Pop Goes the White Boy (Asher Roth Review)

After much trepidation, I finally downloaded the Asher Roth's "Asleep in The Bread Aisle" album and decided to give it a chance. Despite my own pre-judgement of all that he represents in Hip-Hop's new generation, I know that music and talent speak for itself. Having said that, I think that the circumstances surrounding him, his promo, his ability to pull off a 4/20 Monday release, the fact that his face is plastered on every billboard and bus stop, will always be a sad reminder that his whiteness - rejected by him or not - will always get him further than the next artist of color.

Sonically, the album was well-mixed and composed. "As I Em", which I thought almost an effort in futility, still was heartfelt and insightful, but did none to quell the Em comparisons or even begin to address his white privilege in Hip Hop (want to hear a real White MC address it? Peep Macklemore's "White Privilege"). As the beat starts, it sounded like a Sublime knock-off, (and trust, my college years were spent listening to Bradley Nowell croon, so it definitely worked for nostalgia's sake), but as the chorus resonated and got more bluegrass, I thought, ok, but still kinda corny. And he still sounds like Em. So when "Bad Day" started and it immediately reminded me of "Drugs" by Em, I thought, uh oh, the boy's in trouble. Being that I'm a stoner and Roth and I have that in common, I was thoroughly entertained by the story although with the comparison with the latter, I knew that I wanted more, lyrically.

"Be My Myself" was given a thumbs-up largely because of my love for everything Cee Lo touches, and "Falling" reminded me of the Crazytown one-hit wonder joint. "His Dream" was emotional and a nice homage to his PopDukes, and I dug the content of "She Don't Want A Man" with Keri Hilson - it's nice to finally see a dude speak on something that most women feel when we go out. "Lion's Roar" was...aight, and not that believable when it comes to him braggin' about his sexual prowess, and he attempted to address more substantive content with "Sour Patch Kids", and I appreciated the effort, lol.

"La Di Da" had a nice sound to it, and I enjoyed "Blunt Cruisin'" and its ska breakdowns with the whole cop/droppin' the bleez scares, something that only true stoners can appreciate. But the whole "I Love College" and was something I couldn't relate to - since most of the working class folks I know had neither the parental support nor leisure to royally fuck off in college and have the gall to brag about it. And I enjoyed "Lark On My Go Kart" much more after I watched the animated video.

So there you have it. It's not my cup of tea, but it did what it promised and delivered to the young white masses yearning to be free (to rap) and trust-fund babies ready to spend their parents' money to keep Hip Hop afloat. Asher has talent and I think there's plenty of room for growth on his end, but I can't review him and not be critical of the things that he doesn't necessarily have to earn to be famous. Because white men pervade all genres of music, they are given the creative agency that may not have been granted to an '00 3Stacks or even a "devil-worshipping" Tech N9ne. So it wasn't Hip-Hop to me, persay, rather Hip-Hop Lite, watered-down for those who didn't grow up to Chuck D or Ice Cube.

Also, I was reviewing his album over the weekend when he made his now-infamous Twitter slip-up mocking Don Imus, he twitted "At Rutgers hangin' with some nappy headed hoes" and it totally took him down two notches for me. Here I am, progressive and Pro-Brown, ready to defend artists and their creative spectrum, when he pulls an idiotic joke like this. Maybe he didn't realize that Hip-Hop is still some people's only way out and should have heeded to Macklemore's line, "Most whites don't wanna admit that it's occurin'/Cuz we got the best deal/The music without the burden."



*also as a sidenote, Eminem transcended his skin color in Hip-Hop, to me, because of his skill. It is undeniable. But what was easier for me to accept as a person of color was that he also came from shitty, working-class conditions and had to work his way to the top via the battle scene. Can't say the same for Asher.