By Sam Parvin
Asher Roth, famous for his beer-guzzling, bongalicious tune
“College”, joined the Blink-182 Reunion Tour just a few weeks prior to their
Wednesday show at Lakewood. And, while
Roth’s style is certainly not punk-rocker like Blink’s, the combination is
complementary. Roth sings about his
“glory days,” as a 20-something (currently) with two years of college under
his belt. His songs are mostly hip-hop, with obvious influences of rock and soul; and the DJ slingin’ tracks
onstage nods to Atlanta’s dance scene.
Roth may be fairly new to life in live music (“College”
spread virally to campuses nationwide only last year), but he has developed an
effective formula for evoking maximum energy levels from audiences. Asher and co-MC/hypeman, Brain Bangley,
along with DJ Wreckineyez and drummer Kevin Lamar bounced around the stage,
demanding the crowd’s involvement through whoops and hollers and “hands in the
air”. The guys sported their rendition
of OutKast’s “Bombs Over Baghdad” just before “I Touch Myself” (Divinyls),
complete with two male strippers. The
muscle men were a prank from Blink and Asher’s crew for their last night on the
tour. Asher and Kevin returned the
gesture with a striptease of their own, halfway through Blink’s set.
OK, I’ll admit, I didn’t know much about the guy until this
show. And the whole “I smoke weed, drink
beer, and screw girls” thing is a little much, but the kid’s got something
going, and I’m pleasantly surprised. Roth has already collaborated with such hip-hop moguls as Jazze Pha,
Busta Rhymes, Cee-Lo, and even Keri Hilson. He raps about his being compared to Eminem (in “As I Em”), his new-found
fame, and what’s important in his life – friends, good times, experiencing new
things – like a “regular” dude. The
bottom line is, Asher relates his largely middle-class, “normal” life to recent
stardom; and his having the balls to rap about what he does, wins over fans
across suburbia.
