Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Music news Asher Roth: Great white hype or hip-hop saviour?
Posted by Rodney Carmichael @Rappin_Rodney on Wed, Apr 1, 2009 at 10:23 PM
Earlier this week, CL contributor Ben Westhoff said "if [Asher Roth's] expected to be hip hop’s newest ambassador to the suburban masses the genre is in big trouble."
I tend to agree with him based on that corny college song his label led with as the first single from his upcoming debut, Asleep in the Bread Aisle.
But if "Lark On My Go-Kart" doesn't sound like golden era hip-hop, I don't know what does.
Wouldn't it be ironic if Roth blows the fuck up — as people are predicting — and in doing so, helps usher a mainstream return to [pause for effect] "real hip-hop?"
Comments (3)
Showing 1-3 of 3
What is "real Hip Hop" and why is this supposed to save it when there have been so many records dropped of equal or greater value over the years? WHY is his push going further? WHY is his name on the everybody's keyboard? Is it because of his talent, which is decent, or is it because of the machine behind him? How many quality albums and singles that are of the ilk that "true school" fans would consider "real hip hop" don't get cosigns by major players or mixtapes mixed by celebrity djs? Not many, right? I think THAT has more to do with the state of the music right now than anything else. Why does it cost money to be played by a Mix DJ or a Radio Dj's "entertainment" company? Why do artists get away with paying for magazine covers and favorable reviews? Why don't any of our so-called music journalists talk about these problems? Maybe if one did, they'd be the saviour of hip hop
like
dislike
if this album came out 10 or 15 years ago it might have been somewhat relevant. in 2009, it's just a project for wanna-bes. and frankly, the songs i have heard are all in strong need of producing talent that can craft a song out of more than one beat. there's nothing WRONG with this, but i've heard better stuff crafted in people's basements. NEXT!
I believe hip-hop is a beast not much diffrent from punk rock, when you seperate it from its real environment it sells records but annoys the people that live it everyday. Blink 182 and Vanilla Ice have a lot in common I'm willing to bet you could ad Asher Roth to that list pretty soon. The Bought and Sold list.
Latest in Crib Notes
-
For Edward Sharpe 'Home' is at the Tabernacle
Keep an ear out for the new songs, too
-
W.I.C. feat. Elijah Jones get gross with 'My Cologne'
It's the kind of song that makes you cringe and look at your friend sideways while uttering with repulsion, "You did not just say that ..."
-
Tracklist: New songs from Lana, Franz, Modest Mouse, and The xx
- More »
More by Author
-
... Throw the perfect pool party
-
Eddie Owen fired from Eddie's Attic 16
The man who put acoustic music — and singer-songwriters ranging from the Indigo Girls to John Mayer — on the map in Atlanta via his namesake Eddie's Attic has exited the venerable Decatur music venue for good
- More »
