Concrete Rose (2004)

Ashanti, the princess of radio-rap hooks, shreds any hope of artistic growth on Concrete Rose the moment she demystifies her CD's title on the simpleminded ''Concrete Rose Intro'': Hip-hop is gritty, kinda like concrete, she explains, while R&B is sensual — you know, like a rose. 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. Ah, but she'll always have poetry.