It is evident to me that you have some rhyming skills. Being heralded as ‘Zac Efron meets Eminem’ can’t be easily done and we here at ReviewSTACKS respect that. But I have one burning question – what the hell are you talking about? Although your debut album, Asleep in the Bread Aisle (School Boy Music/SRC/Universal) is clever and funny, there are times when I found myself with my ‘WTF’ face on. Granted, you are a kid from the suburbs who can flow, but your ho-hum diction and lack of completed thoughts almost lulled me to sleep in my local Vons while shopping for sandwich ingredients.

Asher Roth busted down the doors of frats, sororities, dorms and quads with the single “I Love College,” which was released earlier this year. The song became an instant anthem for anyone who is/was familiar with kegstands, binge drinking, ice luges and Jagermeister.  Roth covered all the college essentials ranging from basic party rules to drinking games with a catchy, modified sample from Weezer’s Say it Ain’t So that gave the song a laid back, carefree mood that, interestingly enough, differs from the rest of the tracks on the release.

Musically, the album is a hip-hop/rock hybrid. Production from fellow collegiate and USC alumnus Oren Yoel provides Roth’s effort with a unique feel but the use of similar instruments gets repetitive. The tracks are filled with guitar riffs, speedy drum kits and different variations of piano sounds. Songs like Lark on My Go-Kart and Sour Patch Kids are ear candy, as far beats go but joints like Lion’s Roar and She Don’t Wanna Man show Roth stepping out of his party cup-fueled element by experimenting with up-tempo and club sounds respectively.

Lyrically Roth’s geeky rhymes are amusing and fun but his inability to complete a thought makes me want to gargle thumbtacks. Maybe I’m a little slow, it is Monday morning but if someone could please explain the central theme of Lark on My Go-Kart or as least give me an explanation of what this line means from La Di Da – “Whats this, how much, who what, where, when, why man, how come/so many questions unanswered/I don’t understand/ could you please explain sir.” Were we playing a who/what/where/when/why game that I wasn’t aware of? Lines like the one above make me think that the whole Westwood freestyle might have been a a tad-bit written. On the bright side, Roth does comes through on As I Am, in which he differentiates himself from Eminem, and His Dream, which is an ode to his father.

In conclusion: Mr. Roth, this album shows you’re a college kid who wants to be more. The good news is that there is a lot of room, and time, for improvement because the truth is everyone moves of from college at some point, whether you dropout (which you did…why couldn’t you have titled this ‘College Dropout’? Oh, wait…) or graduate in eight years, you can’t stay there forever. So your prompt remains the same – where are you and your music headed? Let me know when you finish up, you can turn in your blue book in the basket at the front of the room. This wasn’t a bad effort, son, but I have one suggestion – hit the books. 

For more information on Asher Roth, visit his page HERE.

I don’t want to get into this all that much right now, because it’s going to get me all worked up and I’m two hours away from happy hour, but why do people like Asher Roth? It seems like he’s got chops, especially the first bars he spits – but listen to the rest of the freestyle. Disagree with me if you will, I’m still going to sigh. Sigh.