''Concrete Rose'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Ashanti, released on December 14, 2004, by The Inc. Records and

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

. In addition to working with frequent collaborators

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (June 26, 1970 – February 5, 2025), professionally known as Irv Gotti or DJ Irv, was an American record producer and music executive. Gotti started off as a New York hip-hop DJ in the 1980s, then becoming an A&R t ...

Chink Santana Andre Parker, known by his stage name Chink Santana, is an American R&B record producer from Washington, D.C. He is known for co-producing albums including '' Ashanti'' (2002), by singer of the same name, as well as its follow-up, '' Chapter I ...

, and

7 Aurelius Marcus Vest, known by his stage names Channel 7 and 7 Aurelius, is an American musician, record producer, rapper and songwriter. Life and career Vest learned how to play drums at a Pentecostal church growing up. His career started with Rap-A-L ...

, Ashanti also enlisted new collaborators Malcolm Flythe, Jimi Kendrix, and Demi-Doc, to assist. The album features guest appearances from rappers

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. Born and raised in New York City, Ja Rule became known for blending gangsta rap with pop rap, pop and contempo ...

, and Lloyd. The album debuted at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' 200 in the United States, with first-week sales of 254,000 units. Outside the United States, the album was less successful, with its strongest ranking being in the top 20 in Japan and the top 30 of the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. Critical reception to the project was mixed, with most deeming the album unoriginal. Nonetheless, the album did receive a

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

certification from 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), and gained gold status in Japan and the United Kingdom. ''Concrete Rose'' was preceded by lead single "

Only U "Only U" is a song by American singer Ashanti from her third studio album, '' Concrete Rose'' (2004). The song's introduction uses a sample of Club Nouveau's 1986 song "Why You Treat Me So Bad". "Only U" is a rock-tinged song, that finds Asha ...

", which received positive reviews and reached the top-twenty in several countries. The album and its promotion was vastly overshadowed by the legal troubles that faced The Inc. and Gotti, who was arrested on

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

charges only a month after ''Concrete Rose''s release. As a result, Def Jam severed ties with The Inc. in May 2005, and refused to promote the album's second single " Don't Let Them", which only charted moderately in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Background

Following the success of her sophomore studio album ''

Chapter II Chapter Two refers to the second chapter in a book. Chapter Two, Chapter 2, or Chapter II may also refer to: Film * ''Chapter Two'' (film), a 1979 adaptation of Neil Simon's play * '' KGF: Chapter 2'', 2022 Indian period action film * '' Khuda H ...

'', Ashanti confirmed in November 2003 that she had begun planning her third studio album, due to be out in mid-2004. In February 2004, Ashanti said the album had "a new sound, a new flavor", and said she wanted "to touch on more topics that I didn't touch on with the first and the second record." She also confirmed that she had already recorded three songs for the album. By July, Ashanti confirmed she had already finished the record, and planned its release for November.

Singles and promotion

The song "Turn It Up", featuring rapper

, was initially released as the lead single off the album. However, it was downscaled to a

buzz single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mus ...

after The Inc. decided to release "Only U" as ''Concrete Rose''s lead single instead. The song, released on October 26, 2004, reached the top ten of several countries, including Ireland (#4), Japan (#), and the United Kingdom (#2); the song also reached the top twenty in Germany (#12),

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

(#14), Switzerland (#12), and the United States (#13). The album was largely overshadowed by the legal issues surrounding Murder Inc./The Inc. and its head, Irv Gotti. In January 2003, during recording of ''Chapter II'', the offices Murder Inc. were raided during an investigation into Gotti's ties to gangster Kenneth McGriff. In November, Murder Inc. changed its name to The Inc., in an attempt to distance the company from its several controversies. Between November 2004 and January 2005, Gotti, McGriff, and several employees and associates of The Inc. were arrested on charges of

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...

, and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

, regarding to the killing of rapper E-Money Bags. In April 2005, Ashanti chose "Don't Let Them" to be the second single from the album. The single failed to chart in the United States; however, charted moderately well in Ireland (#41) and the United Kingdom (#38).

Critical reception

''Concrete Rose'' received mixed reviews from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 47, based on 10 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average" reviews. Andy Kellman from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

found that "disregarding the ill-suited standards, an Ashanti album is always good for a handful of strong singles, as ''Concrete Rose'' helps indicate ..it's no better or worse than her 2002 debut or 2003's ''Chapter II'', with the standout singles, decent album cuts, and filler fluff provided in equal doses." ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' journalist Steve Jones found that with ''Concrete Rose'' Ashanti "sticks closely to her usual formula of engaging beats and airy vocals ..Still, she is consistent enough to make this ''Rose'' bloom full time." Nicholas Tayor from

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, ...

called the album "a decent, 54-minute collection of mostly mid-tempo tracks by a decent R&B singer." ''

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 advertis ...

'' noted that "a more confident-sounding Ashanti is onboard for her third time out. Powered by sensual lead single "Only You," ''Concrete Rose'' contains several other equally rhythmic jams." Hattie Collins, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', found that "Ashanti doesn't stray from the R&B rulebook that has so far seen her sell some 7m albums in the US alone – namely a hip-hop backdrop of hard-knock beats tempered by a soul-lite vocal ..A lack of originality and too much filler mark Ashanti more as a pedestrian than the princess she purports to be." Steve Appleford from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote that Ashanti and ''Concrete Rose'' sound "trapped, sapped of strength and ideas, and buried beneath all the worst cold and calculated production tendencies of her label ..What follows is modern R&B; formula at its most flat and uninspired. For all her lovesick panting, pleading and purring, Ashanti is never emotionally engaged with the songs, which aren't worth the trouble anyway." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

''s Raymond Fiore remarked that "the thin-voiced vixen's third disc bruises both genres with a slew of mostly midtempo clunkers built with her weapons of choice: faux grit and forced sensuality." In his review for ''

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 Yor ...

'', Sal Cinquemani wrote: "Ashanti is incapable of doing slinky or sexy and, despite her incessant attempts at vamping, she can't all-out sing either – she's even upstaged by a

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

Chart performance

During the week of Christmas, ''Concrete Rose'' debuted at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with first-week sales of 254,000 units. 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 Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

chart the album debuted at number two where it spent a total of 28 consecutive weeks on the chart. On January 14, 2005, the album was certified Platinum by the

(RIAA) for one million shipped units. By April 2008, the album had sold 871,000 copies, according to

Nielsen Soundscan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...

. In total, it remained on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart for 20 consecutive weeks. Elsewhere, ''Concrete Rose'' debuted or peaked at number 16 in Japan, number 25 in the United Kingdom, number 36 in Germany, and number 65 in Canada. In Japan, the album was certified Gold by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pro ...

(RIAJ). In the United Kingdom, it also peaked at number four on the UK R&B Albums chart and was eventually certified Gold by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI).

Track listing

Notes * denotes additional producer Sample credits * "Message to the Fans (Skit)" contains samples from "

Why You Treat Me So Bad "Why You Treat Me So Bad?" is a 1987 single by Club Nouveau from their 1986 album '' Life, Love & Pain.'' The basic melodic hook of the song is taken from a hit by Club Nouveau member Jay King's previous project as producer, Timex Social Club (n ...

" by

Club Nouveau Club Nouveau () is an American R&B group formed by record producer/performer Jay King in 1986 in Sacramento, California, following the breakup of the Timex Social Club. The group's name ( French for "Club New") was changed from its original i ...

, written by Denzil Foster, Jay King, Jocelyn McElroy, and

Thomas McElroy Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy are an American R&B record production and songwriting duo, releasing recordings under the names Foster & McElroy and Fmob. They have written and produced songs for musicians such as Club Nouveau, Tony! Toni! To ...

. * "Don't Let Them" contains interpolations of "Could I Be Falling In Love" by

Syl Johnson Sylvester Johnson (born Sylvester Thompson; July 1, 1936 – February 6, 2022) was an American blues and soul singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. His most successful records included "Different Strokes" (1967), " Is It Because I' ...

, written by Willie Mitchell, Yvonne Mitchell, Earl Randle, and Lawrence Seymour. * "Love Again" contains an interpolation of "Fuck Faces" by

Scarface Scarface may refer to: Gangster-related * Scarface, nickname for Al Capone (1899–1947), an American gangster and a businessman. * ''Scarface'' (novel), a novel by Armitage Trail, loosely based on Capone's rise to power ** ''Scarface'' (1932 ...

featuring

Too Short Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28, 1966), better known by his stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper. A pioneer of West Coast hip-hop, Shaw was among the first acts to receive recognition in the genre during the late ...

Tela Tela is a town, with a population of 39,920 (2023 calculation), and a municipality in Honduras on the northern Caribbean coast. It is located in the Atlántida department, department of Atlantida. History Colonial era Tela was founded by th ...

, & Devin the Dude, and written by Devin Copeland, Mike Dean, Brad Jordan, Winston Rogers, and Todd Shaw. * "U" contains interpolations of " Freek'n You (Mr. Dalvin's Freek Remix)" by

Jodeci Jodeci ( ) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B quartet consisting of members DeVanté Swing, Dalvin DeGrate, Mr. Dalvin, K-Ci, and K-Ci & JoJo, JoJo. Formed in 1988 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jodeci began as a duo of DeVanté Swing and JoJo ...

featuring Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, written by Donald DeGrate. * "Turn It Up" contains a sample from "Short Eyes", written and performed by

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

Personnel

– vocals, background vocals, producer, associate executive producer, instrumentation * Won "Engineer to the Stars" Bee Allen – engineer * Chuck Amos – hair stylist * David Ashton – engineer * Ashaunna Ayars – marketing * Jerry Barnes – bass guitar * William Barnes – guitar * Erica Bowen – recording director * Milwaukee "Protools King" Buck – engineer * Al "Boogie" Carty – bass * Robin Clark – executive assistant * Tom Coyne – mastering * Kenneth Crouch – keyboards * Ashanti Douglas – executive producer * Tinya Y. Douglas – management * Tony Duran – photography *

Easy Mo Bee Osten S. Harvey Jr. (born December 8, 1965), better known by his stage name Easy Mo Bee, is an American hip hop and R&B record producer and DJ, known for his production work for artists such as Big Daddy Kane and Miles Davis, as well as his a ...

– drum programming, beats * Malcolm Flythe – producer * Stephen George – mixing *

– producer, executive producer, mixing * Deidre Graham – marketing * Terry "Murda Mac" Herbert – assistant engineer * Bashiri Johnson – percussion * Gavin "YG" Johnston – assistant engineer * Terese Joseph – A&R * Jimi Kendrix – producer * Darcell Lawrence – production executive * Trevor Lawrence – drums * Selan Lerner – keyboards * Jerome Leventhal – management * Chris "Gotti" Lorenzo – A&R * Tammy Lucas –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

* Deborah Mannis-Gardner –

sample Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

clearance * Glen "It's Crazy" Markazi – engineer, mixing * Josh McDonnell – assistant engineer * Demetrius McGhee – organ, strings, bass guitar, keyboards, producer, instrumentation * Rosie Michel – stylist * Fred Moore – A&R * Karen Moskowitz – photography * Rick Patrick – creative director * Tenisha Ramos – marketing * Bill Sample –

* Chink Santana – producer * Adam Scheurmann – engineer, assistant engineer * Paul Silveira – engineer * Todd "Shortma" Simms – A&R * Quinshae Snead – personal assistant * Rob Stefanson – assistant engineer * Supa Engineer "Dura" – mixing * Laura Tamburino – art producer * Errol "Breezie" Jr. Vaughn – A&R * Andy West – art direction

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2004 albums Albums produced by Chink Santana Albums with cover art by Tony Duran Ashanti (singer) albums Def Jam Recordings albums