Asher Roth
By Ferrari Sheppard
With his debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle due out next month, Hip-Hop's newest sensation, Asher Roth, has proven he’s at least awake enough to climb the charts: His single “I Love College” hit number six on iTunes this month, wedged in between T.I’s “Dead and Gone” and “Crack a Bottle” by Dr. Dre, 50 Cent and Eminem. Roth’s first professional release was under the wing of the legendary DJs Drama and Cannon as part of The Greenhouse Effect mixtape. It'll be interesting to see where the charismatic MC from Morrisville, PA will end up next.
I caught up with Asher to talk about weed, women and Asleep in the Bread Aisle, scheduled to be released on 4/20, and we had a blast.
StopBeingFamous: So what have you been up to today?
Asher Roth: Oh man, I was in rehearsal all day. I'm getting prepared. We have a show in Connecticut tomorrow, then Providence, Rhode Island; then Panama City Beach [Florida] for Spring Break with MTV- then South by Southwest. There's a lot of performing going on, so we're getting ourselves together. We're really excited.
SBF: Your website is called The Daily Kush- do you consider yourself the "wake and bake" type?
AR: It depends. I was, but then my early-morning smoke sessions started making me complacent, which is why I made my rule- don't burn until sun goes down. I've been good lately, but I just got off the phone with someone talking weed. As long as alcohol is easily attainable and cigarettes are killing people every day, no one is going talk me out of being a weed-head. I'll smoke a joint rather than chug down bottles of Grey Goose and all the hard alcohol that stays in your system.
SBF: You've been on the road a lot. Do you have any good stories- fires being set, buildings collapsing?
AR: [Laughing] Not really. We have to be on our best behavior. We don't want to do anything too crazy yet. We have fun though. It's pretty much after-parties and enjoying ourselves- nothing too crazy with the girls. I don't need any kids running around, any little Ashers; I also don't need any STDs. The funny thing is that as much as I love the female species, they're the one thing that can bring me down right now. If I had kid or if I got caught up and burned, it would be the worse thing for my career. I'm just trying to keep my head on straight and just have fun, but at the same time not have too much fun.
SBF: Has the attention from women intensified since you've emerged?
AR: You know, man, it has, but the same time, some of the girls are just so obvious with their intentions that it's pretty much unattractive. They're so all over you and in your face, it’s like, get outta here. I'm much more into the girls that are like, "You ain't shit Asher!" [Laughing]
SBF: Take us back to your first semester college, what was it like for you?
AR: Man, college is the first time people get freedom. It's the first time people get to be out on their own. I remember first visiting West Chester [University]- the first thing I saw was a kid on top of a car, riding down the street, holding on to the roof. I was like, Yeah, this is where I need to be [Laughing]. College, for me, was a party. Do I want college to be known for that? No. Higher education is very important and a luxury for a lot of people. A lot people don't get to go to school. I encourage people to go to school only when they know what they want to go to school for, because a lot of the time you're just wasting money. College for me was about learning social skills, meeting new people, stepping out of my comfort zone, and really finding out who I am. I realized that I didn't want that "safe" job, I wanted to see where life would take me. I ended up in Atlanta, Georgia my senior year, and that's where I've been every since.
SBF: The basic misconception about the suburbs is that they are perfect. What was is like for you growing up in Morrisville, PA?
AR: Was it perfect? Absolutely not, but at the same time, it was comfortable. My whole lifestyle, my whole childhood was built around Little League baseball, going down to the pool and going over to friends’ houses. Was I scared to death of getting shot and mugged while walking down the street? Absolutely not. I understand that's a reality for some people. My parents moved out of Manhattan when they first had children, so they could raise a family. Are there lawns and trees and people walking with strollers? Absolutely. Is it perfect, absolutely not. You hear your neighbors fighting all the time. I would see kids running away and smoking pot. It's funny because these upper-class houses are where most of the hard-core, heavy-duty drug usage goes down because the kids can afford the cocaine and heroin. I've lost two friends to heroin and it's really scary. I don't think anything is perfect.
SBF: How did your family take to you becoming a rapper?
AR: My dad spent ten years of my career trying to shut me up. He was like, “Dude, you have rap Tourette’s- can you please shut up? I'm trying to read the newspaper." When I told my parents I was going to leave to become a rapper, they didn't want to detour me from my dreams, so they were like, "Good luck." They were always very supportive, but the last thing on their minds was that I would get this far. Now, they're like, "Ash, we're super proud of you." They are my biggest fans. I'm very happy to have a strong supportive family because I know a lot of people don't have that. I'm happy to be coming from a family that, when all of this is over with, will be there for me when I fall. I'm hot right now and people care, but when this is all gone, I know that I have people who have my back.
SBF: You admit that you were about to quit rapping at one point, what inspired you to keep going?
AR: There was a point where I was like, This is isn't going to go anywhere. I started thinking about taking school seriously. I was happy when the opportunity presented itself to do something with this. I really encourage people to have fun and be themselves. If you're genuine in your actions and if you're sincere, people can really appreciate that. I'm tired of a lot of people fakin' the funk. I think a lot of people want to be able to be themselves, but there's so much pressure in society to be cool. It's okay to be cool, but I want kids to understand that they don't have to drink Gatorade and wear Nike to be cool. Hip-Hop is not a "get rich quick" scheme, this is not easy. I've been living out of a bag for six months. I haven't had a homecooked meal in god knows how long. I'm eating fast food more than I'd like, and I can't stand fast food. This is a grind. If people knew what it takes be a successful artist, in every sense of the word- you struggle. Some many people are like, “How do you do it?" I'm driven by the fact that I want to influence people in a positive way. I want them to understand that you come into the world with nothing, you leave with nothing and everything you do in between is how you put your footprint on this earth. I encourage people to be good. I don't care if people think I'm a good rapper. I want people to be like, "Yo, Asher's a good dude!"
SBF: The Greenhouse Effect mixtape was released for free on the Internet, and it received an enormous buzz. Many artists have released albums online to no avail; what marketing advice would you give to artist who are working to accomplish what you have?
AR: I can't deny the fact that having Drama and Cannon on my side made it easier. Having those homies cosign a mixtape is definitely good. I think the reason people were so receptive was because it was new, and there were references to Dakota Fanning and Bill Murray- that hadn't been done before [Laughing]. I encourage people to try something out of the norm. End of Interview.
