Asleep in the Bread Aisle

Asleep in the Bread Aisle
Studio album by Asher Roth
Released April 20, 2009
Recorded 2008–2009
Genre Alternative hip hop, jazz rap
Length 47:31
Label Schoolboy, SRC, Universal Motown
Producer Scooter Braun (exec.), Oren Yoel, David Appleton, Don Cannon, Nottz, Ben Allen, Novel, Mike Caren
Asher Roth chronology

Asleep in the Bread Aisle
(2009)		 Retro Hash
(2014)
Singles from Asleep in the Bread Aisle
  1. "I Love College"
    Released: January 13, 2009
  2. "Lark on My Go-Kart"
    Released: March 24, 2009
  3. "Be by Myself"
    Released: May 5, 2009
  4. "She Don't Wanna Man"
    Released: July 7, 2009

Asleep in the Bread Aisle is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Asher Roth. It was released on April 20, 2009, by Schoolboy, SRC and Universal Motown Records.[1]

Background

On Asleep in the Bread Aisle, known producers like Don Cannon contribute, but newcomer Oren Yoel crafted the bulk of the album's beats. The album features guest appearances from Cee-Lo Green, Jazze Pha, Keri Hilson, Busta Rhymes, pop duo Chester French, and band New Kingdom from Los Angeles.[2] Jazze Pha was recording downstairs in the same studio, went upstairs to check things out, and ended up providing some vocals for "Bad Day." [3] The album carries a PA label but there is no actual Parental Advisory sticker on the album cover. Instead, the PA warning is hand-drawn over the cover like the rest of the text. The cover image was inspired by a story Roth heard about a guy who fell asleep in the bread aisle of a grocery store after taking Tylenol PM.

Singles

The album's lead single was "I Love College", which also serves as Roth's commercial debut single.[4] The second single released in promotion for the album was ""Lark on My Go-Kart". The third single released was "Be by Myself", which features vocals from American singer-songwriter Cee-Lo Green. The fourth single released from the album was "She Don't Wanna Man", which features vocals from American singer-songwriter Keri Hilson.

Commercial performance

Asleep in the Bread Aisle debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart with nearly 65,000 copies sold in its first-week.[5] As of February 2014, the album has sold 214,000 copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [7]
Blender [8]
The Boston Globe favorable [9]
The Guardian [10]
HipHopDX [11]
RapReviews (7.5/10) [12]
Rolling Stone [13]
Vibe [14]
XXL (XL) [15]
PopMatters (3/10) [16]

Upon its release, Asleep in the Bread Aisle was met with mixed reviews from music critics.[17] According to Billboard, Oren Yoel's "mixture of boom-bap drums and pop sensibility mixes well with Roth's happy go lucky and sincere rhymes".[4] Rolling Stone similarly complimented Roth for his sincerity and avoiding the cliche gimmicks typically employed by fellow white rappers, saying, "Roth's tight, witty debut lives up to the Internet hype that has swirled around him for months... he keeps the nerd-boy self-deprecation to a minimum and acts, you know, like a rapper."[18] However, Allmusic noted, "Smoking weed, having sex, and swearing is hardly riveting material, and when Asher can't turn these topics into something clever, it becomes tiresome."[19] HipHopDX agreed saying, "...Roth makes partying sound like the most boring thing in the world. It’s not that having fun in college is not worthy of being rapped about, it’s that Roth seems absolutely incapable of approaching this topic with anything remotely close to creativity or humor."[20] Alan Ranta of PopMatters summarized by saying Asleep in the Bread Aisle was "a brainless summer record with flashes of conscience. Roth can do better or, at the very least, discover his own voice."[21]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Lark on My Go-Kart"  Asher Roth, O. Kleinman, David AppletonOren Yoel, David Appleton 2:54
2. "Blunt Cruisin"  Asher Roth, O. Kleinman, E, AkbayramOren Yoel 3:36
3. "I Love College"  Asher Roth, Mike Caren, Ben H. Allen, k. Robinson, N. Robinson, L. MoorerMike Caren, Ben H. Allen 4:01
4. "La Di Da"  Asher Roth, Don CannonDon Cannon, 3:47
5. "Be by Myself" (featuring Cee-Lo Green)Asher Roth, O. KleinmanOren Yoel 4:22
6. "She Don't Wanna Man" (featuring Keri Hilson)Asher Roth, Keri Hilson, O. KleinmanOren Yoel 3:36
7. "Sour Patch Kids"  Asher Roth, O. KleinmanOren Yoel 4:29
8. "As I Em" (featuring Chester French)Asher Roth, David Appleton, O. Kleinman, D. Wallach, J. JacksonOren Yoel, David Appleton 4:19
9. "Lion's Roar" (featuring Busta Rhymes & New Kingdom)Asher Roth, O. Kleinman, N. King, T. SmithOren Yoel 4:12
10. "Bad Day" (featuring Jazze Pha)Asher Roth, David Appleton, O. KleinmanOren Yoel, David Appleton 3:37
11. "His Dream" (featuring Miguel)Asher Roth, O. Kleinman, M. PimentelOren Yoel 4:35
12. "Fallin'"  Asher Roth, T. Reyes, A. Stevenson, B. KwellerNovel 4:12

Chart positions

Chart (2009) Peak positions
Canadian Albums Chart 31[22]
U.S. Billboard 200 5[23]
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 5[24]
U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums 3[25]
UK Albums Chart 38[26]

Samples

References

  1. ↑ Roberts, Steven (2009-03-31). "Asher Roth's Asleep In The Bread Aisle, Track By Track". MTV (MTV Networks). Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
  2. ↑ "Lil Wayne ‘Roars’ with Asher Roth". Rap-Up.com. 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  3. ↑ "Bad Day". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Crosley, Hillary (2009-02-05). "MC Asher Roth Readying Major-Label Debut". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 13 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  5. ↑ "Rick Ross Is Billboard Boss Again With Deeper Than Rap - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  6. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/5915781/asher-roth-talks-new-lp-retrohash-premieres-tangerine-girl-song
  7. ↑ Jeffries, David. Asleep in the Bread Aisle at AllMusic
  8. ↑ Blender magazine review 2009
  9. ↑ The Boston Globe review 2009
  10. ↑ The Guardian review 2009
  11. ↑ HipHopDX review 2009
  12. ↑ RapReviews 2009
  13. ↑ Rolling Stone 2009
  14. ↑ Vibe magazine review 2009
  15. ↑ XXL magazine review 2009
  16. ↑ PopMatters review 2009
  17. ↑ "Asleep In The Bread Aisle". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. 2009-04-21. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  18. ↑ Rosen, Jody (2009-04-14). "review of "Asleep in the Bear Aisle"". Rolling Stone. RealNetworks, Inc. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  19. ↑ Jeffries, David. "review of "Asleep in the Bear Aisle"". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  20. ↑ Gary, Kevin (2009-04-22). "Asher Roth - Asleep In The Bread Aisle". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  21. ↑ Ranta, Alan (2009-04-29). "Will the Real Slim Shady Please Wake Up?". PopMatters. PopMatters. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  22. ↑ Top 100 Albums in Canada, jam.canoe.ca
  23. ↑ Billboard 200 Top 1-10, billboard.com
  24. ↑ Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top 1-10, billboard.com
  25. ↑ Top Rap Albums Top 1-10, billboard.com
  26. ↑ "Radio 1 Chart Show". BBC. MMIX. 2009-04-26. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-18.

External links