Ashanti Releases Decent Album

Ashanti has never been the best R&B singer. Her first two albums were full of filler, her third record was great and then her fourth had a lot of filler again. BraveHeart was finally released after three years of being pushed back. While the record is decent, it's not worth the three year wait.
The original first single "The Woman You Love" featured Busta Rhymes and was a fantastic R&B song. However that single isn't featured here and it's better than any of the songs. The new first single "Never Should Have" is a soulful, emotional ride that had traditional R&B instrumentation. The second single "I Got It" features Rick Ross and is a hip hop influenced track that is a catchy way to introduce the record.
The best song on this record is "First Real Love" featuring reggae singer Beenie Man. This song is a great reggae inspired track that could have been huge in 2003. The song likely won't go anywhere but it's experimental and Ashanti's vocals sound great.
Other highlights include "Count" which was inspired by hip hop, "She Can't" which is classic Ashanti and "Don't Tell Me No."
"Early in the Morning" features Future and is a waste of four minutes. "Scars" is a decent song but it's far too long. "Love Games" which features Jeremih of "Birthday Sex" fame and is stupid.
Ashanti's vocals got a lot better with this album. For her earlier music she didn't sing that great but now her voice is better. You can really hear the soul in her vocals and she makes you feel what she's feeling.
Ashanti has had a great career with some great songs, but her albums were never that great. This record is more cohesive than her previous albums. That isn't hard though. This does show however that Ashanti has still got it.