Review
Call it a preemptive strike. Halfway through his debut, Asher Roth issues a self-conscious apologia called “As I Em,” in which the 23-year-old white rapper frets that critics are going to say he sounds just like Eminem. Take it from a critic, dude: You sound just like Eminem. Still, get past Roth’s pinched-sinus tone and penchant for overpronounced internal rhyme and he is a different animal. Reared in the Philly suburbs, he was a Dave Matthews fan until he heard Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem),” and he makes music for third-gen suburban rap fans unconcerned with questions of hip-hop authenticity—hence references to Saved by the Bell, hand jobs at the mall and lots and lots of weed. “I Love College” is the hit, a charmingly debauched romp that wisely resists the temptation to rhyme “beer pong” and “beer bong.” It’s only when Roth gets all earnestly quarter-life-crisis-y (“Nothing You Can’t Do,” “His Dream”) that the party grinds to a halt.
Download “I Love College,” “Lark on My Go Cart”
Download “I Love College,” “Lark on My Go Cart”
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