Asher Roth not offended by Eminem’s diss on “Asshole,” reveals the reason why he recorded “As I Em.”
Years after rapper Asher Roth released his Eminem-inspired, Asleep In The Bread Aisle track, “As I Em,” the Morrisville, Pennsylvania emcee has been met with a response to the record from Eminem. On Eminem’s “Asshole,” a record from his newly-released The Marshall Mathers LP 2, the Detroit rapper briefly recalls Asher’s record as he calls out the emcee by name.
On the Skylar Grey-assisted record, Eminem raps, “Quit actin’ salty, I was countin’ on you to count me out/Ask Asher Roth when he round-a-bout dissed me to shout me out/Thought I was history/But goddamn honkey, that compliment’s like backhanding a donkey.”
Asher responded to the diss during an appearance on Hot 97’s the Juan Epstein show and revealed that instead of being offended by Eminem on “Asshole” he was more amazed by the mention.
“It’s cool, man,” said Asher. “I thought it was pretty amazing…There’s nothing really there. It’s like I’ve never really met him. I don’t know him personally. You know what I mean?”
The Pennsylvania spitter offered an explanation as to why he released “As I Em.” On the song, Asher shares his first memories hearing the rapper and also gives credit to Eminem as he raps, “But Em was in it way before I committed/And his lyrics were the shit so I really gotta come with it.”
According to Asher, the record was also released to prove he’s his own person following the numerous comparisons he received to Eminem.
“Man, it was just like when things were coming out everybody was like [all] ‘Em, Asher, Em, Asher, Em, Asher.’ And so, for me I just wanted to like talk about how I was my own person,” he said. “You know what I mean? And that’s really all it was. And talking about when I first been introduced to Em’s music when I was young in seventh grade. And just kinda like talking about that relationship with being inspired by an emcee and listening to that music and having it be influential…I think Em’s just being Em.”
Several months ago, Asher offered a critique on the music industry in the form of an open letter he penned in June. In the letter, he commented on leaving his former label and choosing to take a more lax approach with his music.
“That is why I’ve decided to stray from the path UMG has laid for me and continue on the scenic route. I prefer to relay my music directly to my fans. Show them what it is I see,” said the rapper. “Share with them what it is I think. I enjoy letting you hear free-flowing ideas recorded in basements and broom closets. Who cares that they will probably never be heard on the radio? I want to be proactive and not reactive and I would rather nothing get in the way of the relationship I have with my family, friends, fans and my music.”
Since the release of his open letter, Asher has dropped his The Greenhouse Effect Volume 2 mixtape and was recently featured on Blended Babies’ “See The World.”
