Fantasia's Side Effects

Much like the track of the same name that earned Fantasia her first Grammy Award, the last few years of her life have been what some may call “Bittersweet”. She’s had hit records, starred in The Color Purple on Broadway, lived her life on camera for reality TV, ended a high-profile romance and most shockingly overcame a prescription drug overdose. If Fantasia tells you she’s been there and done that, then you just might be inclined to believe her. After 3 successful albums, she has returned to her first love once again with the new release, Side Effects of You. She’s got a sexier, slimmer image, a new attitude and a new outlook on life. But the question many are wanting to know is just how good is this new music of hers? Well, here’s what I thought of her new album….

First of all, I have to applaud Fantasia (who affectionately refers to herself as ‘Tasia’) for taking a road less traveled with Side Effects of You. She has worked with some of the most well-known songwriters and producers in the music business, including Babyface, Jazze Pha, Missy Elliott and Swizz Beatz. So you would think if it’s not broke don’t fix it, right? Not the case with ‘Tasia’. She opted to scrap the big names (other than a few featured artists- Big K.R.I.T., Tank, Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott) and went with her gut instinct with producer Harmony (a.k.a “H-Money”). He produced all of the album, minus one song , while Fantasia had a hand in penning most of the lyrics. Thankfully, Harmony was able to give Fantasia’s album a versatile enough of sound to where it doesn’t all sound the same.

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