I Can’t Tell You What I Learned from School but I Can Tell You a Story or Two

All you need to know about the debut album from Asher Roth, Asleep in the Bread Aisle is that instead of being released on the traditional Tuesday, it hit the shelves a day early on 4/20. Get it? If not, you may want skip the album. If you do, go straight to track number two, Blunt Passin’.

Despite that song and the special release date, the album isn’t all about the sticky-icky. Roth attacks what he calls the elephant in the room in that he has the skin tone as Eminem on As I Em. But the thing about Marshall Mathers is that like many of the rappers before him is that he knew about the struggle, how it is to either get a record contract or not be able to feed his child. The suburban stories that Roth tells just don’t carry the same weight. But Roth doesn’t address the second elephant in the room in if he had an uncle named David Lee.

Bad Day (which doesn’t sample Daniel Powder) is a boring romp that could have used some patented Eminem wit. Even Roth seems bored on the track. The ode to his father, His Dream, falls flat especially when you consider Kanye West showed us that songs dedicated to parental figures can avoid being cheesy and lame. And on Lion’s Roar, Busta Rhymes does just that but Roth just whimpers in comparison.

Roth may not have the life experiences that make other rappers stars, but the few stories he has do make for decent songs. Most notable is I Love College which got reworked on the album after being unable to secure the Say it Ain’t So sample (presumably Rivers Cuomo didn’t want his family problems turn into a drunk frat boy anthem). But it is hard not to reminisce about those days on campus and sing along by the end of the song.

Asher’s witty side does show up on the opening track Lark on My Go-Cart, an ode to Scheech’s favorite girl where he is able rhymes bumpkin with Tim Duncan all over a fuzzed out beat. Asher was able to clear a sample from Ben Kweller for Fallin’ where he thinks back to his day in middle school which works much better then when he tries to sound like other rappers of the day. It is too bad Asleep in the Bread Aisle doesn’t feature Roth Boys where Asher hijacks the Jay-Z beat because it would have been the second best track on this album.

Song to Download – I Love College

Asleep in the Bread Aisle gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.