S. Samuel
In light of many Causcasian rap artists like Kreayshan, Mac Miller and Machine Gun Kelly making their way to the rap forefront as of late, Pennsylvania rapper Asher Roth offers his take on the hype.
Asked for his thoughts on rappers like himself and Eminem setting the path for succeeding artists, Roth said just as long as hip-hop does not become mediocre, he hopes to continue seeing diversity.
“I definitely feel as if we came with something fresh,” Roth said in an interview referring to his 2008 emergence into the hip-hop spotlight. “I think people took notice of it and people really got an opportunity to really add something new and with that, it’s pretty cool to see a lot of other young cats get in and I think that’s kinda what we want to do. We want to keep pushing [the boundaries] forward and I just hope we don’t settle for mediocrity. I think it’s important to keep bar game and bar work up, I think it’s important to have well-written songs, I think it’s important to have your performance game on point — we have to be very careful moving forward and making sure that we are putting out the best possible music. Music should always come first.” (Global Grind)
Over the summer, Bad Boy’s Machine Gun Kelly hit up SOHH with his post-record deal reaction.
“The way it all started was before Bad Boy/Interscope, it was a major label bidding war. At the end of the day, surprisingly to what people may think, Puff was the one person who said, “I don’t want to touch or change your movement. I just want to get that machine.” Bad Boy recently inked with Interscope and he brought me toJimmy Iovine one night in the hotel room on a fluke though. He was like, “I gotta go run an errand.” I think this was either my first or second time meeting Puff and I was like, “OK, this is kind of random. It’s 2 AM in the morning. Who has to run an errand at 2 AM?” We ended up going to a hotel room and [Interscope Records head] Jimmy Iovine ended up turning around and I think I just sh*t my pants. I’m just in there at the hotel room with shatted pants. And so Puff told me to tell Jimmy about the idea and I showed him the fans and the movement. Puff just really believed in the idea. Puff pushed for it, we told the other labels what was going on and what we had offered on the table and it was such a game-changing type offer that it’s like, ‘No way. Not possible’.” (SOHH Guest Star)
In June, Kreayshawn admitted breaking rap mogul Diddy’s heart by signing a deal with Columbia instead of his Bad Boy Records label.
“He hit me and he was mad about the whole signing thing. He was like, ‘Yo, I wanted to work with you, blah, blah blah,’ ” Kreayshawn recalled. The upstart rapper went on to reveal an amusing tidbit to the Bad Boy mogul. “Honestly, I’ve always had a picture of you next to me and my kindergarten picture,” Kreay recalled telling him. “I always put it on my wall, and I tell people, ‘That’s my dad. P. Diddy’s my dad.’ And he was like, ‘Yo, I have to adopt you.'” (MTV)
Last year, Shady Records’ Yelawolf said it would take a long time before white rappers could be treated equally.
“Years and years of great white artists. It’s going to take more classics from white artists that make international impacts,” Yela said about clearing out discrimination. “I mean Rock n’ Roll is black music, but there were plenty talented white Rock n’ Roll that just kind of made that line disappear. It’s going to take decades. It won’t happen in my lifetime. The odds are just slim for a white artist in Hip-Hop. This is a black culture… it’s just something you have to respect and appreciate. Have to be thankful that you’re able to do it. Do what you do and love what you do. You have to be passionate about what you do and let it live.” (All Hip Hop)
Check out some recent Asher Roth footage below:
