AceShowbiz -

R 'n' B singer Ashanti has finally set a date for her much-delayed album "The Declaration". The set which would be her fourth and the follow up to 2004's "Concrete Rose", will hit the stores on June 3 through The Inc./Universal Motown with the first single being "The Way That I Love You".

"It's been a long time coming for change, and the timing was just right," Ashanti told Billboard.com. The album employs in many ways issues on womanhood and women empowerment. She said the album "touches on those low points in life that determine whether you're strong enough to go on. It reminds women that they can't let things get the best of them."

The set also marks Ashanti's independence in hiring producers outside those provided by The Inc. Among the producers she lined-up for the set are Robin Thicke, Jermaine Dupri, LT Hutton, Babyface, and Pharrell Williams.

Beside "The Way", confirmed songs in the album are "Mother" that is inspired by her relationship with her mother and "Click" which is "about when you're trying to get in contact with someone you're seeing but he's not answering, and by the time he calls you feel like, 'I don't want to talk to you now.'"

Additionally, Ashanti will also release a book called "Ashanti Style" that is said to appeal to teenage readers. No release date has been set for the Jump at the Sun/Hyperion book.