13 Comments

1. AVENGER XL
   Posted July 3, 2008 at 1:50 am | Permalink

   this dude sounds like a complex emcee Paul Barman. He is not going to blow. Unless you count the fact he will appeal to suburban hipsters and frat/sorioty folks. But in the streets not so much the em fenom has passed. Whiteboys with cold lyrics are not uncommon. This guy is no more special than the last pretty dope white guy I heard. Plus he signed with steve rifikins career suicide has he signed anything half dope since his loud days and the current david banner does dance music with a few good lyrical momments so no he don’t count.

   Bottomline kid is ok but nothing to get excited about

2. AVENGER XL
   Posted July 3, 2008 at 1:53 am | Permalink

   The video is even comedy ala em. I was waiting for him to slip and say he was the real slim shady or at least some paul barman shit LMAO

3. keith
   Posted July 3, 2008 at 4:23 am | Permalink

   i liked it, was a bit corny, gonna download his mixtape see if he any good.

4. Tommylux
   Posted July 3, 2008 at 7:54 am | Permalink

   erm.. yeah, I’m still not sure if this was supposed to be a Weird Al Yanklovich parody or is it meant to be real? I mean, the kid got nice flow,but like Avenger said, he can’t possibly blow except with the kind of audience who are into things like Ugly Duckling - and no dis at all intended here, Ugly Duckling is cool, but find me a somebody who gives himself a gully immage and does not correspond to - as Avenger oput it - the “suburban hipster” and “college boy” stereotype who will admit they dig it. I might spark some controversy here, but I get the feeling that many of us white guys who try to rap unfortunately come across more like some corny kind of doofus, but don’t ask me why. Just check the MC Serch thing on MTV, that white rapper show, it’s self-explanatory, and this kid - to be honest - made me think of that

5. Kevin
   Posted July 3, 2008 at 10:32 am | Permalink

   The reason I say this kid is gonna blow, cuz it’s exactly what mainstream hip-hop is looking for. I don’t care what ya’ll say… dude is funny. They’re looking for the next Eminem and honestly no one took Eminem seriously when he first came out either. I think we’re gonna be seeing a lot more of Asher Roth. He may not be what hip hop needs, but it’s what hip hop is gonna get.

6. Tommylux
   Posted July 3, 2008 at 11:29 am | Permalink

   well yeah, it’s good you clarified that he’s what MAINSTREAM hip hop is lookin for. Mainstream hip hop also looked for the Fergie version of Black Eyed Peas, Soulja Boy, and gigs like Hammer and Vanilla Ice (well looka here)…

   I don’t think that he can be compared to Eminem in any way cos the only thing they got in common is skin. Also, people didn’t take Em seriously in the beginning only in the sense that they didn’t see it coming he was gonna blow that big, but he was respected from the beginning and didn’t stand out among the “regular” (yeah, I’m stereotyping here) rap entourage, he blended it easily. My point being - and people might not like to agree with this but think it over - just look at the guy (Roth), he looks like a comedian. now you can’t deny the fact that in rap (mainstream but also anything else) looks play a role. I don’t like it that way myself, but fact is to be a rapper that caters to all audiences you gotta have one or more of the following: good looks (with an accent on athletic body - think 50 Cent), eccentric fashion-sense (think Andre 3000), respectable tough guy image (think Snoop), dancing moves (think anything that’s more r&B). Out of these, Roth has none, but Em had the physique (he didn’t look like a skinny dwarf between two big-ass black guys), he stood out in terms of fashion (remmember the yellow hair craze), and even had a bit of tough guy about him cause he had the right connections and was aggressive in his delivery and content.

   Either way, I don’t mind if we’re gonna get a lot of this kid because I just judge him on skills, and he’s definitely got some. But remember - in the mainstream, real rapping skills are the least important thing, and if that’s all you got, it’s gonna be hard gettin that exposure.. but maybe the game’s about to change again - I’d like to say it’s about time!

7. AVENGER XL
   Posted July 4, 2008 at 12:42 am | Permalink

   First Allow me to say this has been the best hiphop discussion I have had on a board of any kind. No name calling just ever body saying how they see it. Kudos Kevin Kudos.

   I agree Tommy Lux and Kevin. I think the reason em got on is because he was new. Befor him there wasn’t any mainstream white rappers doing it like him but there was a slew of respectable white rappers from Anticon,Atmosphere,El-pee with company flow etc…. So to the untrained ear and the uncaring about hiphop mass em was like a Karney act billed as the illest White rapper alive and told by the major labels and dre to use the slim shady character as a in to the masses. If em would have just hit them with incredible flow like chino xl or canibus it would have been cutains for his career. But he used dark comedy to subdue and whoo the idiot mass(aka TRL veiwers) and folks who make thei music buying decision based on MTV or the radio. All this to say the goofy comedic character was pioneered by serch who came across as a poser with the fade and all but perfected by em who brought his own culture to the table as well. He offered the dark comedy veiw of hiphop from how it was bieng the white boy growing up poor around a bunch of poor black dudes in one of the top 5 gully cities ever(detriot crack rock city).

   So all this to be said Roth is going to have to come with a definite character to get the attention of the TRL/MTV crowd because they are happy getting dance rap from the likes of flow rida and most don’t listen to wordy(read meaningful hiphop at all). So being the white guy who can flow has lost it’s luster, you have to create a character. Hey look at it this way this conversation works the same way for women as it does for roth. Jean grae is mega dope but has no gimmick she is just a ill female and by todays views that ain’t enough. Lyte already showed us that Jean is just the first battle/backpack sounding female rapper to get ok buzz and unfortunately they don’t get real paper on the male side.

8. AVENGER XL
   Posted July 4, 2008 at 12:45 am | Permalink

   pardon all the typos don’t type and drink it can make you look like and idiot. carry on gentleman to sheets to the wind and all that. LMAO

9. Kevin
   Posted July 4, 2008 at 12:15 pm | Permalink

   yeah, this is def a good discussion. Both you make strong, valid points. Just for the record, I wasn’t comparing Roth to Eminem only because they’re both white (although that’s part of it), but mainly because of the comedic take they both decided on. Yeah, Eminem’s comedy was a bit darker, but he still used comedy to break into hip hop. But you hit it on the head Avenger, you need a gimmick these days to break into hip hop and unfortunately for white rappers, one of the easiest is the dorky, nerdy slap-stick comedy route.

   I do think this kid Asher has talent and he is one to watch out for. Aside from the video, check out his mixtape.

10. fiasco
    Posted July 7, 2008 at 4:46 pm | Permalink

    no one can jump on roc boys and lay it down better than jay, not even clipses attempt ,but htis in my eyes is disrespectful, although the start is funny

11. keith
    Posted July 8, 2008 at 6:52 am | Permalink

    got round to listening to the mixtape today. was actually pleasantly suprised. didnt think i would like it, but did! some v good tracks. the downside in my opinion is that he dies sond similar to eminem and he needs to drop the sex rhymes because he is more intelligent than that.

12. keith
    Posted July 8, 2008 at 12:58 pm | Permalink

    listened to it a few times now, track 3,5 and 12 are the standout tracks in my opinion. with the right management and production asher could do well.

13. Kevin
    Posted July 8, 2008 at 1:08 pm | Permalink

    Yeah, I stick with my original script… this kid will blow if given the right management, production, and opportunity.