The Declaration
album by Ashanti
The Declaration is the fifth studio album by American singer Ashanti. It was released by The Inc. Records and Universal Motown Records on June 3, 2008. Her first project in four years, it followed the end of The Inc.'s distribution deal with Def Jam Recordings after a three-year investigation in which label head Irv Gotti was acquitted, a process that nonetheless reshaped their professional relationship. The album marked a strategic departure for Ashanti, featuring collaborations with a new set of producers, including Babyface, Rodney Jerkins, Jermaine Dupri, L.T. Hutton, and Pharrell Williams.
The album received mixed reviews, with critics praising its subtlety and signs of artistic growth while criticizing its lack of standout hits, originality, and strong personality. Commercially, it debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 with significantly lower sales than her previous albums, marking a noticeable decline in momentum. Three singles were released in support of the album, including lead single "The Way That I Love You," which reached number two on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The Declaration would mark her final album to be released on Gotti's label.
Background
In December 2004, Ashanti released her fourth studio album Concrete Rose through The Inc.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Declaration” as album by Ashanti. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as album by Ashanti. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2567086. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2008 and 2004.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Declaration”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Declaration primary sources, The Declaration archive and Declaration research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Declaration”?
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This entry incorporates text from “The Declaration” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.