Upon first watching Asher Roth’s I Love college video for the first time, I thought Eminem had been reincarnated as a preppy white rapper. Looking closer I realized that it was in fact another white rapper on the hip hop scene! After listening to listening to I Love College I grew to like this newcomer to the hip hop scene very quickly because of the wild lifestyle he spoke of that many college kids live every year. Like myself, most people compare him to Eminem because of his laid-back, comical rapping style but Asher believes that they are two artists. I guess it would be cliche to compare him to the only white rapper that is one of the best selling of all time.
Asher Roth is obviously not your average hip hop artist. He’s not from the hood, he’s from a suburban town – Morrisville, Pennsylvania. Not really exposed to hip hop at a young age, Roth got his first taste of hip hop in listening to Jay-Z’s Hard Knock Life. After entering college he posted some songs he created on MySpace and caught the interest of once VP of So-So Def, Scooter Braun who later became his manager and helped him start his career as a hip hop artist. On June of last year, Asher Roth put out his first release with Don Cannon & DJ Drama on a mixtape called The Greenhouse Effect. He has already receieved high acclaim as he was featured on the cover of XXL Magazine as one of the top 10 Hip Hop Freshmen of 2009.
His first album, Asleep in the Bread Aisle, is set to be released on April 21st of this year, with his first single I Love College already hitting the airwaves.
So far, I’m just getting to his first mixtape where he rhymes over some notable beats (Cannon, Dey Know, Roc Boys, etc.) and he seems to be holding his own. His rhymes are very raw and much about his experiences about his life as 20 year old colleges student. Will he be able to make his mark in hip hop by being himself? Listen to what he has to say about the music business and being a newcomer before going on for SXSW:
