To say that Asher Roth doesn’t fit the typical profile for an up-and-coming rapper is an understatement. A proud Pennsylvania suburbanite, Roth decided to give music a shot only after studying elementary education at a teacher’s college for two years. "I’ve got beef with the educational system," he told me when we met up at SXSW last month. "The reason why I got into the rap thing is because mainly, I was like,’Okay, I can teach 25 kids in a classroom and do lesson plans all thetime, or I could write my own lesson plans to teach a million kids.’" Though Roth is far from the first rapper to come from a suburban background or attend a university, not many artists will flaunt those facts so willingly. He even named his breakout single "I Love College"!
Of course, "I Love College" is more of a meatheaded party anthem than an enlightening lesson plan — perhaps not so far outside rap’s mainstream after all. But Roth told me that he didn’t want that self-described "novelty song" to define him going forward. And now that his full-length debut, Asleep in the Bread Aisle, has arrived in stores this week, the world can get a better idea of what Roth’s musical vision sounds like. Love him or hate him, the guy’s certainly got a unique take on where rap is headed. So let’s hear it: Are you planning on picking up Asleep in the Bread Aisle? What do you make of the whole Roth phenomenon?
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i bought it and i am loving it
He’s pretty much terrible. Eminem without the lyrical ability. I can name about 500 rappers that never got his shine that were way better. Gimmicky spoiled Pennsylvania rap. Oh yeah, sounds awesome
No, I’m not ready any more than I was ready for Vanilla Ice or Emminem. But I’m sure once the media outlets are done marketing him and shoving him down our throats then we will cry uncle and obediently adore him until he goes out of style. Either that or move to Canada where the rap is still too legit to quit.
i think he is a breath of fresh air for rap music. Not in the same category as Eminem but he’s getting there. He’s funny – clever and thats what we want to hear.
Who are you people? Shiny and the nature boy need to open up their minds. Stop and listen, I’ll be Asleep In The Bread Aisle.
Who are you people? Shiny and the nature boy need to open up their minds. Stop and listen, I’ll be Asleep In The Bread Aisle.
Why are we drawing a comparison between a poor kid from Detroit, and a suburbanite from PA? B/c they’re white? Please. Asher used his surroundings to get signed. Apparently he had something marketable, b/c he got signed on MySpace. No doubt there are better MCs, but this guy did a great job marketing, and talked to the right people.
People wanna hate, and draw reference to Vanilla Ice, but that dude acted like he was hard. Asher raps about college. A LOT of people can relate to college. Where a smaller demographic can relate to being a gangster.
Don’t hate him because he does pink bubble gum rap. He’s making dollars… more than you?
Don’t hate on this kid because you’ve only heard “I Love College.” Check out his Amili freestyle or She Don’t Wanna Man and Be By Myself on the album. He has some rhymes man, and yes he’s way to over-hyped right now, but give him some time, let him mature and he’s gonna be killing it.
While he definitely has skill, he’s no better than ProZac from Foreign Legion.
I wonder if he’ll follow Eminem or the Beastie Boys and write a rather humorous debut, then your sophomore effort becomes one of the greatest albums ever [Paul’s Boutique, Marshall Mathers LP)
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