AWmusic

I’ve been going through somewhat of a rebellion towards present day hip hop, so the fact that I haven’t really looked into who this artist is until now is a shame. He’s 23 year old Asher Paul Roth who’s been dubbed “the artist to watch”. His single “I Love College” gained him a lot of notoriety and his debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle made it to no. 5 on the billboard charts with 62,000 units moved.

I listened to a few tracks from the album starting out skeptical if this guy was just a gimmick. His image a college frat boy mostly compared to the notorious white boy rapper Eminem, but the song Y.O.U. ft. Slick Rick being the first of his songs I have ever listened to, stopped all pre-conceived notions I had. He talks about the fact that he can’t change who he is and that if he tried he wouldn’t be himself. He also hit the comparisons to Eminem head on with the track As I Em talking about how he’s constantly compared to Eminem, how he respects him but he is not him. The similarities between the two are the color of skin, and that he sounds like him vocally. Asher’s lyrics however are far from what Eminem’s lyrics were about. Perhaps because of the way he grew up and that fact that he isn’t trying to hide where he came from. Asher Paul Roth grew up in suburban Pennsylvania and went to Westchester University to study Elementary education. He doesn’t know street life, he doesn’t carry guns so he doesn’t rap about what he doesn’t know. Being a rapper is about knowing how to deliver a message in a way that’s different from others and of course having the skill of knowing how to rap. I can’t deny that Asher Paul Roth can spit. He has a clever, witty way with words that make him a skillful storyteller.

The album as a whole is structured, and it’s evident that he’s a lyrical rapper. My favourite tracks to listen to are I Love College, and Be By Myself. There were a couple tracks that sounded like he was delivering a redundant message but for someone that rapped 150 bars on the spot for Jay-Z, he takes the cake as being the artist to look out for this year despite anything else but the quality of his music. Check out his MySpace.

I Love College by Asher Roth
Y.O.U. by Asher Roth ft Slick Rick
As I Em by Asher Roth
A Milli by Asher Roth

This year is a year of many firsts and new found innovative ways of living. This doesn’t leave out new firsts for the music industry. Where the internet is drastically changing the way that music is appreciated, there is a new tool that enables the fans and industry heads to communicate minus PR limiting what is shared on a daily bases.

Twitter, which is a free social network and micro blogging tool was found 3 years ago in 2006. It has a simple platform and provides you with 140 character space to speak freely in response to the question, “What are you doing?”

Artists, producers, record labels, song writers, and music bloggers who have twitter accounts can keep up to date with just about anyone ranging from friends, family, and fans. The freedom to constantly update followers throughout the course of the day has given a more personal touch to fans and even a chance for artists interact with their fans directly. This changes the way that simple things such as interviews with artists can now be done live on Twitter. “You can’t go anywhere without hearing music and just like food, music brings people together and is a great way to celebrate life! In the online world,” -Gabriel Nijmeh creator of the Artists on Twitter Spreadsheet. The spreadsheet lists over 1200 listings of artists and bands you can reach out to and even read up on daily “tweets”.

Just to name a few:

Woodhands Twitter page
Peter Bjorn and John Twitter page
Silverstein Twitter page
Solange Knowles Twitter page
Pearl Jam Twitter page
Fall Out Boy Twitter page
Taylor Swift Twitter page

I myself was skeptical of jumping on the little blue bird bandwagon, but have found that it is a great way as a music blogger to network and find hidden talent. I’m able to obtain information straight from the horses mouth as opposed to waiting on an interview. Its fast, effective, and takes less work which appears to be the way of the future whether you like it or not. Whether it be to browse or sign up, you can see what I’m talking about by visiting Twitter.com.

-Gabriela

Some mp3s:

Pulaski Heights by Venice Is Sinking (my fav band to talk to Twitter – Allan)
The Fear by Lily Allen
Nothing To Worry About by Pete Bjorn and John

Listening to ‘On My Radio’ for the first time was equal to the feeling of copping new shoes, falling in love, and getting paid all in one. His song ‘IWannaBe’ which features the reggae legend Damian Marley has a delicious upbeat carribean vibe. The song describes that first time feeling you get when you meet someone you’re into. If you know his music, you’ll know that he has a sincere way of detailing what it feels to be in that moment. The sad thing is that falling in love isn’t pretty and it damn sure isn’t about material things. Musiq made a way of explaining this and making it click in your head through this song. Damian Marley didn’t disappoint me on the track and his sound was reminiscent of Welcome to Jamrock. Check it out for yourself and leave your thoughts.

I Wanna Be by Musiq Souldchild ft. Damian Marley

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Solange Knowles was definitely not in my mental rising star category up until the day I listened to her second album titled Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams. Without a doubt this album was not what I expected. When she debuted her album titled Solo Star in 2003, I automatically labeled her as the sibling trying to emulate her big sister. Of course being Beyonce Knowles’ little sister could not have been easy on many fronts. Solange is very clear in interviews that she and Beyonce are two different artists with very different styles of music. This rings true in that Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams has a very different sound from the pop influenced debut album. The new album was produced by the likes of Soulshock & Karlin, Cee-Lo Green, and Mark Ronson and included appearances by Lil Wayne and Bilal. Though as a whole it was good, there were a couple tracks that made me want to karate chop that snooze button. ‘Valentine’s Day’ was one of those tracks. It had great lyrics but left me hanging in the melody department. ‘6′ O Clock blues’ did it’s job if she was going for that literal effect.

Although those tracks weren’t my favourite, her single ‘I Decided’ gave me a change of heart. It holds a feel good, just right vibe. The song she collaborated with Lil Wayne called ChampagneChronicKnightCap was also one of my favorites. It held a slight difference to the rest of the album’s 70’s influenced vibe which made it appealing to me. All in all I would rate this album a 4 out of 5.

With her venturing into entrepreneurship and film, I definitely have an interest in seeing what she’s got up her sleeve. There’s no doubt in my mind that with her no bullshit personality she won’t conform to mediocrity for future projects. We’ll have to stay tuned and see.

Champagne Chronic Nightcap by Solange Knowles
I Decided by Solange Knowles