Comments on: The Bradley Effect: Putting Asher Roth on Double Secret Probation

By: Oliver Wang

Oliver Wang — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:34:33 +0000

This was really fucking good. Loved the intro.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:32:40 +0000

I will add, though, that even if he were competent, I would still be dismayed at the gap between his rhetoric about other rappers and the lack of imagination he displays in his own music.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:26:35 +0000

Tray,

Asher’s never done anything as interesting as The Doctor’s Advocate, and he can’t rap anywhere near as well as the Game. A white Jayceon Taylor would be just fine with me. If Roth could come up with, say, something of Lloyd Banks standard — unexceptional but competent – I’d be fine with that.

By: Tray

Tray — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:06:36 +0000

I don’t know why Asher worries so many people. Aren’t we white folk allowed some super-mediocre rappers too? It’s either Eminem in his prime or bust with us? Like, it’s okay to be The Game and mindlessly spew genre cliches like you’re some kind of random compueterized gangsta rap generator, but if you’re Asher Roth, you deserve “you’re not the suburban white rap genius that the world’s been waiting for” diatribes? He’s really mediocre and that’s all that needs to be said. Everything you say, of course, is totally right, but I don’t see the fascination for so many – it would be like if the film blog world got into a huge tizzy over, say, how much The Soloist sucks. He’s not this insidious bigoted monster, and speaking as a kid who grew up in a land of Bar Mitzvahs, country clubs, private schools on every corner, and the like, I’m not so disappointed that this guy’s abjectly failed to produce the suburban Illmatic and speak to my precious experiences. White suburbia doesn’t really lend itself to rap in my view.

By: MaLLY

MaLLY — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:29:48 +0000

**Downloads Asher on bootleg, listens all the way to work on the bus, arrives to work pissed at waste of downloading, works with an attitude, goes home and deletes from iTunes…Day 2: goes to album store, picks up 5 copies and drops them on the floor only to accidentally step on each copy…**

Anotha Time,

MaLLY

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:48:15 +0000

Thanks for the kind words, all. Scott, I can claim the opening paragraph as a manifestation of my dual politics/rap obsessions, but credit for all the photo captions must go to Jeff. I’m particularly pleased with the Dean Wormer and Devin the Dude pics he found for this.

By: Ray Jackson

Ray Jackson — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 02:34:56 +0000

I have nothing against Asher Roth for being a white rapper…other than the fact that he sucks and shouldn’t be viewed as legit representation of the average white suburban hip hop fan…just one segment of it.

As far as I can tell, he’s got nothing much to say and merely serves as the inevitable result of corporate America’s ongoing desire to commodify the shit of rap music for the benefit of white people who want to dip their toes in the water of black culture without really hearing anything about it.

It’s a shame too. Just because you’re a white rapper doesn’t mean you have to be a dork who lacks any shred of soul and streetness.

…See Brother Ali for a good example.

By: adam

adam — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 15:40:35 +0000

Forget Eminem, Roth reminds me of another white rap group concerned with the upper ends of the suburban lifestyle, LFO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHuGG_FsC20

The similarities are pretty clear, lyrically and musically.

By: Joey

Joey — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:35:44 +0000

This is fantastic. Great writing, trenchant analysis.

By: guodisdoug

guodisdoug — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:20:46 +0000

Asher…guh, that’s a name I’m getting tired of hearing. Dude puts out a highly overrated mixtape, year later full blown album release. Meanwhile, I think I caught Wale in a Levi’s ad. How long ago did the ‘mixtape about nothing’ drop? Where’s that Mark Ronson masterpiece from the DMV?