Chapter II (Ashanti album)
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''Chapter II'' is the second
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by American singer and songwriter Ashanti. It was released by Murder Inc. and
Island Def Jam The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordi ...
on July 1, 2003 in the United States. Ashanti reteamed with Murder Inc. head
Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (born June 26, 1970), professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American DJ, music producer, record executive, and the CEO and co-founder of Murder Inc. Records. He is best known for producing multiple number-one rec ...
and producer
Chink Santana Andre Parker, known by his stage name Chink Santana, is an American R&B musician and producer from Washington, D.C. His achievements include co-producing '' Ashanti'', the debut album from the singer of the same name, as well as working on he ...
to work on the album. ''Chapter II'' features a guest appearance by rapper
Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its lead single "Holla Holla". Durin ...
,
Chink Santana Andre Parker, known by his stage name Chink Santana, is an American R&B musician and producer from Washington, D.C. His achievements include co-producing '' Ashanti'', the debut album from the singer of the same name, as well as working on he ...
, and Gunnz. Critical reception towards the album was generally mixed, with critics commending the album's autobiographical lyrics, and its fun yet light nature, while other critics felt ''Chapter II'' lacked creativity and personality and relied too heavily on the formula of her debut album (2002). Upon its release, the album debut at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart with first-week sales of 326,000 units. It also reached the top ten in Canada, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. ''Chapter II'' was eventually certified
platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
in August 2003 and gained gold status in Japan and the United Kingdom. At the
46th Annual Grammy Awards The 46th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003. They recognized acc ...
, it earned Ashanti three nominations for
Best Contemporary R&B Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the contemporary ...
,
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards ...
, and
Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...
. ''Chapter II'' spawned three singles, including the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number two song " Rock wit U (Awww Baby)", the R&B ballad " Rain on Me" and " Breakup 2 Makeup (Remix)".


Promotion

Murder Inc. selected " Rock wit U (Awww Baby)," which they considered a continuation from her debut single " Foolish" (2002), to be released as the album's first single from ''Chapter 2''. Issued on May 19, 2003, the song became a commercial success stateside and Ashanti's third solo top ten hit. It peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while reaching number four on the ''Billboard''
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart. Internationally, it was a moderate success, reaching the top five in Canada and Japan, the top ten in the United Kingdom, top twenty in Australia, and the top forty in Ireland, New Zealand, and Switzerland. The album's second single " Rain on Me", was released on August 11, 2003. It peaked at number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Elsewhere, it reached the top twenty in Belgium and the United Kingdom. In 2004, "Rain on Me" earned Ashanti a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nomination for
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards ...
. In 2004, a remix version of "Breakup 2 Makeup" featuring labelmate
Black Child Ramel Leroy Gill, (born October 18, 1973) better known by his stage name Black Child, is an American rapper from New York City. He is best known for his time being signed to Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records and being affiliated with Irv Gotti, A ...
was released as a single. It served as the lead single from Ashanti's remix compilation album '' Collectables by Ashanti'', released in 2005, reaching number 76 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.


Critical reception

''Chapter II'' received mixed reviews from music critics. At
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 51, based on 11 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' writer Kelefa Sanneh remarked that ''Chapter II'' "isn't perfect, but once you edit out the skits (which are, without exception, excruciating), you're left with an album that's graceful, beguiling and above all, light, in the best sense of the word." ''
People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' magazine noted that "the singer's sophomore CD, though, proves wrong those who thought she would be a one-hit-album wonder. ''Chapter II'', which continues the same hip-hop soul theme as her self-titled debut, is the equivalent of a good beach read: It's easy, breezy listening that doesn't require much brainpower." ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' wrote that ''Chapter II'' "doesn't stray too far from its predecessor" and complimented the autobiographical songs on the album. Ernest Hardy from ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' found that the "album is filled with the same beat-driven, slickly produced midtempo tracks and ballads that made up her
debut Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The Debu ...
ndthe disc's best moments have a decidedly old-school feel to them ..Still, dullard schoolgirl insights into love and heartache dominate the album; add some boring between-song skits about 'haters,' and ''Chapter'' II wears thin long before its halfway mark." While he complimented Ashanti for her writing credits on the album, ''
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 cul ...
'' journalist Tom Sinclair felt that "''Chapter II'' is too mired in tired R&B conventions to achieve true magnificence."
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine found that "the songs have about as much personality as Ashanti's voice, but that actually is a point in its favor, since it keeps everything on an even keel and makes Gotti and
Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
's stylish production the star. They are the secret ingredients that make ''Chapter II good'' romantic mood music for the summer." Alexa Camp from ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' wrote that "the album's got some great tunes, but they'd be better suited for someone like
Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...
, whom Shany & Co. bite off."
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
gave ''Chapter II'' a "C" rating in his review for ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'', calling it a "pathologically modest follow-up."
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
from Maurice Bottomley assured that "''Chapter 2'' is not going to feature as any scribe's R&B album of the year."


Commercial performance

In the United States, ''Chapter II'' debuted at number one the ''Billboard'' 200 with first-week sales of 326,000 units sold. In addition, it reached the top position on ''Billboard''s
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 Jan ...
chart. While it became Ashanti's second chart topper on both charts, it was a considerable decline from her previous effort ''Ashanti'', which had opened to sales of 503,000 units in 2002. The album was certified platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) on August 14, 2003, and remained on the ''Billboard'' 200 for 30 consecutive weeks. ''Chapter II'' has sold 1.5 million copies in the United States alone, according to
Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...
. ''Billboard'' ranked the album 54th on its ''Billboard'' 200 and 27th on its
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 J ...
year end listings in 2003, respectively. Elsewhere, ''Chapter II'' reached the top five of the
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
and
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. It was certified gold by the
British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...
(BPI), indicating sales in excess of 100,000 copies, and also went gold in Japan. In Switzerland, it reached the top ten, debuting and peaking at number nine on the
Swiss Albums Chart The Swiss Hitparade (german: link=no, Schweizer Hitparade) is Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the ...
, making it Ashanti's highest-charting album to date. ''Chapter II'' also entered the top 20 in Australia and Germany. The album sold 3 million copies worldwide to date.


Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Chapter II''. Samples * "Intro (Medley)" contains samples of Ashanti tracks " Foolish", " Happy", "
Down 4 U "Down 4 U" is the lead single from Murder Inc. Records' compilation album '' Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.'', released through Def Jam Recordings and Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records. The song features rapped verses from Ja Rule, Charli Baltimore, ...
" (with
Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its lead single "Holla Holla". Durin ...
,
Charli Baltimore Tiffany Lane (born August 16, 1974), better known as Charli Baltimore, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Her stage name is taken from Geena Davis's character in the film ''The Long Kiss Goodnight''. Career Charli Balti ...
&
Vita Vita or VITA (plural vitae) is Latin for "life", and may refer to: * ''Vita'', the usual start to the title of a biography in Latin, by which (in a known context) the work is often referred to; frequently of a saint, then called hagiography * Vit ...
), "
Baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...
" and " Mesmerize" (with Ja Rule). * "Breakup 2 Makeup" contains a sample of "
I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby I Am or I'm may refer to: Language and literature * "I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name ** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible * "I Am" (po ...
" by
Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...
. * "Rain on Me" contains a sample of " Look of Love" by
Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...
. * "Then Ya Gone" contains samples of "Ain't I Been Good to You" by
The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...
, and "One Day" by
UGK UGK (short for Underground Kingz) was an American hip hop duo from Port Arthur, Texas, formed in 1987, by Chad "Pimp C" Butler and Bernard "Bun B" Freeman. They released their first major-label album, ''Too Hard to Swallow'', in 1992, followe ...
. * "Feel So Good" contains a sample of "Playing Your Game, Baby" by Barry White. * "The Story of 2" contains a sample of "Dream Maker" by
Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...
. * "Sweet Baby" contains a sample of "I'm Glad You're Mine" by
Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...
. * "U Say I Say" contains a sample of "Never Enough" by
Groove Theory Groove Theory is an American duo, with former member, singer-songwriter Amel Larrieux and songwriter/producer/actor, Bryce Wilson. The group is best known for their 1995 hit " Tell Me", which reached the top five of '' Billboard''s Hot 100 an ...
. * "
I Found Lovin' "I Found Lovin'" is a song first released by the Fatback Band in 1983 by Master Mix Records and was included on their album ''With Love''. The song reached number 49 on the UK Singles Charts in 1984. The song was re-recorded and released by Impo ...
" is a cover of the same-titled song by
Fatback Band The Fatback Band (later, simply Fatback) is an American funk and disco band that was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. The Fatback Band is most known for their R&B hits, "(Do the) Spanish Hustle", "I Like Girls", "Gotta Get My Hands on Some (Mone ...
.


Personnel

* Ashanti Douglas –Lead& Background vocals (1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11-12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19),
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
* Robert Bacon – guitar (3, lead on 5, 7, 14, 19), bass guitar (5, 7, 14), additional keyboards (15) *
Black Child Ramel Leroy Gill, (born October 18, 1973) better known by his stage name Black Child, is an American rapper from New York City. He is best known for his time being signed to Irv Gotti's Murder Inc. Records and being affiliated with Irv Gotti, A ...
- rap vocals (10) *
Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (born June 26, 1970), professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American DJ, music producer, record executive, and the CEO and co-founder of Murder Inc. Records. He is best known for producing multiple number-one rec ...
producer (all tracks),
audio mixing Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic, ...
(1-3, 5-12, 14-15, 18-20), additional vocals (3-4, 19), executive producer * Gunnz - background vocals (18) *
Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with ''Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its lead single "Holla Holla". Durin ...
– rap vocals (1, 17) * Demetrius McGhee – piano solo (13), additional keyboards (2-3, 6, 9, 14) * Marquies "Keez" Parker - bass guitar (8) *
Chink Santana Andre Parker, known by his stage name Chink Santana, is an American R&B musician and producer from Washington, D.C. His achievements include co-producing '' Ashanti'', the debut album from the singer of the same name, as well as working on he ...
– producer (all tracks), vocals (13, lead on 2, 8, 20), additional vocals * Shia - vocals (16) * Milwaukee Buck –
recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...
(1-3, 5-12, 14-15, 17-18, 20), audio mixing (1, 20) * Duro – audio mixing (2-3, 5-12, 14-15, 17-19) * Daniela Federici – photography * Brian "Big Bass" Gardnermastering * Terri "Murda Mac" Hubert - assistant engineer (1-3, 5-12, 14-15, 18, 20) * JJ –
make-up Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
* Rosie Michel – stylist * Rick Patrick –
creative director A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...
* Shereese Slate – hair stylist * Laura Tamburino – art producer * Tony Vanias – recording director * Andy West –
art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


See also

* List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2003 * List of ''Billboard'' number-one R&B albums of 2003


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapter Ii (Album) 2003 albums Albums produced by Irv Gotti Ashanti (singer) albums