Blowin' up in '09

Asher Roth

Who: It’s the classic Cinderella spin—rapper freestyles some bars for hip-hop kingmaker Jay-Z. Heads bob. Contract signed on the spot. But this case is a little different: the rapper is a skinny white kid from the Philly burbs who spit 150 bars for Jigga, verses that would later land on his debut mixtape “The Greenhouse Effect.”

What: Roth’s pinched-nose vocals can’t help reminding you of a certain predecessor, but his tracks are more about popping collars than caps. “I Love College” heartily samples Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So” with references to thirsty Thursdays, dollar slices and Miller Lite.

Most likely to blow up: “Roth Boys” is an intriguing blend of frat-relevant source material, confident flow—he calls the track a reprise of Eminem’s Jay-Z dis “Renegade”—and the blessing of producer Diddy. Thankfully the line “Roth Boys in the building tonight” doesn’t refer to the rapper pounding Pepsi at his Bar Mitzvah.—MR