Asleep in the Bread Aisle

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 School Boy, SRC and Universal Motown Records.[1] The production on the album was largely contributed by Oren Yoel, while the album features guest appearances from Cee-Lo Green, Busta Rhymes, Keri Hilson, Jazze Pha, pop duo Chester French, and the hip hop group New Kingdom.

Asleep in the Bread Aisle
Studio album by
Asher Roth
ReleasedApril 20, 2009
Recorded2008–2009
Genre
Length47:31
Label
Producer
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

The album received a mixed response from critics, with reviews divided by Yoel's production clashing with Roth's delivery of hip hop party clichés. Asleep in the Bread Aisle debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard 200, while it was supported by all 4 singles; "I Love College", "Lark on My Go-Kart", "Be by Myself" and "She Don't Wanna Man".

Background

On Asleep in the Bread Aisle was known for the contributions from its producers, such as Don Cannon, along with newcomer Oren Yoel, who 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 hip hop group New Kingdom from Los Angeles.[2] During the recording sessions, Jazze Pha was at the downstairs recording in the same studio, and then he went upstairs to check things out, which ended up providing some vocals for the track, titled "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.

Singles

The album's lead single was "I Love College", which also serves as Roth's commercial debut single.[4] It was released on January 13, 2009. The second single as part of the promotion for the album was "Lark on My Go-Kart". It was released on March 24, 2009.

The album's third single, "Be by Myself" featuring the guest vocals from American singer-songwriter Cee-Lo Green, was released on May 5, 2009. The album's fourth single, "She Don't Wanna Man" was released on July 7, 2009.

Commercial performance

Asleep in the Bread Aisle debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard 200, with nearly 65,000 copies sold in its first week.[5] As of February 2014, the album has sold 214,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[6] In April 2019, the album was officially certified gold for selling an excess of 500,000 copies.[7]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic56/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [9]
Blender [10]
The Boston Globefavorable [11]
The Guardian [12]
HipHopDX [13]
RapReviews(7.5/10) [14]
Rolling Stone [15]
Vibe [16]
XXL (XL) [17]
PopMatters(3/10) [18]

Upon its release, Asleep in the Bread Aisle was met with mixed reviews from music critics.[19] 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."[20] 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."[21] 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."[22] 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."[23]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Lark on My Go-Kart"
2:54
2."Blunt Cruisin'"
  • Roth
  • Kleinman
  • Edip Akbayram
Oren Yoel3:36
3."I Love College"
  • Caren
  • Ben H. Allen III (co.)
4:01
4."La Di Da"
Don Cannon3:47
5."Be by Myself" (featuring Cee-Lo Green)
  • Roth
  • Kleinman
Oren Yoel4:22
6."She Don't Wanna Man"
  • Roth
  • Kleinman
Oren Yoel3:36
7."Sour Patch Kids"
  • Roth
  • Kleinman
Oren Yoel4:29
8."As I Em" (featuring Chester French)
  • Oren Yoel
  • Appleton
4:19
9."Lion's Roar" (featuring Busta Rhymes & New Kingdom)
Oren Yoel4:12
10."Bad Day" (featuring Jazze Pha)
  • Roth
  • Appleton
  • Kleinman
  • Oren Yoel
  • Appleton
3:37
11."His Dream"
Oren Yoel4:35
12."Fallin'"
Novel4:12
iTunes Store bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Perfectionist" (featuring Beanie Sigel & Rock City)
  • Oren Yoel
  • Appleton
3:51
14."The Lounge"RothNovel4:15
United Kingdom bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."Y.O.U." (featuring Slick Rick)
Nottz3:53
Notes
  • (co.) denotes co-producer.
  • "She Don't Wanna Man" features an uncredited vocals by Keri Hilson.
Sample credits
  • "Lark on My Go Kart" contains a sample of "Swordsman" performed by GZA.
  • "Blunt Cruisin'" contains a sample of "Kukredi Cimenler" performed by Edip Akbayram.
  • "I Love College" contains a samples from "Say It Ain't So" performed by Weezer, "Impeach the President" performed by the Honey Drippers and "10% Diss" performed by MC Lyte.
  • "As I Em" contains a sample of "Geraldine and John" performed by Joe Jackson
  • "Fallin'" contains a sample of "Falling" performed by Ben Kweller and "Kissing My Love" performed by Bill Withers
  • "Y.O.U." contains a sample of "You Are You" performed by The Original Cast of "Flora the Red Menace".

Charts
Chart (2009) Peak positions
Canadian Albums Chart 31[24]
UK Albums Chart 38[25]
US Billboard 200 5[26]
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 5[27]
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard) 3[28]

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. 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. "Asher Roth Talks New LP 'RetroHash,' Premieres 'Tangerine Girl' Song: Listen". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  7. "Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. RIAA. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  8. "Asleep In The Bread Aisle by Asher Roth". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  9. Jeffries, David. Asleep in the Bread Aisle at AllMusic
  10. Blender magazine review 2009 Archived August 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  11. Rodman, Sarah (19 April 2009). "'Asleep' shows Roth's potential". Retrieved 3 October 2016 – via The Boston Globe.
  12. Petridis, Alexis (16 April 2009). "Asher Roth: Asleep in the Bread Aisle". Retrieved 3 October 2016 – via The Guardian.
  13. http://hiphopdx.com, HipHopDX -. "Asher Roth - Asleep In The Bread Aisle". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  14. "Asher Roth :: Asleep in the Bread Aisle :: SchoolBoy/SRC/Universal Motown". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  15. "Asher Roth: Asleep in the Bread Aisle : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". 25 April 2009. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. Vibe magazine review 2009 Archived April 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  17. "Hip-Hop News, Rap Music - XXL". Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  18. "Asher Roth:Asleep in the Bread Aisle". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  19. "Asleep In The Bread Aisle". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. 2009-04-21. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  20. Rosen, Jody (2009-04-14). "review of "Asleep in the Bear Aisle"". Rolling Stone. RealNetworks, Inc. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  21. Jeffries, David. "review of "Asleep in the Bear Aisle"". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  22. 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.
  23. Ranta, Alan (2009-04-29). "Will the Real Slim Shady Please Wake Up?". PopMatters. PopMatters. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  24. Top 100 Albums in Canada Archived 2011-10-23 at WebCite, jam.canoe.ca
  25. "Radio 1 Chart Show". BBC. MMIX. 2009-04-26. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
  26. Billboard 200 Top 1-10, billboard.com
  27. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top 1-10, billboard.com
  28. Top Rap Albums Top 1-10, billboard.com
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