Artist: RWD



He’s been causing a stir on the World Wide Web with his insane freestyles, so it’s only right we sent Tom Le Bree to talk to Asher Roth about meeting Jay-Z in flip flops, Quidditch and the inevitable Eminem comparisons...

In the same way that other white guy made his name in the battle arena before heading to worldwide stardom, another Caucasian rhymer has recently been causing a sensation on the free mixtape circuit. Whether taking off Jay-Z on Roth Boys or teaming up with Don Cannon and DJ Drama for Aphilliates mixtape The Greenhouse Effect, Asher Roth could just be about to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Marshall Mathers. It is of course a lazy comparison – blue eyed boys that rap – but one that the Pennsylvanian spitter is more than used to. “That's what humans naturally do, they compare things to something they already know,” he says of the Em emulation. “But there's not much that people can compare what I do to,” he continues with a shrug.

Born 22 years ago in Pennsylvania, about 25 minutes north of Philly, Asher Roth – real name, no gimmicks – has been rhyming since school. “I started at the age of 16 in high school with a couple of my friends,” he recalls. “We became friends over a common interest in hip hop. We eventually put a CD out and sold 250 copies in two days. I was just hooked for good after that.” Like Kanye West, this College Dropout left further education when a chance at a record deal came through. “I got a call from an A&R called Scooter who saw my MySpace page and that's where everything turned around. It was the right time and place; the right friend request to the right person at the right time. That just goes to show we're in the new millennium, the MySpace millennium,” he points out of the chance encounter. “I took the last $500 I had in my bank account and instead of paying my rent, I flew myself down to Atlanta. The rest is history.”

Since Scooter scooped him up in the ATL, Roth has gotten himself into a label bidding war, hooked up with Drama and Cannon and performed for Jay-Z in flip flops. “I didn't know I was meeting Jay-Z that day,” he laughs of his f*cked up footwear. “But I probably still would have worn the flip flops anyway.” Invited to Def Jam for a meeting, A&R Shakir Stewart asked if Roth would mind rhyming for a friend of his. “Walking towards me is Jay-Z, in white Rocawear, all flowing and sh*t, and I'm like, Oh my goodness! I just turned around and left the room,” Asher admits of doing a 180 in the hip hop God’s presence. Gathering himself together, he walked back in, determined to impress Hov. “I ended up rapping like 150 bars long. He was like 'Damn man, you real nice.' I had a stain on my t-shirt and everything. Looking back I had moccasins on actually, not my flip flops...”

A penchant for deadout foot-protectors aside, Roth has since gone on to win legions of fans both online and off with rhymes that encompass everything from Russian Roulette to Quidditch. “I'm a Harry Potter fan,” he says proudly of loving the bespectacled boy wizard. “You know people always go on about how good they are, and say ‘You can't beat me in this or that?’ I'm like ‘You guys can't beat me in Quidditch!’ That's my whole playful personality; I'm just a light-hearted, charismatic, fun dude.”

Now signed alongside Akon to Steve Rifkind’s SRC Records, expect to see a lot more of Roth in the coming months. “I don't want to promise anything yet,” he says cautiously of his forthcoming album. “We've got some real power players coming through and there's going to be some really creative cats. Definitely expect some big names with some very interesting collaborations,” he grins. “More than that though, people will realise that I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve and that’s really going to help me emerge, he says of putting his soul into songwriting. “People are going to understand that there's nothing else I can be.”

To download the The Greenhouse Effect for free and for more info, head to Asherrothmusic.com

RWD Magazine

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