Roth opened up with his verse from "Bastermating," a song off his latest mixtape, Pabst and Jazz. Again, Roth performed his way offstage as he finished but followed up with "In the Kitchen" while showing love and giving handshakes and pounds to the young crowd that swarmed him.
Then, back onstage, while rocking a fan's Ohio State University snap-back, the rapper went from "Lark In My Go-Kart" to discussing "Blunt Cruising," both songs from Asleep in the Bread Aisle, with the crowd. Being the mature, young adult he is, Roth warns the fans about the harmful effects of the overuse of marijuana.
"Do not abuse marijuana; use marijuana," said Roth.
Roth then asked for two male participants to step onstage after his public service announcement on weed. The two lucky gentlemen, Jose and Michael, had the benefit of choosing two girls to bring on stage. Together, Roth and the four fans acted out driving in a car "blunt cruisin'" while listening to "The Next Episode," "Niggas in Paris," and "I'm Too Sexy," a song Roth questioned Jose for having in his imaginary mixtape. What wasn't imaginary was the blunt Jose lit up onstage with Roth during the performance of the song.
"One time for reproduction," shouted Roth before asking what other lady fans wanted to join him onstage to dance. One girl wearing a black dress and black leggings was eager enough to run from the bar, past the crowd, and onto the stage. In total, seven girls joined onstage to dance, if you call it dancing, while Roth performed "She Don't Want a Man," a song six out of the seven girls did not know the words to. Guess which girl knew the words? And being the gentleman he is, with kind words, Roth told the ladies, "Now get the fuck off the stage."
Roth continued his interaction with fans, inviting others to join him onstage as they did the "Jump On It" dance.
Of course, Roth could not leave without performing the single that had college and spring break parties going crazy, "I Love College." It seemed to be the one song the majority of the crowd could perform in unison, while reaching to touch and shake hands with the rapper as he stood on a table to perform.
As Roth exited the stage, the crowd yearned for more. Being led by Roth's DJ, Wrekineyez, the crowd chanted the rapper's name for more songs.
Roth replied by stepping back into the limelight a couple of minutes later to cap off the night with "Roth Boys" (a freestyle of Jay-Z's "Roc Boys") and his "A Milli" freestyle, all the while not caring about various fans jumping onstage to join in the fun.
Critic's Notebook
The crowd: High school senior class of 2012.
Wish list: Just a couple more songs.
Personal bias: More
people need to take Asher seriously and check him out.
If you like what you read, please follow Lee Castro on Twitter at @LeeMCastro.
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