Who is he? Let's be honest, most of you will know Asher Roth for his breakout ode to college life - 'I love college'. To form an opinion solely from that tune and to judge Roth's ability on that would be a terrible mistake. Roth is someone who is gifted with lyrics, flow and vernacular, he can spit about anything and has a back catalogue consisting of a variety of projects. The most recent two - the 'Rawth' EP with Nottz was very street, a more classical hip hop project while his most recent mixtape - 'Pabst and Jazz' was a smooth combination of lyrics and jazzy beats that was a pleasure on the ears. 

Roth has been on a bit of a journey, finding himself and where he fits in to this whole music game. Gone are the major labels, he's on his indie grind which allows him to do whatever he wants. He's found a very happy medium where the music he produces is not held back in anyway and is distinctly his.

'RetroHash' is very much more along the lines of 'Pabst and Jazz'. Roth there's no 16 bars followed by a hook structure. The album is as free as Roth is himself. 

The lyrics are always evident when Roth raps, I mean who else can spit this!?

"Run with the O'Jays, Whole Foods for the groceries
OJ, Moets, cherries and Yoplait
No way, Jose, Cuervo in a bear coat
Hair long, tomatoes, grow my ver' own
Barebone, dare you to out-stare a scarecrow" - Dude

He also offers a gem of a reflection, possibily on his label situation but it's a smooth verse no matter the topic

"Give it away, give it away
Give it away, now
Haven't felt this way
Since when I moved to A-town
I've decided I'm a do my thing
And stay proud
Used to be some doubt
But now the whole world's my playground
Yesterday, I felt the burdens on my shoulder
But I learned to let it go and
Keep on keeping on my composure
Yea they always told me certain things hit when your older
So you must lift up the hood
And take a look up at the motor
So, no more oil slips
You owe me that, you owe me this
You’re on your own, You’re only hope is ownin up
To know your gift
The zodiac can only help to loan you hints" - Be Right

Roth experiments with some singing, nothing bad, no autotune just some smooth melodies that in reality don't amount to singing but they add so much to the album. Many of the emotions, thoughts and feelings of Roth can't be expressed with a rhyme so Roth just does what he wants. A few of my favourite jams are 'Dude' which features Curren$y while 'Parties at the disco' does absolutely nothing but get you vibing, swaying and bobbing your head at how nifty the tune is. 'Parties at the disco' kind of epitomises the album for me, Roth only spits a few small verses but is concise and combines the spirit of the song with his own free flowing spirit.

Ultimately 'RetroHash' is an album that is straight from Asher Roth to you. There isn't any noise from a label or anything, it's just Asher Roth's heart and musical vision given directly to you. Definitely a keeper as it can be played anywhere and offer a wide range of emotions with every jam. Cheers Asher go cop it.