Concrete Rose

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Concrete Rose
Studio album by Ashanti
Released December 14, 2004
Recorded 2003–2004
Genre
Length 54:56
Label Murder Inc., Def Jam
Producer Ashanti Douglas (exec.)
Selan Lerner (exec.)
Irv Gotti (exec.)
Chink Santana
7 Aurelius
Malcolm Flythe
Jimi Kendrix
Demetrius McGhee
Ashanti chronology

Ashanti's Christmas
(2003)		 Concrete Rose
(2004)		 Collectables by Ashanti
(2005)
Singles from Concrete Rose
  1. "Only U"
    Released: October 26, 2004
  2. "Don't Let Them"
    Released: April 5, 2005
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 47/100[1]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
Blender [1]
Billboard (average)[3]
Entertainment Weekly C−[4]
The Guardian [5]
Los Angeles Times [6]
PopMatters [7]
Rolling Stone [8]
Slant Magazine [9]
USA Today [10]

Concrete Rose is the third studio album by American R&B singer Ashanti, released by Murder Inc. and Def Jam on December 14, 2004 in the United States. The album involves production by Irv Gotti, Chink Santana, and 7 Aurelius and features guest appearances from Lloyd and Ja Rule. Concrete Rose spawned two singles: the 7 Aurelius-produced "Only U" and "Don't Let Them".

The album debut at number seven on the Billboard 200 chart in December 2004 with first-week sales of 254,000 units. Concrete Rose was certified Platinum by the RIAA on January 14, 2005.

Background

Chart performance

Concrete Rose debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 album chart in December 2004 and Billboard's Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart at number one with first-week sales of 254,000 units sold. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA on January 14, 2005 and remained on the Billboard 200 albums chart for 20 weeks. As of December 2005, Concrete Rose has sold over 1 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.[11]

Outside the United States the album debuted or peaked at #25 in the United Kingdom, #98 in France, #35 in Germany and #66 in Switzerland.

Singles

  • "Turn It Up" featuring Ja Rule was originally intended to be the first single but was used as a Buzz single, as the label later decided to release "Only U" instead. The first single from the album "Only U" reached number thirteen on Billboard Hot 100 and number ten Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single became Ashanti's 13th Top 40 hit Stateside. It was also successful internationally, it reached the top five in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the top ten in Japan, the top twenty in New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany, and the top forty in Australia and France.
  • Although the album was successful and certified platinum by January 2005, it was all over shadowed by issues with The Inc and Def Jam. Label issues delayed the release of a second single. When it came down to either, "Don't Let Them" or "Don't Leave Me Alone", Ashanti chose her personal favorite and came out of pocket to deliver a music video. The single was only released in the US, where it failed to chart and reaching Number 38 in the UK. "Don't Let Them" was never promoted by the label and was the final single off Concrete Rose.

Tracklisting

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Concrete Rose" (Intro)Aurelius, Irv Gotti 1:17
2. "Still Down" (featuring T.I.)Ashanti Douglas, Flythe, Harris, Gotti, Smith 4:13
3. "Message to the Fans" (skit)Aurelius, Douglas, Foster, King, Gotti, McElroy 0:23
4. "Only U"  Aurelius, Barnes, Ashanti Douglas, Lerner, Gotti 3:06
5. "Focus"  Aurelius, Barnes, Ashanti Douglas, Lerner, Gotti 3:17
6. "Don't Let Them"  Douglas, Gotti, McGhee, Mitchell, Mitchell, Randle, Seymour 4:23
7. "Love Again"  Aurelius, Copeland, Dean, Douglas, Brad Jordan, Gotti, Rogers, Shaw 4:08
8. "Take Me Tonight" (featuring Lloyd)Douglas, Gotti, Polite, Smith 4:05
9. "U"  Aurelius, DeGrate, Douglas, Gotti 3:35
10. "Every Lil' Thing"  Aurelius, Douglas, Lorenzo 3:56
11. "Turn It Up" (featuring Ja Rule)Atkins, Douglas, Gotti, Mayfield, Smith 4:16
12. "Buck 3000" (skit)  0:22
13. "So Hot"  Douglas, Gotti, Parker 4:57
14. "Don't Leave Me Alone" (featuring 7 Aurelius)Aurelius, Douglas, Lorenzo 3:33
15. "Sister Stories" (skit) (featuring Shi Shi)Douglas 0:45
16. "Freedom"  Douglas, Lorenzo, McGhee 3:51
17. "Wonderful" (Remix) (featuring Ja Rule & R. Kelly)Atkins, Douglas, Kelly, Gotti, Smith 4:41

Charts and certifications

Chart (2004) Peak
position
Dutch Albums Chart 43
German Albums Chart 26
French Albums Chart 48
Swiss Albums Chart 56
UK Albums Chart 20
Billboard 200 7

Year-end charts

Year Chart Rank
2004 Billboard 200[12] 76
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[13] 28

Credits

  • Won "Engineer to the Stars" Bee Allen – engineer
  • Chuck Amos Hair – stylist
  • David Ashton – engineer
  • Seven Aurelius – harp
  • Ashaunna Ayars – marketing
  • Jerry Barnes – bass guitar
  • J Money Williams- the boss
  • 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 – drum programming, beats
  • Malcolm Flythe – producer
  • Stephen George – mixing
  • Irv Gotti – 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
  • Deborah Mannis-Gardner – 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 – Hammond organ
  • Chink Santana – producer
  • Adam Scheurmann – engineer, assistant engineer
  • 7 Aurelius – vocals, background vocals, producer, associate executive producer, instrumentation
  • 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

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.metacritic.com/music/concrete-rose/ashanti/critic-reviews
  2. ↑ Allmusic review
  3. ↑ Billboard review at the Wayback Machine (archived December 18, 2004)
  4. ↑ Fiore, Raymond (2004-12-20). Concrete Rose Review. Entertainment Weekly. p. 71. Retrieved 2012-04-10. 
  5. ↑ The Guardian review
  6. ↑ Los Angeles Times review
  7. ↑ PopMatters review
  8. ↑ Rolling Stone review at the Wayback Machine (archived June 7, 2008)
  9. ↑ Slant Magazine review
  10. ↑ USA Today review
  11. ↑ Memory Lane Music Group- Ashanti Hits Platinum'
  12. ↑
  13. ↑

External links

Ashanti
Studio albums
Other albums
Singles
Featured singles
Films
  • Book
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