckles''. The track is produced by Akon and Giorgio Tuinfort. It went to number one on Billboard's Hot Videoclip Tracks chart in its first week, becoming the first number one single from Nelly's album.


Critical reception

''The Declaration'' received generally mixed reviews from music critics. At
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, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 52, based on 11 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Dan Gennoe of '' Yahoo! Music UK'' felt that the album was "surprisingly short of anything even approaching a commercial hit uteven without instant hooks to grab on to, it's amazingly compelling." He called ''The Declaration'' a "supremely subtle and sophisticated record" as well as "the best album of Ashanti's career." Sal Cinquemani from '' Slant Magazine'' felt that while "past releases have displayed an ostensible desire to follow in the melodramatic steps of Mary J. Blige and much of ''Declaration'' continues in that quest," it also "aims to prove that Ashanti is indeed growing up."
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editor Andy Kellman found that "even though this album marks a nearly complete break from The Inc., it's very much in line with what came before it, hardly a major departure ..This is neither a great nor a poor Ashanti album. It's decent, just like the rest of them." Leah Greenblatt from ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' wrote that ''The Declaration'' "simply doesn't make much of a statement, and its high point – the prettily emotive ballad "
The Way That I Love You "The Way That I Love You" is a song recorded by American singer Ashanti from her fourth studio album, ''The Declaration'' (2008). It was released as the album's lead single on February 26, 2008, through Universal and The Inc. Ashanti wrote and ...
" – isn't enough to unseat the Beyoncés and Mary J.'s of the world." ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''s Christian Hoard thought that Ashanti "is still doing the diva-by-numbers thing, alternating between angry-at-her-man anthems and lovey pleasantry ..But even with A-list producers like Babyface, Jermaine Dupri and Rodney Jerkins, the beats stick to straightforward bounce or subdued ballads. And Ashanti doesn't offer any more personality." Shanel Odum of ''
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'' gave a mixed review to the album, writing that "her voice is pleasant if sometimes uninspiring, but on soulful songs like "You’re Gonna Miss," the pain in her sweet-as-
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voice is definite. But even with all the emo-passion, nearly half of this album is lukewarm." ''
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'' writer Benjamin Boles found that it's "all too evident why ''The Declaration'' was delayed. Producer LT Hutton is behind most of these beats, and it’s easy to see why he hasn’t had a hit in years. A few bigger names drop in (Nelly and Akon might as well be sleepwalking here), but none sound like they’re putting much into their appearances. Ashanti’s still got a decent voice, but she’s badly in need of a better songwriting and production team." ''
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'' remarked that "after four years away, Ashanti declares that she's back, but this middling, familiar set of songs is unlikely to reclaim her spotlight."


Chart performance

''The Declaration'' debuted and peaked at number six on the US ''Billboard'' 200, selling 86,000 copies its first week of release. It marked Ashanti's lowest opening sales for a regular studio album to then and was a considerable decline from her previous effort ''
Concrete Rose ''Concrete Rose'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Ashanti, released on December 14, 2004, by The Inc. Records and Def Jam Recordings. In addition to working with frequent collaborators Irv Gotti, Chink Santana, and 7 Aurelius, A ...
'', which had opened to sales of 254,000 units in 2004. On ''Billboard''s component charts, it reached number two on the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...
chart, becoming her first solo album to miss the top spot. By February 2014, ''The Declaration'' had sold 297,000 copies.


Track listing

Notes * denotes co-producer * denotes executive producer


Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the album's liner notes. *Seven Aurelius – producer, vocals (background) *Chad Beat – producer, programming, vocals (background) *Keith Bizz – producer, programming *Paul Boutin – engineer, mixing *Sandy Brummels – art direction, creative director *Channel 7 – engineer, Instrumentation, producer, vocals (background) *Mike Donaldson – engineer *Jermaine Dupri – producer *Kenneth Edmonds – composer, drums, guitar, keyboards, producer *Theron Feemster – producer *Mark "Exit" Goodchild – engineer *John Horesco IV – engineer *Bob Horn – engineer *L.T. Hutton – composer *Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins – producer *Khris Kellow – keyboards *Christopher Kornmann – art direction, design *Sam Lobue II – engineer *Mario Lucy – engineer *John Marie – mixing *Nelly – primary artist *Eddy C. Richardson – a&R *Andros Rodriguez – engineer *Matthew Rolston – photography *Gillian Russell – A&R *Manuel Seal, Jr. – producer *Peter Stengaard – engineer, instruments, producer, programming *Aliaume Thiam – Instrumentation, producer, programming *Diane Warren – executive producer *James M. Wisner – engineer


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Release history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Declaration, The 2008 albums Albums produced by Akon Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri Albums produced by L.T. Hutton Albums produced by Rodney Jerkins Albums produced by Theron Feemster Ashanti (singer) albums Universal Motown Records albums