Album Review- Asher Roth- Asleep in the Bread Aisle





So the second greatest white hope has finally arrived. That doesn't mean that this is the second white rapper or even that Asher is the second best white rapper, I still give that to Bubba Sparxx, but he is the second with the marketing muscle behind him to actually have expectations. To be sure either Ash Roth is already accepted or looked at with extreme skepticism, not much in between, so after the controversy and angry militants claiming he is the new Elvis here to steal our culture, his debut finally drops.




Ash starts off with "Lark on My Go-Kart" a fun romp that really when taken together doesn't make much sense. With a a flow and voice that is closest to Marshall Mathers than any other white artist to date, Ash does little to differentiate himself initially. He has a lot of silly metaphors and descriptions that he uses but unlike Em's dysfunctional upbringing, Asher gives us the college kid perspective. This is full of drinking games like beer pong which he mentions on "I Love College" and smoking weed ,"Blunt Cruisin'". This is where Asher lets us know he isn't Eminem. We could never imagine Em making a song about college.



Like most artists who don't create album filler by talking about selling dope and fucking bitches, it seems as though it could be a struggle sometimes to come up with suitable subject matter for songs. "La Di Da" is a song about relieving stress, "Sour Patch Kids" is a criticism of American greed. The beat is hot and the flow on this track is worth mentioning.



The slip-ups show up with "Lion's Roar" which features New Kingdom on the hook and Busta Rhymes who performs solidly on the beat. Asher's part falls short because he tries to talk a lil greasy but otherwise for most hardcore rap listeners (or maybe it's just the people who like commercial rap) will be turned off because the song is in fact, different. "Bad Day" also attempts to be humorous while telling a story but the jokes aren't there.




"His Dream" Is Asher's attempt to talk about the relationship between his father and himself. Now this song is boring, but it's a good song. The fact of the matter is that it is touching but it is hard to dramatize a normal life and most people want to hear the exaggerations though someone like myself could relate to that more than a Jay-z who didn't know his pops. I am feeling "She Don't Wanna Man" which features Keri Hilson. I can see that this should be the next single, not much lyrically but it's catchy as hell. "Be By Myself" features vocals from Cee-lo and Chester French back up Asher as he does a song about how Eminem has affected his life as a white rapper on "As I Em" which is worth listening to.

Overall, Asher has promise. Some people complain because they think he is a marketing creation with no love for the culture, but so are Gucci Mane, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, and countless other "rappers" who are in the game now. Asher has potential but he needs to direct his concepts just a little better to craft a truly great album, this one is merely good.

Rating: 3.5/5

Comments

  1. I haven't heard the whole album, but none of the other stuff I've heard from dude, including these songs in this post, impress me. It's not that dude is really wack, he just isn't special to me. Not real ill, and doesn't have much to say. But before I completely write his content off maybe I oughta see how decent the album cuts are

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  2. He doesn't have much to talk about and for most people because he doesnt create filler with drugs and balling tales they not gonna feel it. But most artists are truly limited but they yap about dope and guns it is acceptable to average listeners.

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  3. true, most rappers have nothing to say, but at least say it with style. He has neither content nor style from what I've heard

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