It seems to me like R&B singer Ashanti has been searching for a hit since 2003, back when “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)” was a top 5 hit and follow up single “Rain on Me” peaked at an impressive #7. While her 2004 single “Only U” did modestly well, peaking at #13, overall the charts have not been friendly towards Ms. Ashanti in recent years, they don’t appear to be getting any kinder with her latest offering, “The Woman You Love.”
Prior to launching her solo career, Ashanti was predominantly known as a hook-singer, singing on popular tracks like Ja Rule‘s “Always On Time” (2001), “Mesmerize” (2003) and “Wonderful” (2004), Fat Joe‘s “What’s Luv?” (2002) and “Into You” by Fabolous (2003). Some of Ashanti‘s early successes as a solo artist include 2002’s #1 hit single “Foolish,” top ten hit “Happy” and the top twenty hit single “Baby,” all three from Ashanti‘s debut self titled album. One of the things that appears to be missing in some of her more recent work is a memorable hook, and unfortunately “The Woman You Love” ain’t got one either.
“The Woman You Love” is the first offering from Ashanti‘s forthcoming fifth studio album, Braveheart, due out June 19th on her own record label, Written Entertainment/E-One Music. Released back in December, the song was penned by Ashanti and Busta Rhymes and produced by Jerry Wonda and Shama “Sak Pase” Joseph, peaking at #59 on Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Working with Ashanti on Braveheart we have Dr. Dre, Game, The-Dream, Common, Darkchild, Tank and more.
While the song isn’t nearly as catchy as her earlier material, I have to hand it to Ashanti – vocally she’s stepped up her game ten fold. Ashanti was never known for her powerhouse vocal runs or huge range, but since I last heard her, the voice sounds better and stronger than ever. Perhaps it was her stint as Dorothy in 2009’s New York production of The Wiz that forced Ashanti to up her vocal game? Whatever the reason, I’m looking forward to hearing what else she’s got in her Braveheart bag.
Check out the futuristic video for “The Woman You Love” below, directed by Sean Coles. Kind of like a budget version of Katy Perry‘s “E.T.” video, no? Actor model Marcus Patrick appears as Ashanti‘s love interest in the video and yes, he takes his shirt off. Download “The Woman You Love” on U.S. iTunes HERE.