The Audacity of Dope

Asher returns with another perfect college single, just in time for the back to school rush.  They’ve actually been pushing this track for a minute and I’m a bit surprised it hasn’t caught on little more honestly.  The beat is cool, the content is radio friendly (read: Becky from the suburbs likes to sing it in her new Jetta), the hook is catchy, Asher’s verses are cool, and the crowd at our Summer Jam responded well to it (interview still coming soon).  Oh…and Keri Hilson is fiiiiiiiiiine (in real life too).

We’ll see if the visuals help turn the song into a hit…but in the meantime, this song will always remind me of one of Dane Cook’s few funny moments:

Those of you in Washington (or stalking my Twitter) probably heard that we had our annual Summer Jam concert yesterday at White River Amphitheater with performances by the New Boyz, Asher Roth, Kid Cudi, The-Dream, Pitbull, Flo Rida, Sean Paul, Akon, and Ludacris.  Usually, I have nightmares of these days because it’s a fun event for the audience, but generally really hectic to work.  Last year was a painful double dose as I spent the entire day registering voters  for the Obama campaign (we put onnnnn) and then running around backstage interviewing cats.  This year was a lot more relaxing as I spent the majority of the time chilling with my two favorite acts on the bill, Asher and Cudi, and their folks.

We’ll have interviews coming soon with those two, but in the meantime, I grabbed some footage of Asher’s performance for y’all.  Peep the video above to see him, Brain, and Wreckineyez run through a few joints from Asleep In The Bread Aisle, including “She Don’t Wanna Man,” “Be By Myself,” and of course, “I Love College.”  For more Summer Jam footage hitting the net all week, keep your eyes on this page.

I highly recommend checking out the Great Hangover Tour with Asher, Cudi, Pac Div, and B.o.B if it hasn’t hit your town yet.  I’m slightly salty that we didn’t get the full lineup here in Seattle, but SJ with 1/2 of it was dope too.  Anyway, peep it…you won’t be disappointed.

You know, I’m pretty tired of the corny discussions going on all over the place about Asher.  Seeing people get all worked up about every little thing reminds me of when I used to post on messageboards in my high school/college days.  I’m too old and busy for all this pseudo drama.

Here’s what I know.  Asher is a cool dude, works with great people, and makes dope music more often than not.  This song is my ish and the video is ill.  If you want to write blog after blog attacking him or complaining about the system that helped him achieve his success, go for it.  I ain’t gonna read it though.  Way more important things in the world right now.

LOL @ comparisons between Em and Asher right now.  Asher’s actually making songs.  Em’s making the same joke of a single for the 6th time.  Shrug.

This is the next single by the way, featuring Cee-Lo if you couldn’t tell.  Footage shot by the homey Tunji and the alley oop from GregTheDude.

Big shout to Peter Parker at B96 in Minneapolis (one of the few DJ’s at a big station riding out for good music like we do on Sound Session) for shooting this over and for shouting out the site during the interview.  Glad you enjoy the bloggy blogg homey!

I hope everyone is ready for a month full of seeing Asher everywhere.  With Asleep In The Bread Aisle dropping on 4-20, he’s going to get a lot of press in the coming weeks and it’s really all deserved.  Dude is a dope MC and a cool ass dude, so those with the unnecessary hate can [Jay-Z] go thaaaaataway [/Hov].  Be sure to head on over to MrPeterParker.com on Tuesday the 7th to cop an exclusive mixtape from Asher and Peter, and if you missed his appearance on SNSS a few weeks ago, click here.

Across all genres, there might not be an artist with more buzz right now than Asher Roth.  Sadly, it seems like most people, industry or not, are stuck on the smash single, “I Love College,” and the image that track represents.  In reality, Asher is much more than a one hit wonder responsible for the new frat boy anthem.  Instead, he’s a really dope MC, a thoughtful businessman, and an all around cool ass dude.

He took a minute from his busy schedule last week to call into Sound Session right before we all headed down to SXSW.  In the interview, we talked all about his upcoming Asleep In The Bread Aisle debut, the misrepresentation that “I Love College” brings, his producer and secret weapon, Oren Yorel, why being a white rapper is like being the Highlander, and much more.  Plus, we ran his new “Lark On My Go Kart” track and reminisced about everyone’s favorite Saved By The Bell moment.  You can check it out right here:

Asher Roth on Sound Session – http://www.mediafire.com/?yiw2fzdilyo
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/578401220336b51f/)

If you’re still hating on Asher, I hope you can peep Asleep In The Bread Aisle with a clear mind, because the music and talent are there in bunches.  Don’t get it twisted.