Why Asher Roth will NOT be a one-hit wonder

I know what you're thinking: "Great, another white, 23-year-old hip-hop blogger is jumping on the Asher Roth bandwagon...big surprise."

Granted, your skepticism is warranted. "I Love College," after all, is a gimmick song. His nasal voice is also eerily similar to another white rapper you might have heard before (see left), so the kid's still got plenty to prove before he wins over fans, much less fans of "true hip-hop." (Those quotes are for a separate blog post, but I digress...)

Gimmick it might be, but give the guy some credit. The 21st-century college lifestyle hadn't yet been made into a song; Asher noticed and he NAILED it. As if my fellow recent college grads didn't miss college enough already, now I can simultaneously laugh and cry every time "College" comes on.

Thanks to some friends at Universal, I've spent the last week dissecting Asleep In The Bread Aisle (in stores 4/20 - duh), and have concluded just what this blog post's title says...Asher ain't going nowhere.

As a whole, I found Asleep to not necessarily be an outstanding body of work, but more of a testament to why this guy deserves so much hype -- a characteristic very similar to Lupe Fiasco's debut. The skills are there, no doubt about it. With that in mind, if our great white hope continues to mature in the ways Lupe did -- more consistent production and a more refined direction of "who he is" -- we should expect platinum plaques for years to come.

Roth's aptitude as a wordsmith is evident right off the bat with the album's opening track, "Lark on My Go-Cart," named for Asher's fantasy joyride with Lisa from Saved By The Bell. The track offers Eminem's humor, Aesop Rock's acerbity, and the quiet confidence of your funniest stoner friends, all rolled (no pun intended) into one. References to Cheetos and Teddy Ruxpin will keep the potheads happy and the 80s-babies listening, respectively. The album jumps immediately into cannabis cornucopia with "Blunt Cruisin'," an no-holds-barred ode to suburban blazing and avoiding the po-po. If only this song was around when I was 17!! These tracks offer something that has never been available to the masses: a hip-hop album by the white people, for the white people.

Here's the thing: Eminem is a great rapper, sure. His angry rage and resentment toward his past made it easy for parent-hating kids to easily relate. But his psychotic nature made it so that the rest of white America could never REALLY connect. Asher isn't trying to be anything except himself: a pale, scrawny, suburban MC, with a sense of humor that deserves your attention. Period.

For a number of reasons, I can't comment on specifics regarding the rest of the album. What I can tell you is this: this album is more than the frat house soundtrack that the skeptics are predicting. Asher spits (and spits well) on everything from partying to politics, chasing girls to chasing dreams, and everything in between. Knowing that they will never disappear, Roth approaches the Marshall Mathers comparisons head-on with an entire song dedicated to just why he is NOT that other guy. On a less serious yet more newsworthy note, the Michael Phelps fiasco has proven that Americans are less offended than ever by marijuana use...and I think this will only work in Roth's favor. So once your head clears up from all that 4/20 haze, go to your local record store...er, iTunes...and pick up Asleep In The Bread Aisle. A five-star album it isn't, but it surely leaves a lasting impression that keeps me itching for more.

Still can't get enough? Click here for DJ Semtex's 25-minute "Story of Asher Roth."

"Allen Iversooooon, Hakeem Olajuwooooon"