Ashanti

Looking even less legit than the illegit-looking compilation of early recordings released in 2004, Collectables by Ashanti is an official compilation from The Inc released to coincide with the 2005 holiday shopping season. A succinct disc at ten tracks and 40 minutes, it throws together remixes and a handful of new recordings, including the ruggedly sweet "Still on It" (featuring Paul Wall and Method Man), the drama-free "I Love You," and the Chink Santana-produced "Show You" -- which is like a lukewarm scramble of some of her biggest singles. Nothing here will appeal to casual fans, but those who have bought each proper Ashanti album on-sight will be happy to obtain the remixes of "Rain on Me" (with Ja Rule, Charli Baltimore, and Hussein Fatal), "Only U" (with Ja Rule, Caddillac Tah, Merce, and Black Child), "Still Down" (with Caddillac Tah), and "Focus" (with Free). [A clean version of the disc was also made available.] ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide