It has been four years since the R&B songstress Ashanti released her third studio album, Concrete Rose. Now, the princess of hip-hop and R&B has returned with a new outlook and sound as she preps her forthcoming LP, The Declaration, dropping on Tuesday (June 3).
"It's been four years since my last project and music has changed so much," Ashanti explained. "Nowadays [the music] is changing every few weeks. This time around I'm handling the whole project on my own. It's like I'm declaring a sense of freedom, a sense of growing up."
The songbird's fourth studio album is set to hit shelves this Tuesday powered by the smash single "The Way I Love You," the album is a testimony to Ashanti declaring her independence. Venturing out from working strictly with The Inc. beatmakers, the multi-platinum siren traveled the country to collaborate with an A-list group of producers, including, Babyface, Jermaine Dupri, LT Hutton, Brian Michael Cox, Rodney Jerkins, Seven, Nottz and Polow da Don.
"It was really important for me to just get out there and give them something a little bit different, but, definitely keep [that] core and signature [and] add a little bit of spice to it," she explained. "Before it was me just working with in house producers. [This time] I flew all around the country just experimenting with new things, new sounds. It made perfect sense."
After a four-year hiatus, which saw her label and mentor Irv Gotti acquitted of money laundering charges, Ashanti was forced to sit home and wait patiently as the trail carried out. Although, the process was frustrating for the singer, the situations taught her valuable lessons.
"A lot people see the glitz and the glamour but there's a lot of stuff that goes on behind closed doors," she explained. "A lot of politics, a lot of grime [and] greed. You get placed in situations you have no control over and you definitely have to know how to handle that and deal with it. It's either you sink or swim."
"I didn't want to sit back and kick my feet up for four years," she continued, "there were a lot of things that happened due to certain circumstances. [But] I don't have any regrets, I couldn't ask for a better experience, just learning, being hands on and just being so much more knowledgeable about the process. I've just grown a lot and I learned about myself, my character and I became a stronger person. I found out my weaknesses and my strengths."
The Declaration hits stores on Tuesday via The Inc./Universal Motown. The disc features appearances from Robin Thicke, Nelly and Akon.