"Are you high yet?” It’s a little after noon on a Tuesday and based on what Asher Roth has already told us about how he likes to spend his days, it seems like a reasonable first question.

“Nah,” he replies, laughing off the question but copping to the likelihood. “I get in these little ‘detox’ modes and I’m starting a little not-till-the-sun-goes-down routine. You gotta stay focused.” At this time in his life, that’s probably a good idea. Even after recently graduating from MySpace hype to the mixtape circuit and getting his first major-label deal, the 22 year-old is hardly at a stage where he can kick his feet up. Many emcees get to this point and never become more than a catalogue of hot freestyles on other people’s hit records. Roth doesn’t intend on becoming one of them so he’s hard at work making his still-untitled album more than just an hour of jokey punch-lines.

“It’s important to me how I come out with my music [on the first album] because that’s how people are gonna portray you for the rest of their lives. It’s gonna be tough to win them over if you want to change directions,” he tells us. His Greenhouse Effect mixtape with DJ Drama and Don Cannon was all fun and games but he’s ready to show us why Steve Rifkind calls him “Hip Hop’s Bob Dylan.” His official debut isn’t scheduled to drop until February, but fresh out of a Virginia studio with Nottz, he confidently explains his vision for the project. With a clear head and clear eyes, Asher Roth talks to HipHopDX about Internet buzz, managing his image and of course, rapping for Jay-Z.

HipHopDX: Especially to people outside of Philly, it seems like you’ve had a quick rise to the head of your class. Would you characterize it that way?
Asher Roth: I mean… I guess so. To be honest with you, I try to stay away from the whole media thing because there’s nothing positive that comes out of that. You’re either gonna get a big head from the compliments or get mad at what people say. People have been very receptive, but as far as where I stand on the latter; I’m not sure.

DX: Your success thus far has very much been the product of building Internet hype. Do you feel like you would’ve had the same opportunities ten years ago when that wouldn’t have been possible?
Asher Roth: Who knows, man? The online marketing and using the MySpace and Facebook to my advantage is really what’s kinda catapulted me in a way that you could call “overnight.” I don’t know if I’d have the same success… I think good music is gonna shine through regardless but it might’ve taken a little bit longer.

DX: On the other hand, Wikipedia (another user generated site) has your article considered for deletion because people are complaining that they don’t know who you are [note: the page was in fact taken down the next day]. It’s so easy to get on the ‘net and say you’re a rapper, so how do you plan to separate yourself from the pack of random kids with MySpace Music pages?
Asher Roth: That’s the truth… everybody’s a rapper. I think there’s a lot that I bring to the table as an artist in as far as creativity, but on the same token, a lot of people don’t know who I am. As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t done shit. There’s a lot, a lot, a lot of work to be done; I just got started.

DX: Do you feel like the new age of democratized content is making the music better or worse?
Asher Roth: It’s definitely arguable but there’s a lot of trash out there. The filter systems really have to go up not because like you said, anybody can pretty much put up a MySpace page and go, “Yeah, I’m a rapper now.” We definitely have to be more careful; we really gotta be more selective now. It definitely has its pros though because some of the most talented people in the world could never get heard before. We don’t want to exploit it to the point where everybody’s considered a rapper but it’s those few that make it that make it real special.

DX: You’ve come out in the same vein as Kanye and Lupe who’re making “regular guy rap” about paying bills and going to class. That’s been successful for some but it’s still a gamble. Was there ever a temptation for you to try to mix in something more “gangsta” since that’s often what people like?
Asher Roth: Nah, when I first started rapping it was pretty much songs about our girlfriends and going to house parties and dancing. I could never really rap about stuff I didn’t know. It’s always cool to tell a story, don’t get me wrong, but me personally, I can only speak for myself.

DX: Do you still remember your first rhyme?
Asher Roth: [Laughs] I was in a battle with my friend where they used to do a Hip Hop workshop after school and when I was like 16. One day everyone was like, “Battle Dan, battle Dan.” and I got up there and said “I’m Asher Roth and I’m the best/ do you shop at Ross or do you 'dress for less'?” The funny thing was I was shopping at Ross but everyone laughed and thought it was funny. The real humor is based on truth. The stuff that you rap about on an every day basis, that’s what people relate to. It humanizes me and makes me approachable. I don’t wanna be unapproachable.

DX: So at what point did you start leaning towards the more political topics?
Asher Roth: It’s just recently as I’m growing up. I’m still just a kid and growing up through this whole thing. I think that’s just the age we’re living in; what we want from out music and what we want from our politics is just honesty. People are tired of being lied to, tired of the bullshit. Like I said, I can only speak for myself but I’m entitled to my opinions and I feel like we’re at a point where… it’s kinda fucked up. It’s pretty fucked up. That’s why I’m a full supporter of Barack Obama. Is he gonna change everything in one fell swoop? No, but it’s still a change. It’s something new and it’s something different and it’s just what we need.

DX: You mentioned going to an after school Hip Hop workshop? Were there a lot of other kids trying to rappers in your school?
Asher Roth: It was definitely the ‘burbs but there were a good 10 or 15 kids who were influenced by Hip Hop and we all shared a common interest so we’d get together. It’s funny, with me I was never like “I need to get a deal,” or “I wanna be the biggest rapper on the planet.” It was never like that. I was just influenced by music and I enjoyed spending my free time making the music and rapping over beats. The music made me feel good and I think that’s something I try to portray in my music. I wanna listen to music that like, puts a smile on your face and makes you feel uplifted. This world’s not perfect; there’s times when you’re pissed off. There’s times where you’re frustrated and there’s times when I’ll be able to share that pain on the other side the spectrum, but for the most part, I want my music to be warm and uplifting.

DX: Was there a particular artist or record that made you decide to go from a fan to an artist?
Asher Roth: I’m inspired by all music, but when I was listening to like, Arrested Development, The Roots’ [click to read] Things Fall Apart, Mos Def’s Black on Both Sides… albums like that, it’s dope and it’s got a soul to it. It’s timeless. I don’t want to put out a project that’s like, cool for a weekend. I wanna attach myself to timeless music. The mixtape was cool, I just wanted to showcase the versatility and that I could do a lot of stuff. Now for the album, I wanna write real songs. I wanna do collaborations, but real collaborations, not just where I send over a beat to somebody. I think [the album is] so authentic and so organic and so about the music that I think the real people will respect it. Back in that day - well, I hate to say “back in the day” but - people used to go in and do real collaborations. I mean, I understand now that people have their own agendas, but this is a movement that’s really about music.

DX: Those artists and albums are known for a lot of heavy black political content. Were you identifying with the specific message or the spirit?
Asher Roth: It’s not a race thing with me; we’re human. When I speak about this stuff I want everyone to get past it. I’m a huge [Bob] Marley fan, for instance and on the record “War” he’s talking about there’s always gonna be war until the color of a man’s skin is no more significant than the color of his eyes. That’s kinda where I’m at. I’m so past the race thing that it’s not even in my world at all but a lot of people aren’t. I come here speaking about where I’m from and how I feel about it and everyone’s like, “Whoa, slow down, we’re not there yet.” It’s been kid of an eye opener for me because I’m seeing that while I know there are other people that feel like that but it’s not ready to get brought to the mainstream. They’ve been scared about topics of conversations like this. Here I am thinking “it doesn’t need to be a topic of conversation” but like, I think there’s still some air to be cleared.

DX: The topic of race certainly surrounds you though. For instance, when your name comes up, it’s pretty typical to hear comparisons to Eminem. How much of that is legitimate and how much is just a knee-jerk reaction because you’re white?
Asher Roth: Eh… I think it’s too easy. “A white emcee with a sense of humor and a political side? Oh, let’s compare him to Em!” There’s only a handful… not even a handful, there’s probably like, three or four white rappers that actually had an impact on Hip Hop and I’ve been making strides so that I can be considered a contender and have an impact on Hip Hop as a whole. It is what it is, but as far as my content and my image, I think we’re different artists. I have nothing but respect for him though; he made it possible for me to be here, he opened the doors, but we come from an entirely different inspiration.

DX: So these days, there’s the usual list of outside projects that a rapper apparently has to have, so can we expect an Asher Roth clothing line? Liquor? Movie? Videogame?
Asher Roth: [Laughs] You always wanna explore your possibilities. This is still a capitalistic country. My chase is for freedom and you have to be financially free in this country to get that. Of course there’s gonna be some side entertainment here and there but I don’t like, need to put out a line of tuxedos or anything.

DX: Speaking of the possibilities of Hip Hop capitalism, tell me about when you met Jay-Z…
Asher Roth: Aw man, that was crazy. I got into Hip Hop when I was 13 or 14 years old as I was starting to be cognizant and form my own opinions and Jay was the first rap CD I ever bought. That was Volume 2. It wasn’t even Reasonable Doubt, it was Volume 2. That’s how late I got into Hip Hop. When I met him, I walked in and I thought I was gonna go rap for some girls. I was with [Def Jam VP] Shakir Stewart and we talking about Hip Hop and he really liked what I was doing so he was like “I want you to come rap for one of my friends.” I thought we were about to go rap for these females so I clear my throat and sure enough, I make a hard right and Jay-Z’s [click to read] walking towards me with his like, aura glowing. I just walked out of the room like “oh shit,” but I regained my composure and came back and rapped. He was taken aback; he really liked it and was like “You’re nice, man, you’re nice.” I paid my homage and told him where he came into my life and that I appreciated him and that was that.

DX: Obviously you’re a fan of Jay but it kinda sounds like you were taking a few swipes at him on the “Roth Boys” freestyle.
Asher Roth: You know, everyone’s gonna have their own competitive edge, that’s just human nature. When I rapped for Jay, I really wanted him to just hug me and shed a single tear and say I was the best thing that ever happened but it didn’t work out that way. This is the music business, after all, and some of the decisions that were made were kind of a slap in the face to me as an artist but… Jay doesn’t have a regret in the world; he’s living the life. Like, THE LIFE, bold, italics, underlined. Jay’s very influential and I just wanted the hug and the single tear but it didn’t happen.

DX: So when you were rapping on his track and said “this is the same thing that happened on ‘Renegade’…”
Asher Roth: [Laughs] Uh, you know, I mean... I went off on that beat, I blacked out.

DX: Okay, okay, we’ll leave that one alone. So how did that transition into your deal with SRC?
Asher Roth: Steve [Rifkind] didn’t want me to leave the building. He had me battle one of his interns for him - shoutout to Gordo - and he asked everybody what they thought. They were like “He’s dope, he’s real dope,” so we closed the doors and talked about it and… Steve gets it. He just wants me to be me. He wasn’t like “This is the next Em,” he understood that I was who I was and no one’s gonna be able to change that. He told me to go make the music and he allowed me to be creative. He just told me “go do you and I’m here. I got your back.” In a day and age where artist development no longer exists, they’re just going for that single or that ring tone, it’s very important that artists get to be themselves.

DX: With the role of record labels changing, it definitely means that you have to take up the slack for things that the label or MTV used to do. Once the buzz on the web wears off, how will you make sure people still care?
Asher Roth: You can’t pussyfoot… you gotta come out and you gotta be yourself because you only have one or two shots. I built a loyal fan base around home so I may have had a lot of friends in my home town that would be like "Ash is dope, Ash is dope” but by the time it got out to the internet, you only have those first three songs your MySpace before people say “Awesome, I’m gonna keep tuning in” or “Eff this, I’m not hearing it.” There’s just so much going on that people don’t have time. I get these long, six paragraph emails from people and it’s like “I can’t read all that” so it’s the quick, six-word ones that I’ll be more likely to respond to.

It’s the same thing with your music. I want people to be able to listen to my music and understand it. I grew up loving lyrical music and I think it’s important to have lyrics and substance, but at the same time, if people don’t understand me, that doesn’t make me creative. It’s not dumbed down at all, but I was definitely in a phase for a while where I was writing so much intricate shit that I had to step back and examine it and I wasn’t realty feeling it. I was looking at it like “Yo, this guy is lyrically nasty” but I didn’t feel the music. For this past year or two, I was able to sit down and be like “What do I want to accomplish, who do I want to be?” and it really helped me simplify my music and making it more relatable.

DX: So how does that play into your plans for the album?
Asher Roth: It’s gonna be good, honest music. It’s gonna be very true to me. I’ve heard people say “I wake up in the morning and listen to this one song every day” or “When I’m having a bad day, I play this.” That’s what I wanna do with my music. It explains moods. I just want to make livable music.

DX: So it’ll be more conceptual rather than a collection of singles?
Asher Roth: There’s definitely continuity to it. The mixtape was kinda just me rapping over rap beats; this album is very much an album. I’m not just going off and rapping about anything. Regardless of where you come from, you’ll be able to relate to the questions I’m asking myself. Also, the music’s good… I’m not trying to drown it out with some big production and 808s so you hear it and you’re just like “Oh, Asher’s got some hot beats.” It’s very lyric driven and very concept driven. It’ll be an honest record… it’s important when you come out that you come honest because it’s gonna be hard to be hard to go back. You’ll either be living a lie for the rest of your life or working to dig yourself out of that hole.