Fantasia has been gifting the music industry with her big, big voice for 12 years. But fifth album The Definition Of will come as something of surprise, as she moves away from her usual RnB, and explores genres such as country and pop.
The album opens with the uptempo, rock-infused Crazy. Fantasia bluntly admits this word describes her, but adds that she doesn’t really care what people think of that, singing: “I do what I like/ I’ve got nothing to prove”.
Next up is the pop-tastic No Time For It, a song that should instantly boost your courage in times of uncertainty. With lyrics like “The hate don’t really matter/ There’s no time for it”, and perfect harmonies, it belongs on every chill-out playlist.
The best song is Ugly, a beautiful piano ballad. In it, Fantasia sings of a life filled with wealth and fame, which she thinks many want; but she says that if you don’t have love, life will always be ugly. She expresses gratitude for having a “good, good man” and good food, gifts that keep her life “far from ugly”.
The Definition Of is an album with important messages to it, and which deserves to be tasted slowly and carefully. Fantasia described it as “an album that truly embodies [my] love of music from all genres”, and in this respect it’s a total success.