Ja Rule Featuring R. Kelly & Ashanti - Wonderful
Wonderful - Ja Rule, R. Kelly & Ashanti |
Time for my backdated Thursday Revisit, and how do I only just know this song, especially since it hit number one in the UK? Like, seriously? Most UK number ones I know off the top of my head, especially in the 00's when the chart was practically my life, and yes I do keep up with it now, but I don't care for it as much as I used to (because streaming has messed it up - but let's not go there); but this song only just slightly rings a bell. I know I was never into Ja Rule, R. Kelly, or Ashanti at this time, but this song sure is on fire which completely explains why it hit the top spot. Watch Ja Rule, R. Kelly, and Ashanti team-up and present their performance energy whilst there's inclusion of half-naked women in this music video for the UK number one song "Wonderful".
Ja Rule, real name Jeffrey Atkins, hit the height of his fame back in the 00's. This song is one of his biggest, especially in the UK which is his only number one, to-date. The song did well around the world, but most countries favoured his other hits such as "Always On Time" and "Mesmerize", both of which feature Ashanti - just like this song. R. Kelly has been a prominent force in the music industry for a number of years, his full name is Robert Kelly. He hit it big with "I Believe I Can Fly" and "Ignition (Remix)" which has truly implanted him into the history of music in every way. Then there's Ashanti, full name Ashanti Douglas, who pretty much helped Ja Rule turn his songs into hits. She then went into the film industry, before working on new music which didn't reach many people, unlike her previous efforts. All three of these acts need to make a return to mainstream charts around the world, with the right song, I'm sure they will. This song was written by Robert Kelly, Jeffrey Atkins, Irving Lorenzo, and K. Smith.
The music video was directed by Hype Williams, and I am not that impress. It's just another typical hip-hop and R&B infused music video that we've seen time and again. It does trick us into thinking it's a performance piece visual, but then the half-naked women come in with very little connection to the song.
I actually don't get this at all, like they are singing about wishing they had true love and not quite knowing if the woman they are with (or in the case of this music video - women they are with) actually loves them. They're questioning whether she would still be there if they didn't have all the money, cars and jewels. If they're referring to the women in this music video, with bodies like that, I very much doubt they'd stick around if you had no money. Although, it is possible as true love does come in all sorts of forms.
Overall, Ashanti doesn't add much to the video, although her vocals stun us all on the song. The lyrical content is engaging, real, and rich; it's not a surprise that it became a hit. However, I am disappointed by the music video, they definitely could've added a bit more, and R. Kelly's rap scene sure looks like there was originally a bigger narrative - if only there was.
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