RR’s ’09 Disappointing Albums: #2 Asher Roth “Asleep In The Bread Aisle”
When I first heard this album, I dug it. Was pleasantly surprised. But a record doesn’t have to suck to be a disappointment. This guy was one of the heralded freshman and we were expecting him to really make an impact until Rick Ross spanked him on SoundScan. Shit, Steve Rifkind had a spot on his wall ready for the platinum plaque. So why didn’t this project work? You can’t tell me “Lark On My Go-Kart” doesn’t bang or “As I Em,” isn’t a clever examination of the elephant in the room. Maybe the pop sensible singles did him in. After the frat boy anthem “I Love College,” Roth followed with two club clunkers “Be By Myself” and “She Don’t Wanna Man” that couldn’t get any real radio spins. Don’t get it twisted, Asher’s talent is there. He’s good. But as a White MC, he just may have to be great. Damn you, Marshall.
Before: RR’s ’09 Disappointing Albums: #3 Jim Jones Prey IV Reign
LMAO !!
“damn yo marshall”
I agree.
“Lark On My Go-Kart” was my shit.
I think he just wasted too many album slots with throwaway records. Not to say the album was bad by any means, but in today’s market, you can’t really afford to have any bad songs on your album, or people will not buy your shit. A few songs I really enjoyed, but as a cohesive album, it lacked an overall…theme, I guess. Still can’t wait to see what he manages to come up with next.
The album was solid possibly if he was Cudi it would have sold. His cd was 1000Xs fresher than Cudis weed breaker….
But its cuz he white that alot of people call him fake em even though they nothing alike… Looking forward to more from ash.
Thats teh problem that ceelo joint was hot!
keep ur comments to urself ..this album was hot
I loved the album. Not a disappointment by any means. Lark is my shit.
This should be under worst albums of the year, not the years most disappointing. Was anyone expecting this guy to drop a Marshall Mathers LP? Cmon, the expecations weren’t that high for this cat because people know he’s average. His whole image is bullshit, and people can see through him. That whole college shit, street niggas ain’t feelin it. Same with Em and Relapse, street niggas ain’t feeling serial killer shit, that’s for the psycho crackers.
he didn’t sell because he was rushed to the market. he needed atleast another year of mixtape/freestyles and PR. the general public hardly knew who he was when his album dropped.
the nappy headed hoes comment didn’t help his cause either.
and for the record, I do go to college. And that party shit is all a front. Thats what the TV and movies like American Pie portray as “college”. Niggas, don’t believe the hype. College is for learning. I ain’t feelin’ Asher because I feel he’s taking advantage of the culture, and feels like he’s bigger than hip-hop.
i wouldn’t call it disappointing, just another average at best album. lark was definitely that shit. but after hearing the cannon mixtape, could you really say you expected more?
the only way his album could be a disappointment, is if u expected something from it in the first place…
fuck dude and that slick shit to comes out his mouth.
YN, your ambivalence proves that you hardly care about the music at all. Hip-Hop is just a catch phrase for you.
You should have the heart to say that Asher is a corny ass dude with a weak gimmick. He is whinny white boy who is clearly a culture vulture and at this point it’s evident that you’re down with the vultures too.
I liked this album. Problem was, aside from Lark and College, the rest of the album was too serious (aside from bad day, blecch) for his single’s targeted audience to word-of-mouth the album to big sales. The Slim Shady LP had a buncha “My Name Is” stuff, and it spread. (plus it was harder to steal music then)
Anyway, Asher > Wale > Drake > 80 billion other rappers > Charles Hamilton > Everyone who’s ever rhymed ever > Jim Jones
I liked his album better than Cudi’s but less than Wale’s. For what it worth he’s witty yet quite easy on the ears (otherwise known as fun lol), I really dig the track he made for his Dad because I can relate to the sacrifices my pop made for my family also. Asher is dope, just needs to find his niche and keep spitting.
@ayooooo
“That whole college shit, street niggas ain’t feelin it. Same with Em and Relapse, street niggas ain’t feeling serial killer shit, that’s for the psycho crackers.”
so, ‘street niggas’ gotta feel your shit for it to sell? hmm….BISD didnt sell and it was a dope “street” album…
that style of music doesnt push units anymore, it’s 2010
I liked the album alot. Another thing I like about Asher is how he is himself. Just a average middle class dude who loves hip hop. No gimmick no nothing. Real humble to. Thats the biggst difference between him and eminem and many other rappers. He doesnt hate his mom, doesnt want to kill his girlfriend, isnt from the hood and probably never sold drugs a day in his life. It’s hard to come up with subject matter. He’s just a dude who loves to rap.
I mean the dude didn’t start listening to hip hop until 1998 and his knowledge of the game is off the hook. I was very impressed. It shows he actually studied the game and has a real passion for what he does unlike 90% of rappers out now who just produce ring tone music and want a quick buck.
Rosenberg is close to him and when we spoke, he said they have some pretty big plans for the future. They will definitely rework his sound and image. He’s here to stay. He will make noise in the future…for sure.
He was by far my favorite freshmen of 2009. Can’t wait to hear more stuff from Asher
@ ayo
what fake image? lol he comes from a family thats middle class. He looks like he just woke up in the morning and wears jeans, tshirts and loafers during his concerts. He’s being himself…
The only song I like on this album is “I Love College” because well… I love college. lol I really couldn’t get into his other songs. “As I Em” was just annoying. Yes Asher’s white and Eminem’s white but their similarities end there. Em blazed a trail when he debuted that managed to withstand him being MIA for 4 years; Asher created buzzed when he first came on the scene and then fizzled into the background with all the other rookie rappers. Maybe with time, Asher will get better.
His album really was a solid album, but because of his race it was overlooked. Guess he has to be amazing like Em to get noticed.
His gimmick is being the party college kid. He appeals only to college kids, and people who have no idea what Hip-Hop is about. Oh, he doesn’t rap about this, so he’s better, motherfucker kiss my ass with that.
And koa, if you ain’t respected, you ain’t shit. I don’t give a fuck. People look at Asher and just laugh, because he’s a joke. His album dropped, and he sold units to non-hip-hop fans, and please people don’t start commenting with “I like hip-hop and copped it”. Shut the fuck up. He dropped his album, sold more than he should have and still had zero impact. I remember Em dropping albums back in the day and people went crazy for him. Relapse, ain’t nobody talkin’ bout it. And if people do talk about it, they’re scratching their head on what the fuck Em is doin’. Oh, yeah, Em is respected by pretty much every rapper, and the streets of Detroit back him. Who’s backin Asher? His fratboys? HAHAHAHA.
Dude has average skills, and his voice don’t help him. What happened to respect? When did hip-hop change? Niggas with no credibility can just drop records now days. Who’s the next big thing? A transvestite rappin about being different and discriminated?
@ Ayoooo
Asher’s gimmick is not the party college kid homie.
You are falling into that ‘first single’ sydrome.
People who hear an artists first single automatically base the artists style/flow/tone off of what their first single was like.
Take Lupe for instance.
Lupe breached with a dope ‘Kick Push’ record. But people wasn’t feeling him because they assumed that he was just a skate-boarding ass nigga.
Not knowing that Lupe MADE that record for a homie of his and Lupe was referring to the HUSTLE more than anything.
“This is for all my people on the grind..legally AND ILLEGALLY’
Asher’s first single.
“I Love College” was a song he said that he made because he reminisced about the good times he had.
You talking about college is for learning. Duh nigga, but I’m in college and I balance the party scene and academics. My College experiences get better w/each passing semester. Asher isn’t hyping nothing up that ain’t true. Just cuz YOU prolly had a suck ass college experience/party life doesn’t mean that everyone ELSE in other colleges did.
Asher’s whole persona is supposed to be the Kid who just wants to rap. Talk about whatever he wants to talk about and have fun.
That’s why he combined records like ‘Blunt Cruisin’ with ‘His Dream’.
Nigga just wants to rap and not be ridiculed for the color of his skin.
It’s not about him taking the college kid role or anything.
Notice the only time College was MENTIONED on his album was on ‘I Love College’
Other than that..he had quirky records that touched over a lot of different things.
I Love College was merely to gain a fanbase & show which crowd to draw in.
Not COLLEGE kids, but the kids who are average joes and often kids that just want to live life.
They don’t hustle, live in the hood, & haven’t been to jail.
Though the records were dope in my eyes. They were not really…’Chart-Topping’ material.
“Lions Roar”
“She Don’t Wanna Man”
“Blunt Cruisin”
“Sour Patch Kids”
“La Di Da”
were more….mixtape material.
sold units to non-hip hop fans.
Dog…be quite.
You sound stupid as fuck right now.
Just because you don’t like an artist and someone else cops the persons album doesn’t mean that the buyers no nothing about hip-hop.
I would never buy a Wayne record. Does that mean I know nothing about Hip-Hop? No. I can feel what he do RARELY. Other than that, I couldn’t care for him.
Yea. Asher needs to EARN his respect.
No doubt.
Em was/is the best because of his rapping caliber and he set up a fan base EARLY in his career.
The nigga was RUNNING the underground scene. Going to different states and spitting, the circuit couldn’t have held him back if they WANTED to. It was only a matter of time.
But what puts Ash at a disadvantage is because Em is so fucking ILL that he set the bar HIGH for any other white rapper after him trying to do it.
People will auto-matically assume that ‘Oh, this white boy thinking that just cuz Eminem did it, then he can do it.’
and if the person ain’t as good as Em or better, then that nigga is a gimmick.
Getcha mind right son.
No credibility?
My nigga…Don Cannon, DJ Drama, Beanie Seigel, Cee-Lo, Akon, Andre 3000, Busta Rhymes feel this nigga & have done/will do work with him.
& you say he’s not credible?
riiiight.
I get that his one mixtape isn’t enough to get the entire WORLD to feel his shit. He’s gotta touch basis with a lot of people before he does that. Shoulda been doing a lot of tours & dropping a lot of mixtapes and shit prior to this buuuuut…that’s all in due time though.
Yea, cat’s average but personally…i think the kids turning out nicely. Every record he continues to drop now(Though unreleased) is actually getting better. Showing his lyrical capabilities.
If you tell me that you don’t feel this nigga or at LEAST can’t give him props on his ‘D.O.A’ freestyle. Then you’re most likely being biased.
I know kid has time to progress. I think he’s better than Wale, Wale’s trash, but Wale’s records are clean and have more of the ‘Hip-Hop’ & ‘Soulful’ feel that everybody’s searching for.
‘Beautiful Bliss’. Crazy record only because of Chorus, production and J.Cole.
Wale’s weak on whatever he steps on, lyrically. But his guest appearances,chorus’, and production saves his ass.
Asher’s production was aight, chorus’ weren’t that good, and rhymes were average. But the TONE of a majority of his records kind of made it hard for you to take him seriously.He was putting out some ‘ok’ records(and a man in his position shouldn’t). Like this album seemed like a mixtape to me.
I think he’s capable of more. I think he’s just growing like any freshman of the game. but it’ll take time and work.
He ain’t gone win over people with barely putting out music and showing his capabilities as an artist. he needs to show people that he can attack a record and demand your respect, rather than lolly-gag and act like shit’s all sunshine and rainbows.
The thing about this album is that it’s “JUNK FOOD MUSIC” -> it’s good for a few listens, but unfortunately it doesn’t have much replay value. Don’t get me wrong this was on repeat for a solid 3 weeks, “Lion’s Roar” with Busta was Ill, “Be By Myself” was on my top 25 most played songs on itunes, but after mid-may this album stopped gettin spins on my ipod. Better luck next time Asher.
http://thunderkush.blogspot.com/
– – – ADDRESSING THE CURRENT STATE OF HIP HOP – – –
not hating on asher roth he got some hits but will be a one hit wonder on vh1 in 2020 for sure do your thang asher.. the industry is gonna eat him alive.
Asher Roth >>>> Kid Cudi
He couldn’t have did it anyways because everybody was comparing him to Eminem since the beginning, what can you do when you gotta do as good as the dopest rapper in the game?
im a white rapper, i was the president of a fraternity with the nickname “Theta Drug”…we got it in…the Asher track definitely got spins at our parties…the album, never…white college kids listen to Wu! Always!
Y’all need to relax, dude can rhyme, he ain’t Em but he has some skills, this album was put out too soon, it should have been marketed more… And I wonder if Em would have become that big if he did not get that Dr. Dre cosign and deal??
DAMN. DAMN. DAMN. DAMN. DAMN. DAMN MAN. I WAS ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL!!! I skipped over this album (not sure why cuz normally i would’ve listened out of curiosity), but i just went back and checked the whole thing cuz of this post. Needless to say, i have to agree. the album is FUCKING AMAZING! I mean the shit is great!!! DUDE IS ILL. But it’s obviously a dissapointment cuz it didn’t get it’s due. oh well. im glad i checked it. bumpin this for a minute…
-His Dream Ft. Miguel
-Fallin
-Sour Patch Kids
-Y.O.U. Feat. Slick Rick
-Bad Day Feat. Jazzy Pha
-Lion’s Roar Feat. Busta
-She Don’t Want a Man Feat. Keri Hilson
-Lark On My Go Kart
-La Di Da
-The Lounge
-Perfectionist Feat. Beanie Sigel
-Be By Myself Feat. Cee-Lo
I may be late, and i may be wrong to alot of people, but in my personal opinion….this is a CLASSIC fuckin album folks. Fuck an Eminem.
*This is a classic album folks. I’m officially a Stan.
@AYOOO, I bet you didn’t even check the album. IF you did then your comments make you a dumbass cuz you COMPLETELY missed the point. Dude is better than Eminem to me im sorry. Eminem sounds like a robot. This dude got swag when he spit. FLOOOOOOOOW. His shit is smoooooooth. Eminem ALWAYS sounded forced to me. I love him to death and i know he’s a BRILLIANT lyricists, but Roth’s style is just more appealing. Its more hip-hop. Its more real. Those that don’t get what im saying fuck you ahead of time for talkin shit. Those that do get it,….nuff said.
@yaboitone
Em is more tech the average rapper. Fact of the matter is, he sounds mechanical now because that’s all he’s been trying to do is get his skills back. So yes he is pretty much forcing it but you have to after a drug addiction like that. However he didn’t always sound forced. His first three albums definitely didn’t.
However, it doesn’t make Asher better than Em. That’s just your personal preference. I mean if you actually went unbiased and looked at the material, you’d have to say Em is all around the better MC.
Anyway, Marshall Mathers surprised a lot of people by getting respect. He was white. And honestly the racism in hip hop has not ended. But Marshall is a double edged. He opened the door for rappers like Asher but he set the bar WAY too high. Know what I’m saying.
Why muh fuggas think erything is street. Erything gota b street. Ohh hs aint street so he sucks, he from the burbs so he sucks. Fuck that, this dude isgood, yea Em got the bar high for n e white rapper but dude is coo. Street niggas ain’t the only one buyin music, if that was the case Em woulda sold half..that’s why hip hop has gone dwn cuz eryone wana b street…grow up!
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Well since he came out of the closet is second album gonna flop too
bread aisle was super wack, lark on my go cart, like wtf?