Success has been easy for Asher Roth, but respect is proving more elusive. A 21st century MySpace star, Roth owes his success almost entirely to the Internet. Hailing from suburban Morrisville, Pa., Roth — and his educated flow, was first discovered on MySpace by the producer Steve Rifkind. Without a song on radio or a video on TV, Roth had a widget of his infectious song “I Love College” downloaded 2.7 million times. He thus has some grounds for his bold claim to Carson Daly that “this is what the people wanted,” and with his album “Asleep in the Bread Aisle” poised to be released, Roth may indeed be the next big thing. Yet his sudden rise has not been without its dissenters.
At first glance, Roth resembles a domesticated Eminem, but as he says himself, that’s “too easy.” He’s not a white kid successfully representing the ’hood; he’s representing the suburbs. And Roth talks tackles when it comes to describing his appeal: “I’m representing the 80% of kids who actually buy these rap albums but really can’t relate.” Such honesty may be part of the reason that he received a warm reception from such top African-American stars as Akon, Ludacris and Andre 3000. He explained to the Forward, “I’m not making anything up, so they’re happy to co-sign something that is genuine.”
Rather than trying to be a white rapper as hard and as “down” as any other hip-hop artist, Roth revels ironically in his position as a “normal” white college student making party music for the recession. He doesn’t hesitate to relate, for instance, that his first musical loves were Billy Joel and the Dave Matthews Band. At the age of 14 when he began to walk around his home reciting rap lyrics, his father would tell him to “shut up,” accusing him of having “rap Tourette’s.” Roth certainly did not become what was at first expected of him.
“I Love College,” is basically about the college party cycle of drinking, copulating and sleeping. “The country is in pain right now; everyone is bummed out. Why we not listen to some music that is going to bring some joy into your life?” Roth told the Forward. He has been criticized for producing exactly such music, to which he answers, Zen-like, “Criticism is good for balance.”
With the last name Roth, and a first name that is one of the tribes of Israel, it is not surprising that he is taken for Jewish, even if he himself may not publicly identify as such. Although Roth has a Jewish father, he is quick to point out that his mother in Presbyterian. In fact, the “Jewish question” is quite sensitive chez Roth. Just a cursory glance at the Internet, and on discussion boards one will find such phrases as “G-Unit meets Jew-unit,” “Jews are cutting out the middle men and finally doing the rapping themselves” and “this is proof that tall Israelis are really running rap.”
Such intense labeling has caused backlash from Roth himself. When asked about any discrimination he may have encountered because of this perception, Roth replied that if anything, it may come from Jews themselves. “People have [given] a negative reaction when I explain I am not Jewish,” Roth told the Forward. He related the scene at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, where he played a show headlined by Matisyahu. “He attracts a Jewish crowd, and they were bummed out [that I wasn’t Jewish]. But if I lost that fan, I don’t think I wanted that fan to begin with,” Roth said.
Roth is clearly focused more on overcoming the “white-black” divide rather than negotiating the Christian-Jewish difference. Reaching out to a new demographic that hasn’t traditionally be drawn to hip hop, old timers of rap joke about how he is bringing “high-heels and Vespas” to hip-hop shows. Roth is looking for a wide field of new people to bring to hip-hop while trying to convince many others that he himself belongs there at all. When he says, “I’m turning believers into nonbelievers … I wake up in the morning and prove some people wrong,” he’s referring not to religion, but to the plausibility of a white, suburban rap star.
“Hip hop is still alive. I am living proof,” he says.
Maybe so, but Roth’s resurrection of the genre is thus far based on a convincingly entertaining portrayal of the utopia of college idyll, where the greatest worry is finding breakfast in the afternoon. In times like these, one can easily imagine the appeal. Whether rapping about a post-adolescent idyll will bring Roth respect — the one thing he craves above all — remains to be seen.
Listen below to “The Lounge” by Asher Roth:
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He's exactly right when asked about his "Jewish" identity. My best friend in college, whose dad was Jewish, but mother was actually of Catholic belief, considered himself to not be Jewish.
Exactly like Roth, his surname was Jewish, and his persona was obviously Jewish.
This is something personal and unique to each individual and Jews, including myself, shouldn't be the ones to "tell" individuals like Roth what he believes in-because that is his personal choice and decision.
"and his persona was obviously Jewish"?
What does that mean? Can we get past things like "Jewish personas"?
Yeah dude really whats a jewish persona supposed to mean race nor religion defines a person
Even if Roth said he considered himself Jewish it doesn't mean he is. Judaism is pretty direct and specific about who is Jewish. You can't just call yourself Jewish. So yes other Jews do decide who is Jewish or not and it is not up to the individual whether they are. It is up to them if they chose to go through the accepted conversion process. I am glad he doesn't claim to be Jewish because that would be a lot more insulting in my opinion. A lot of people call themselves Jews and do not act like Jews or in accordance with Jewish values. Sadly people will call him Jewish anyway and criticize Jews for everything they don't like about him. There is most definitely a Jewish persona and nothing wrong with saying so.
Also I don't think he is qualified to discuss anything racial or bridge whites and blacks. He seems more interested in promoting white privilege. Regardless of what he says people will resent him for everything he has been handed in life. He's a skinny ugly unremarkable kid surrounded by women who are way too good looking for him, just because he has money and privilege. Asher Roth minus money and privilege would be nothing, he would be another guy working at pizza hut and lucky to have a girl speak to him. Money is everything in life and he's living proof that you don't have to be smart, good looking, hard working, or talented, and you can get whatever you want if you're parents hook you up. He has no struggle whatsoever in his life, and uses all of that freedom to be a jackass. Anything he has to say about black people or hip hop will sound condescending, he really doesn't have any place in it.
"Judaism is pretty direct and specific about who is Jewish."
This is realy not how it works at all... if you are jewish then you know about the different strictness of Judaism: ORthodox, strict. Conservative, not nearly as strict, follows some to most of the jewish laws. Reform, follows little to none of the jewish rules but they are still jewish. Also, I almost never go to Services , and i dont follow any of the other values that consevatives and orthodoxes follow, but you cant say im not jewish. Also, Jewdaism is passed though the FATHER, so he would be considered Jewish no matter what.
"he's living proof that you don't have to be smart, good looking, hard working, or talented, and you can get whatever you want if you're parents hook you up"
His parrents didnt hook him up, his father considered him to have "rap touretes" Obviously, his father didnt support his rappping. also, he still had to get into college in the first place. and he will probably stay in college. And he s not just doing it for the money, he is doing it because he enjoys it. People should do what they enjoy.
Radraffo, that's incorrect. "Jewdaism is passed though the FATHER, so he would be considered Jewish no matter what." It's passd through the mother not father. therefore, he is not Jewish.
"His parrents didnt hook him up, his father considered him to have "rap touretes" Obviously, his father didnt support his rappping. also, he still had to get into college in the first place. and he will probably stay in college. And he s not just doing it for the money, he is doing it because he enjoys it. People should do what they enjoy."
I don't know where you're from, but I consider being sent to college the biggest hook up you can get. It is a way for parents to buy success for their unremarkable children and keep down others on a financial basis. Anyone can get into college, it's not hard. The tricky part is affording it. Also Asher Roth is not still in college. He dropped out of college after 2 years and wrote the I love college song after he had already dropped out. He is immature and unremarkable in my opinion and like many American kids would be crying in a gutter somewhere without his parents money.
I don't know much about reform Jews. But I am a conservative Jew by adoption and formal conversion process including a mikvah and Torah study and observance. As far as I know that is universal among all branches of Judaism.
The point is, he doesn't consider himself Jewish. If he did, then he'd be jewish and who cares? He's still a great artist. And, seriously, get a fucking hobby. If you spend your spare time ragging on articles about artits you don't even like, then there's a problem. If you don't like the guy, then why are you reading an article about him?
I would like to add to the article, that he is not "reviving" the genre, with positive influences, because there have been positive influences in the rap game for a long time, just that whites only see that there are only blacks and therefore = negative influence. What's this garbage that it has to be a white person that revive anything black created? Just like slavery? Just like racism? This is why america is fucked up: WHITE PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK THEY ARE SAVING SOMETHING STARTED BY BLACKS, when THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT EXCEPT FOR NEGATIVE INFLUENCES.
Melanie-
I can't stand people making that argument- why are you here then criticizing a criticizer you pathetic hippocrit? You people are ridiculous with that "you are wrong to question my celebrity God" crap
To Agddfavf-
You are correct. This kid is about being a spoiled loser. I cannot relate to that. Wait till these kids get out of college and realize there ain't no jobs. lol