Can't Stop (album)

Background

"Can't Stop" features material that Ashanti (born Ashanti Douglas) recorded on July 15, 1997. The tapes resurfaced in September 2004 and was re-mixed and mastered by Genard Parker and Ernie Lake.

Ashanti claims she recorded the material for demo-shopping purposes and never intended the recordings to be released to the public.

"I was just a teenager following my dreams when I signed with Parker. Me and my mother went to his house to work on some songs hoping to launch my career. Genard couldn't deliver for me and he signed a release permitting me to go to another record company."

Further, on two of the tracks she only sings background vocals, while on another she is not performing at all.

Ashaniti filed suit to stop distribution. In addition to Genard Parker (and possibly Ernie Lake), Big Records Australia, Farm Records, Unique Corp., Simply Vinyl, Team Entertainment, ZYX Music and others are named as defendants in the lawsuit. The album has a street date of February 21, 2005.

Further lawsuits

Genard Parker, sued Ashanti for breach of contract and the jury awarded $630,000. When Ashanti got a record deal, he let her out of the contract she signed with him, with the understanding that he'd get to produce some songs for her and earn royalties. Although the jury took Parker’s side, they didn’t give him everything he asked for. He had sued Ashanti for $2.2 million.

Of the $630,000 awarded by the jury, US District Judge Jed Rakoff rejected all but $50,000 of the award on the grounds that the jurors did not have adequate facts to determine damages so they were left to speculate.

Ashanti sought an injunction to block the release and damages in excess of $1 million.

September 19, 2006, Ashanti has settled a lawsuit with her first producer, Genard Parker, out of court on Tuesday, dropping all litigation in their contract dispute.

Release

Can’t Stop was first released in 2004 and then on January 25, 2006 in United States. It was re-released multiple times under different labels throughout 2007. It was released on May 31, 2012 for digital download in United Kingdom only.

US standard edition

1. "Can't Stop" – 4:01
2. "Come 2 Me" – 3:52
3. "More Than a Melody" – 4:49
4. "You Don't Have 2 Love Me" – 4:50
5. "Believe" – 4:17
6. "Don't Ever Let Me Go" – 3:47
7. "It's About Time" – 3:52
8. "Baby Baby" – 4:00
9. "You Always Seem to Make Me Feel" – 3:41
10. "By My Side" – 3:26
11. "Baby Baby" (Red Rhythm Radio Mix) – 3:53

Japanese edition

1. "Can't Stop" – 4:01
2. "Come 2 Me" – 3:52
3. "More Than a Melody" – 4:49
4. "You Don't Have 2 Love Me" – 4:50
5. "Believe" – 4:17
6. "Don't Ever Let Me Go" – 3:47
7. "It's About Time" – 3:52
8. "Baby Baby" – 4:00
9. "You Always Seem to Make Me Feel" – 3:41
10. "By My Side" – 3:26
11. "Baby Baby (Remix)"
12. "Can't Stop (Remix)"
13. "You Don't Have 2 Love Me (Remix)"
14. "Believe [Smoker Remix]"