With the Beastie Boys making basketball documentaries, MC Serch hosting reality shows, and Eminem in self-imposed exile somewhere north of 8 Mile, there is a vacancy for hip-hop’s pigment-challenged ambassador. The next great white rapper might not come from New York or Motown, but instead the Pennsylvania suburbs. Asher Roth is a young, caucasoid MC who is branding himself as a sort of “Joe College” rapper. Its unclear if this sort of “Frat Rap” has an audience, but if novelty acts like MIA, Lady Sovereign, and Matisyahu can find a niche due to their talent, so too can Asher.

My initial impression is that the boy can flow, but he suffers from pop-culture reference dropping fever. His brief periods of introspection are weighted evenly with run of the mill, wack rapper misogyny. He is bound to get over-hyped in the next few months, but you can judge for yourself right now. Download his new mixtape The Green House Effect (which is more of a drug reference than a environmental reference) from his website, or check out this remake of Jay-Z’s Roc Boys, entitled Roth Boys:

Tags: Asher Roth, hip-hop, Music, rap, Roc Boys, Roth Boys, suburban, the greenhouse effect, white rappers

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