Sweet expressions of romantic love fill the disco-tinged “I Found Lovin.” “Living My Life” emphasizes a girl’s need for tender reassurance from her parents (“All I wanted was to hold my mother’s hand and hear her say, Baby, ya gonna make it”). Ashanti urges fans to consider the brevity of life and make the most of every day (“Then Ya Gone”). With a prayer on her lips, she decides a cheating boyfriend isn’t worth her time on “U Say, I Say.” She confidently tells a man prone to fits of temper that she refuses to live in constant conflict with him (“Carry On”). Sadly…
She does just the opposite on the codependent “Breakup 2 Makeup,” offering to take back a volatile guy. That cut, “Sweet Baby” and “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)” make veiled nods to sexual activity. “I Don’t Mind” gets more explicit. Poor judgment on “The Story of 2” finds the unmarried singer’s hormones calling the shots (“We gon’ make sweet love ‘til the morning light … I don’t care if it’s wrong/I don’t know if it’s love, but I can’t get enough”). Obscenities are muffled or bleeped, but teens needn’t work hard to fill in the blanks. Liner photos could be more modest.
Chapter II is better than Ashanti’s last disc. Some terrific messages here. But for every heartfelt mention of prayer there’s also a sexual proposition. Add barely-edited obscenities, and wise families will want to wait and see what she has to say in chapter three.
