Urban Review: Asher Roth, Asleep in the Bread Isle

Eminem's shadow falls on any white MC, especially those rapping in a high register. Deciding that what can't be avoided should be confronted, Asher Roth admits the influence while outlining the differences on the witty As I Em. But the rappers' disparity was evident from this album's debut single, the awful I Love College, a tribute to frat-boy parties as far removed from Marshall Mathers's experience as life on a trailer park would be to the suburban Roth. Nonetheless, Asleep in the Bread Aisle is promising, if unspectacular: standard interests (girls, beer) pale next to his adept storytelling, as heard to best effect on the heart-warming Y.O.U.