Asher Roth is still a one hit wonder

As much as I hate to say it, Asher Roth is still a one hit wonder. This shouldn't come as a surprise… "Asleep In the Bread Aisle" was reviewed as one of the worst rap albums of 2009 (according to Pitchfork Media) and with the exception of XXL (who gave Asher Roth an overly inflated album review), every major music critic rated "Asleep In the Bread Aisle" between 2 and 3 stars… out of 5. This is not a good sign for any new artist, especially Asher Roth who was initially given all the resources that he needed to create a timeless album. "I Love College" went platinum after 12 weeks, an incredible accomplishment for a new artist. It's just too bad that the millions of "I Love College" purchasers didn't go out and buy his full length album or his second single.

Lets look at the numbers. According to Soundscan reports, 10% of the people that are purchasing "I Love College", are also buying his debut album. "Be By Myself", his second single, features Cee-Lo of the duo Gnarles Barkley. Even though the song carries a Gnarles Barkley style of rhythm, the millions of Cee-lo fans, that always support his music, completely ignored this collaboration effort. If a record with Cee-Lo can't help a mainstream artist break into the Billboard Top 100, then there's something terribly wrong. The third single, "She Don’t Wanna Man", is currently being shipped out to major radio stations worldwide. It features platinum selling singer Keri Hilson, who, as of last week, currently has a top five smash hit with Kanye West called "Knocks You Down". Now, if Keri Hilson fails to boost an artist into the Billboard Top 50, Top 100, or Top anything, then something is "seriously" wrong.

Asher Roth, as of today, fits the mold of 90's era one hit wonders like: Lou Bega, The Brian Setzer Orchestra and Los del Río. He joins those artists by having that one timeless song that's going to be played at parties for the next 50 years. He, like many other one hit wonders, has a song that works in only one setting; a song that can sound out of place if it's played anywhere else.

Now, being a one hit wonder isn't a bad thing, it's actually extremely difficult to become a one hit wonder in today's music climate. One hit wonders have to create a great song, a timeless song, a song that is so big that it overpowers and outsells it's album by a massive percentage.

"I Love College" is a sheer musical accomplishment. It's very difficult for a brand new artist to go platinum off of their debut single in less than three months. It simply doesn't happen to most rappers in 2000's era. So one-hit wonder or not, Asher Roth, and SRC Records have accomplished an amazing feat and deserve all the credit and respect for making music history out of a debut single. The lingering question will be… Is SRC Records more concerned with milking every last penny from "I Love College" than they are in promoting his other great singles from his debut album.

Today, Asher Roth is a one hit wonder, tomorrow… who knows.