Seeing as I haven’t heard a thing about Asher Roth since this past summer, I was pretty surprised when I stumbled across his Twitter page and saw a few posts about him going through beats and working on rhymes. His debut mixtape, The Greenhouse Effect, was about as good as any mixtape we’ve heard and it led to some major hype for his album. The album, however, was a total fail. I honestly thought that after his VERY disappointing debut, Asher had disappeared. The album, which combined less than stellar production with some basic and often cheesy rhymes, was one of the year’s biggest flops. Asher had about as big a buzz any upcoming rapper could ask for, but the quality of his album pretty much killed it. Asher sold out in order to get radio play. In the process, he left his witty lyrics and creativity behind.

As much as I criticize Asher, however, I think the guy has a lot of talent. He was named one of XXL’s Freshman Ten of 2009 and was co-signed by Eminem along with KiD CuDi and B.o.B. Listen to some of his freestyles and older stuff an you’ll see why he had such a big hype (His “A Millie” freestlye was the best I’ve ever heard).

A Millie Remix

Asher’s problem was  a typical mistake that we see all too often in upcoming artists. His entire album was an effort to match the radio success of his first single “I Love College”. The result was a mediocre collection of catchy tunes with unimpressive, dumbed down lyrics that not only failed to match his previous successes but also took away most of his credibility as a serious and talented rapper. I mean seriously, how many songs can you write about weed, drinking, and college girls before it just gets corny?

Now, the main reason I’m writing this article is because I believe that Asher actually can save his career and not become the next “fifteen minutes of fame” rapper and then disappear into the oblivion. Asher has the skills to make quality songs that are actually meaningful, and he brings a new perspective to the rap game. There’s really no other white, suburban, stoner rapper out there, and people appreciate something different. If Asher can find his own sound, start working with some good producers, and stop rapping about such unimportant things, I actually believe he can go far in the game. I, for one, would be willing to listen. For now though, it’s up to Asher. Will he abandon his old ways and come at us with something new? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

Here are a couple of good tracks by Asher. Download the mixtape, The Greenhouse Effect, here too:

Download Here

THE GOOD:

Cannon

Change Gonna Come ft. B.o.B. & Charles Hamilton

THE BAD:

Blunt Cruisin’