Asleep in the Bread Aisle

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Asleep in the Bread Aisle
Studio album by Asher Roth
Released April 20, 2009
Recorded 2008–2009
Genre Alternative hip hop
Length 59:43
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)		 Is This Too Orange?
(2012)
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
  5. "As I Em"
    Released: October 6, 2009
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 3/5 stars [1]
Blender 3/5 stars [2]
The Boston Globe (favorable) [3]
The Guardian 2/5 stars [4]
HipHopDX 2/5 stars [5]
RapReviews (7.5/10) [6]
Rolling Stone 3/5 stars [7]
Vibe 2.5/5 stars [8]
XXL 4/5 stars (XL) [9]
PopMatters (3/10) [10]

Asleep in the Bread Aisle is the debut studio album by American rapper Asher Roth. It was released on April 20, 2009.[11]

Contents

[edit] Singles

[edit] 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, Jazze Pha, Keri Hilson, Busta Rhymes, pop duo Chester French, and band New Kingdom from Los Angeles.[13] Jazze Pha was recording downstairs in the same studio, went upstairs to check things out, and ended up providing some vocals for "Bad Day." [14] 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.[citation needed]

[edit] 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.[15] As of November 22, 2011, the album has sold 205,000 copies in the US.[16]

[edit] Critical reception

Reviews of Asleep in the Bread Aisle were mixed.[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".[12] 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]

[edit] Track listing

No. Title Producer(s) Length
1. "Lark on My Go-Kart"   Oren Yoel, David Appleton 2:54
2. "Blunt Cruisin'"   Oren Yoel 3:37
3. "I Love College"   Mike Caren, Ben Allen 4:01
4. "La Di Da"   Don Cannon 3:47
5. "Be By Myself" (featuring Cee Lo Green) Oren Yoel 4:23
6. "She Don't Wanna Man" (featuring Keri Hilson) Oren Yoel 3:37
7. "Sour Patch Kids"   Oren Yoel 4:30
8. "As I Em" (featuring Chester French) Oren Yoel, David Appleton 4:19
9. "Lion's Roar" (featuring Busta Rhymes & New Kingdom) Oren Yoel 4:13
10. "Bad Day" (featuring Jazze Pha) Oren Yoel, David Appleton 3:38
11. "His Dream" (featuring Miguel) Oren Yoel 4:36
12. "Fallin'" (featuring Ben Kweller) Nottz, Novel 4:03

[edit] 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]

[edit] Samples

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jeffries, David. Asleep in the Bread Aisle at Allmusic
  2. ^ Blender magazine review 2009
  3. ^ The Boston Globe review 2009
  4. ^ The Guardian review 2009
  5. ^ HipHopDX review 2009
  6. ^ RapReviews 2009
  7. ^ Rolling Stone 2009
  8. ^ Vibe magazine review 2009
  9. ^ XXL magazine review 2009
  10. ^ PopMatters review 2009
  11. ^ Roberts, Steven (2009-03-31). "Asher Roth's Asleep In The Bread Aisle, Track By Track". MTV (MTV Networks). http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1608174/20090331/asher_roth.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  12. ^ a b Crosley, Hillary (2009-02-05). "MC Asher Roth Readying Major-Label Debut". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/mc-asher-roth-readying-major-label-debut-1003938761.story. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
  13. ^ "Lil Wayne ‘Roars’ with Asher Roth". Rap-Up.com. 2009-03-15. http://www.rap-up.com/2009/03/15/lil-wayne-roars-with-asher-roth/#more-13836. Retrieved 2012-01-14. 
  14. ^ "Bad Day". Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=18799. Retrieved 2010-04-09. 
  15. ^ "Rick Ross Is Billboard Boss Again With Deeper Than Rap - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. 2009-04-29. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1610241/rick-ross-billboard-boss-again.jhtml. Retrieved 2012-01-14. 
  16. ^ Up for Discussion Jump to Forums (2009-09-14). "Asher Roth Calls Def Jam Deal 'A Win-Win for Everybody'". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/news/asher-roth-calls-def-jam-deal-a-win-win-1005553642.story#/news/asher-roth-calls-def-jam-deal-a-win-win-1005553642.story. Retrieved 2012-01-14. 
  17. ^ "Asleep In The Bread Aisle". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. 2009-04-21. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/rothasher/asleepinthebreadaisle?part=rss. Retrieved 2009-04-21. 
  18. ^ Rosen, Jody (2009-04-14). "review of "Asleep in the Bear Aisle"". Rolling Stone. RealNetworks, Inc. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/asherroth/albums/album/27386687/review/27534376/asleep_in_the_bread_aisle. Retrieved 2009-04-20. 
  19. ^ a b Jeffries, David. "review of "Asleep in the Bear Aisle"". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1538656. Retrieved 2009-04-20. 
  20. ^ Gary, Kevin (2009-04-22). "Asher Roth - Asleep In The Bread Aisle". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.1157/title.asher-roth-asleep-in-the-bread-aisle. Retrieved 2009-04-22. 
  21. ^ Ranta, Alan (2009-04-29). "Will the Real Slim Shady Please Wake Up?". PopMatters. PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/73536-asher-rothasleep-in-the-bread-aisle/. 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. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/albums.shtml. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 

[edit] External links

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