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Asher Roth: “Rap Is In The Suburbs Now”

Whether or not you relate to his All-American suburbanite persona, it’s been hard to ignore Asher Roth lately. After signing with Steve Rifkind’s SRC Records (home to Akon and Wu-Tang), the white boy from Morrisville, PA made a big splash last month with his Don Cannon and DJ Drama assisted mixtape The Greenhouse Effect.

His voice and punchline-heavy flow might bear some similarity to that of a certain Detroit rapper from 8 Mile, but Roth has managed to establish a unique persona with his recent remakes of Lil Wayne’s “A Milli” and Jay-Z’s “Roc Boys.” We spoke with Asher while he was in Chicago en route to working with The Cool Kids. In this exclusive interview, Asher talks about growing up on Dave Matthews, impressing Jay-Z, and why he’s not worried about his suburban rap rival John Brown.

The Roots’ Rising Down Picks Us Up

It was a rainy night during the first week of February when ?uestlove from The Roots spoke with Complex about the band’s eigth studio album, Rising Down. That same evening, he granted Complex access to Battery Studios to get the full scope of the dark and stormy album, which finally hit stores today. ?uest had this to say about the crew’s evolution:

Between the last album and this album, I think the one thing I take for granted that I have to keep reminding myself [of] is that not everyone’s an engineer. In the beginning, we were on a mission to prove to people we can be boom-bappy. We lost ourselves in terms of us wanting to prove, ‘Ahh, see, you think that’s a drum machine right there don’t you? Nah, nigga that’s me!” So now the pendulum is swinging on the other side and we want people to know that this is us. That was the main mission of the Game Theory album. It just continues with this [album]. You truly know that it’s a band.

After the jump, watch all 4 Rik Cordero-directed music videos from Rising Down.

Fat Joe And Papoose Talk To Big Tigger

According to Fat Joe and Cassidy, they were all in the same hotel room when Papoose allegedly tapped Fat Joe’s chin. In Fat Joe’s interview with Big Tigger, he claimed Yo Gotti, and Gucci Mane were there too. In all the comotion, there was no mention of the whereabouts of groupies.

[Via Rapbasement]

Beat it Up

Photo by Dirk Linder

Josh “DJ Shadow” Davis is hearing voices again. Already known for constructing mostly instrumental albums like his classic 1996 debut, Endtroducing….., Shadow is now working with vocalists from multiple genres on his third solo album, The Outsider. “[I’m doing] something different than I’ve done in a long time, which is embrace the vocal side of [music],” Shadow says. “I don’t think I would be served at all by doing an instrumental album right now.” Shadow’s reacquaintance with words has already received positive feedback. The Outsider’s first single, “3 Freaks,” a Keek da Sneak and Turf Talk collaboration that marks Shadow’s foray into hyphy, has been a hit on Bay Area radio since fall 2005. “I never get my music on the radio,” says the Davis, California, native. “But to hear “3 Freaks’ played next to a 50 Cent song is really gratifying.” And though he stresses the diversity of this album, Shadow isn’t worried about alienating longtime followers. “I think I might lose some fans,” he says. “But hearing 17-year-old kids coming out of school singing “3 Freaks’” is a lot more gratifying than listening to some 35-year-old bitch about what I’m doing and not doing on his blog.”

Interview by Thomas Golianopoulous
From the August/September 2006 issue on newsstands now

Leaning and Rocking

“I done been on crack; I’ve punched a girl out,” tells Young Dro. “One girl just met me and I paid all her notes and stuff!”

For the record, these were merely ludicrous rumors. Fittingly, Djuan “Young Dro” Hart addresses the illegitimate gossipmongers on “Don’t Believe That Shit,” a Spanish-guitar-laced backhander off his debut, The Best Thang Smokin’ (Grand Hustle/Atlantic).

Although Dro, born 27 good years ago in Bankhead, Atlanta, has far from reaped the commercial success of his patna’ of 12 years and label honcho, T.I., the dark-skinned, agile, and flamboyant rapper is very much a bona fide star—and there’s a price to pay for glistening that hard.

Not that Dro worries about hype or innuendo. He’s refreshingly modest, a keen listener, and most impressively, he isn’t the least bit shook to be funny. “I’m very jokeable,” he explains. “But in actuality, I use that to let you know I’m serious. Like I once told a girl: ‘You keep laughing at me; I’mma laugh you right outta your panties!’ And sex is not laughable.”

Equally not laughable is Dro’s spit game. Articulate and charismatic to a fault, his debut showpiece is abundantly littered with rhymes and flows that are as callous as they are gracious. Over the machine-gun lazy bounce of “Gangsta Shit,” Dro strong-arms phrases and clauses just because he can. And even on the swagger-ridden, radio-friendly first single, “Shoulder Lean,” his cadence is exceptional; it’s all in the way he manipulates his voice and tone.

Equally fascinating is how much ground the self-proclaimed Cartier boy’s motley rap style covers. For as much as he loves Raekwon, Biggie, and ’Pac, he also idolizes Goo Goo Dolls, Staind, and Vanessa Carlton. Additionally he’s a fan of mere mortals. You’ve just got to see him say it in his earnest, prosaic style: “I like people in general. I live for people; I live to see people live.”

By Omar Dubois
Photo by Tina Greenberg

Always Bouncing Back

If the slogan “Shit Happens” had a spokesperson it could be dancehall superstar Beenie Man. His 2004 smash Back To Basics should have been a joyful exclamation point on a rich, varied, and controversial career. But the album was crafted in the months following a car accident in which Beenie sustained serious injuries; while he recovered, his longtime road manager and business partner was killed in a drive-by shooting. His new album, Undisputed, didn’t find him in a more peaceful frame of mind. He recorded it following the losses of both his older brother and younger sister to what he calls “freak accidents,” and yet another senseless murder claiming friend and dancehall personality Bogle. But don’t expect melancholy odes about those living in the sky. “You have to think about the people you love in a joyful way, not a sad or mournful way,” says Beenie.

For “The King Of Dancehall,” joyful equals doing what has always come naturally and celebrating life’s more explicit [“illicit”?] pleasures. Building on Basics, blatant cross-genre-hopping is kept to a minimum with Brooke Valentine (“Dutty Wine”), Akon (“Girls”), and Scott Storch (“Jamaican Ting”) blending in with the slick, electronic rhythms from heavyweights like Don Corleon and Tony Kelly. Beenie lays his game down quite flat all over “Hmm Hmm” and “Dreaming of You,” and playfully brags, “International models me dating,” on “Girls.” “My World” adds to the surprisingly ecstatic mood, with Beenie and Lady Saw running tings over Jon Jon’s sliding synths and staccato claps. “I’ve never been down or out or flopped,” Beenie says confidently. “For 13 years I’m standing firm.” Even when shit happens.

By Toshitaka Kondo
Photo by Steve Carty/Contour Photos

Little Fish, Big Splash: Paul Dano

Little Miss Sunshine, a low-budget ensemble comedy about a dysfunctional family on a road trip, wasn’t expected to kill at the box office. This past weekend, it was the nation’s number three film, and its earning stand at $23 million and climbing. One explanation for the movie’s popularity is Paul Dano. The 22-year-old actor is brilliantly understated playing Dwayne, the sullen son who follows Nietzsche, hates everyone, and has taken a vow of silence until he can escape his family and go to the Air Force Academy. When he absolutely must converse with his kin, he scribbles notes on a pad. Why didn’t you think of that? Check out the full interview below from our June/July 2006 issue.

When did you realize you wanted to act?
I always liked performing to a certain degree whether it was acting or singing, just in school. The film thing never seemed like a reality when I was going to high school. It didn’t seem like a feasible thing, ‘Oh, I can be an actor.’ It still doesn’t make sense to me that I can do what I’m doing and live off it because it is so fun and interesting.

How did your family take you doing this?
My parents were really cool and luckily they are really supportive. I grew up in midtown Manhattan and then I moved to Connecticut for middle school and high school because the apartment was too small. I definitely wanted to get out of there when I graduated and get back here to New York.

How did you latch onto Little Miss Sunshine?
I got the script, read it, was really into it, met with the directors John and Val and auditioned. It went really well and I was hoping that I would get the part, the movie then gets pushed and pushed [back]. Every time I go to LA, I meet with John and Val because they want to see how much I’m growing and see if I was too old for the part. I must have hoped to get that part for over two years. I was always wondering when and when it would happen and then it did.

When you were reading the script, were you thinking, ‘Okay, when do I talk?’
I guess so. That’s the unique thing about the character and also proved to be the most challenging part of the film and one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. It’s very uncomfortable. You have to get used to not talking, especially on camera, you’re used to responding to things and I found myself very self conscious the entire time. I had never done this before. But that was pretty cool.

Were you method acting like Brando and walked around on set not talking for two weeks?
Nah. I did it a couple of days on my own and I tried to not to not talk around my family which was impossible not to yell and get pissed off. We had a really great week of rehearsals where we stayed in character. We drove around and did family activities like go to lunch or go bowling and I wasn’t talking and it was really fun.

What scene did you do in the audition?
The one where I’m talking to Steve Carrell’s character and I’m using the notepad. Then I did the scene where I learned I’m color blind and started screaming. Then we did the scene at the end when I’m talking to my uncle.

That scene where you break down must have been really tough because the movie is a comedy but you don’t want to play it for laughs.
No you don’t. That was a rough scene. It’s hard to label the film for me because it’s not just a comedy to any of us. It’s certainly a little different than what people would think is a comedy.

Why was it so hard getting it made?
Gosh, I don’t know dude. It was such a good script. It was really well written. We had an awesome script to work with. I think maybe they didn’t know how to market a movie where the grandpa is snorting heroin. But people have responded to it well.

What’s next?
I did Weapons, which is a small indie film with Nick Cannon, Fast Food Nation, which is directed by Richard Linklater and is an ensemble.

Did you read the book before you read for the role?
No. I’m a hardcore meat eater because I’m so scrawny where if I stopped eating meat, I’d die. I did read it, and I definitely don’t eat fast food anymore. Recently, I drove down to Virginia, which is an eight-hour drive, and I nearly starved to death because I couldn’t find a quick place to stop and eat. I ate mad granola bars that I picked up from a gas station. Reading that book traumatized me from the whole fast food thing. I play a kid who works in a fast food restaurant…I don’t want to say too much about the part.

Interview by Thomas Golianopoulos
Photo by Christy Bush
June/July 2006

Daily Dash

Snarky Daily Show correspondent Rob Corddry is the latest birdie to leave Jon Stewart’s nest. He ends his four-year run on the Comedy Central fake news show today to star in the upcoming Fox comedy TV series The Winner, slated to be a midseason replacement. While it likely won’t appear on the air for months, you can get your fix of Corddry here, in this extended version of an interview about his DVD paintball flick from Complex’s Aug/Sept issue.

In Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story, paintball’s long-ignored camouflaged warriors can finally see their story told. Rob Corddry, 35, best known as the tufted correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, plays Dukes, a disgraced former champion who attempts a comeback after a 10-year ban for cheating. Shot cheaply on digital video by director Brant Sersen and largely improvised with Corddry’s friends from the Upright Citizens Brigade, the hilarious mockumentary, which had a very limited theatrical release, warrants its growing cult following. In honor of Blackballed’s DVD release, we spoke to Corddry about critics, the power of paintball, and whether it’s okay to masturbate to your likeness.

You received serious money to play Bobby Dukes, right?
Let’s just say that my manager can pay his electricity bill…most of the time…almost every month.

So is Blackballed a low low-budget schlock film or a really professional YouTube masterpiece?
It’s the gonzo porn of paintball movies.

At least one critic described it as a “very, very long sketch that doesn’t know how to end.”
I will review those reviews right now by saying they were way off base. If anything, my performance is what seems like it will never end. The movie is like 89 minutes long! What else do you guys have to do? You will stay ’til the end, critic! You can watch it twice in an afternoon, for God’s sake. Get high halfway through. It’s a different movie if you watch it high. Play Dark Side Of of The the Moon while you watch it, —see what happens.

Have you detected much jealousy on The Daily Show set since it was finally picked up for DVD release?
Are you kidding me? [Fellow correspondents] Ed Helms, Jason Jones, and Dan Bakkedahl are really kicking themselves for turning down the role of Bobby Dukes. So yes. And believe me, I lord it over them. I actually have a copy of the movie hanging so when you open the door to my office it smacks you in the face.

Are you, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, and Mo Rocca competitive about who’s sold more DVDs, or had a semi–lead lead-role in a film that’s actually been in theaters?
Well, yes. You know we have bi-weekly meetings; there’s the Correspondents Club in Gramercy Park. We get together and we smoke cigars and we drink scotch and we talk about how well we’re doing, and then we jerk each other off and soak in a tub…and fence on Saturdays.

Do you anticipate wildfire DVD sales will lead to sequels, an animated series, and videogames?
You know what’d be great? If they just made a movie of the movie and Cameron Diaz played me. That’d be hot. Would it be okay to masturbate to that? ’Cause it’d be sort of like masturbating to yourself. Think about it. I pose that question to your readers.

Should more sports involve weaponry?
I’ve always said we should mix sports, like paintball and downhill skiing. Or let’s just kill ice dancers. I don’t care what sport you mix it with as long as they die.

Did firing a paintball gun make you feel empowered?
Firing a paintball gun is not like firing a real gun. You have to contort your arm in this really girly way, and you just kind of slap the trigger with your middle finger. It just feels kind of…dirty.

Will paintball be to your film career what baseball was to Kevin Costner’s?
I made a pledge to myself years ago that the minute somebody started comparing me to Kevin Costner I would quit and enter a monastery. So this interview is over. Thank you.

Well, given that sucess is pretty assured, have you already given notice at The Daily Show?
Ooh…shit! Am I supposed to give notice? that’s polite isn’t it?

Yeah
Oh crap! God, I guess I should huh?

Interview by Justin Monroe
From the August/September 2006 issue on newsstands now.

Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story is available now on DVD.

Cobra Commander

Photo by New Line Cinema

Keanan Thompson has had a hell of a career so far, especially considering he’s only 28. A supporting member (and accidental pilot) in this week’s number one flick, Snakes On A Plane, Thompson honed his comedy chops on, um, the Nickelodeon show Kenan & Kel. Best known as an emerging star on Saturday Night Live, Kenan spoke with Complex for our Aug/Sept 2006 issue, and here’s an uncut muthafuckin’ version of the muthafuckin’ Q&A.

Photo by New Line Cinema

So what’s your work week like at SNL?
We pitch on Monday and some people start writing on Monday. I start on Tuesday and I write all night. The deadline is 10 a.m. Wednesday. You forget about going outside of the building for the next 12 hours. We all have offices and everyone goes in their individual focus area and some people collaborate. We see what characters work for the week or whatever characters are going well. Wednesday is table reading and Thursday is first day of rehearsal. Friday is rehearsal.

Is it super competitive to get material on the air?
It’s very competitive because there is only an hour and a half. At the table reading, we go over 45 sketches and then only eight actually make it on the air. So it’s tough.

What was the best sketch you’ve done that hasn’t made it on the air yet?
I thought the Colin Powell sketch was great, but it didn’t go how we wanted it to. It was a brilliant sketch, but it got a weird reaction from the in-studio audience. Certain jokes that worked earlier didn’t necessarily work with the audience. But you never really know. That’s what makes it so exciting. There is this one sketch, where Barry White’s illegitimate son Gary White has a public access talk show. [Laughs.] Crazy ideas like that.

What’s the adjustment like for you moving from LA to NY?
I jumped out here and it was a storm. I’ve been though three winters now. I had to get a car this year though, all that walking, cabbing. I’m black, man, I can’t catch no cab in the city. When I moved to Brooklyn I had to get a car.

Is it tough doing the show live?
Hell yeah. Going back to that sketch, that sketch been on my mind all weekend. It’s mind boggling how there was such a crazy difference between the dress rehearsal and when it aired. We had a better sketch, and there were less windows of silence. Not even a couple of chuckles. So you’ve got to keep going and we made it through it. It always feels shitty. I thought it was funny, I was still having fun with it. Whether they were getting it or not, it’s not my fault. People who see it on TV will take it how they take it.

How were you cast?
I auditioned. Tracy Morgan had just left the show. I was in Barbershop 2 and I came out here to audition. Lorne [Michaels] was cool. Having to audition by doing stand-up in a club, that was scary. That was my first time auditioning.

What happened the first time you saw the script for Snakes on a Plane?
The first time I saw the script for Snakes on a Plane, I was like, “There you have it. There it is. What else is there?” During shooting, Samuel L. Jackson kept saying “It’s Snakes On A Plane motherfucker. That’s what it is.” He had a heavy argument with that. He was like, “Call it Snakes On A Plane.”

How did you feel about the buzz behind the movie?
It’s crazy. It’s pretty awesome. People are just having fun. X-Men has been done before. Superman has been done before. But Snakes On A Plane with Sam Jackson, everybody wants to hear what he has to say. People are waiting for a line that they can put on a T-shirt. ‘Eat snake motherfucker.’ ‘My Sam Jackson is all about yelling. You have to yell.’ It’s hard man, after Dave Chappelle there’s not really much you can do that hasn’t been done before.

What character do you play in Snakes?
I play Flex’s childhood friend, Troy. Flex plays a rapper and I’m part of the posse or entourage. Then, all of a sudden, I have to fight off snakes. I always get the worst movie names: Russ, Roy, Troy, Dexter, Albert. Where are the Maliks and Jamals?

Are all of the snakes animatronic?
Some of them real, then they had some rubber ones. Some of them were real snakes. They made my hair stand up.

I heard there were some re-shoots to make it from PG-13 into R, were you a part of them?
Yeah, I got to put a couple of cusswords, some F-bombs up there.

So you’ve made a healthy transition into adult work. I don’t even think of the Nickelodeon thing anymore.
That’s good. It can’t be denied. It is what is. Or it was what it was. We’re in 2006. The SNL thing, that’s what’s happening. I’m a dedicated fan and employee of the show.

How old were you when you started acting?
15.

Was it hard growing up in the spotlight?
Nah, it was awesome. We [Kenan and Kel Mitchell] used to love going to the mall and trying to get chased by girls. It was exciting. Going to the movies and seeing which little ghetto girls watched the show. It was great. Then we grew up and it started being real. Grown people started hitting us up like, “Do you want to do this project, that project.” It was a good experience though. I know it’s going to be a lifelong thing. I’ve gone too far to ever retreat back to the shadows. I want to go further. If I got Puff Daddy status, I wouldn’t even mind that.

Critics hated another movie you were in, Fat Albert, but it made money.
They wanted kids to follow it. Kids watch that movie like crazy. It’s kind of like how Good Burger was. I hope Snakes On A Plane will be like that. Kids were never taking that tape out.

What have you been doing this the summer?
We’re shooting this movie called Weinerz. One of the [toughest jobs to get] in this country is as a driver of the weinermobile. The character I play really wants to drive one so he turns his life savings into his own weinermobile. It’s shooting in Salt Lake City.

So after SNL, it’s movies.
Yeah.

What SNL characters are you working on?
We did so many characters but it’s almost mind boggling how hard it has been for me to figure out one person to run with. I don’t want to do any old character. I want to do something that is really great and funny. We’re getting closer to it. That Gary White thing would have been pretty funny and we will probably still try that again. Once I get that 5-minute platform on live TV, that’s all I need, five minutes of live TV.

How long are you going to stick around?
Until they kick me out. I’ll be there for a couple more at least.

Interview by Thomas Golianopoulos
Aug/Sept 06

Rhymefest

Interview by Richard “Treats” Dryden

Fitting together like Chicago’s yin and yang, superstar producer Kanye West found his 180-degree opposite in Rhymefest when they met the mid-‘90s. Where West is bold and brash, ‘Fest is understated. However, when the two combine, as on Kanye’s Grammy Award winning “Jesus Walks,” which Rhymefest wrote the hook to, and Fest’s debut album, Blue Collar, it’s a beautiful thing. In anticipation of his July 11th release date Rhymefest lit up NYC’s Central Park at Marc Ecko’s Save the Rhinos concert; alongside Lupe Fiasco, Common and Rakim. Complex caught up with the man to talk about New York falling off, and keeping his city on the map.

The stage is set, but the bill seems slanted.

Three Chicago dudes, one New York dude. What is that?

With the south shaking up hip-hop’s landscape, do you think Chicago is going to eclipse New York this year?

Chicago hasn’t been in the shadow of New York. Chicago has just been in a dark room. New York is all mixed up. Y’all gotta get it right. When you say, “we gotta bring New York back,” that’s already an admission of loss. New York is upper-middle management now. All these guys that use to rap and stuff have record labels and are doing big things now; concentrate on that. You all passed the torch to us, and now you’re shaving off our budgets. I got a New York manager, a New York business accountant, a New York record label. They’re like, “let’s get these Mid-western guys, let’s get these southern guys.” We’re on the lower end of the totem pole.

What’ll have everybody on their Chi-Town shit?

Chicago will only have a big year, if we decide to mobilize. There’s no reason Common shouldn’t be on Lupe’s album. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be on Kanye’s album. If we don’t mobilize then the world will never look at us as one and they’ll never connect the sound with the city. On my album I have this new artist, Mickey, Bump J, Carl Thomas, and Kanye. It is important for me to help develop my rap community and my city.

Being in the middle of the east coast and west coast, does Chicago have an identity crisis?

Being in Chicago you have to be a little more diverse than a lot of other places because you have to meet the needs of so many different things. We have the gang banging of the west coast, we come to New York, they say we sound country like the south. We’ve taken the lyricism, the attribute of dope lyrics from the east coast, so it’s kind of the best of three worlds.

How do you remain a priority on a non-traditional rap label like J Records?

Rhymefest is a special project, whereas Busta Rhymes was a self-made guy when he got there. Cassidy is a product of Swizz Beatz. Rhymefest is something that J Records can say, “we believed in, we helped develop this artist.” So it has to be timed. It has to be right and it has to be special. Shit, if I fail they might as well shut their rap department down. They might as well not have one. I brought everything to the table. I got a Grammy already before I got a record deal, co-wrote Jesus Walks, I have Jesus Walks-like songs on my album. I have the help of Kanye, NO I.D., Mark Ronson, Cool & Dre, Just Blaze. Everybody’s saying the music is great. If the artist is doing his job, if the publicity is good, then the label gotta make this work, or we’ll have egg on our face.

Are people ready for another “Jesus Walks?”

People want substance. They want an album they can sink their teeth into. This is the resurgence of hip-hop right now. Ghostface did better than Bubba Saparxxx in his first week. And Bubba Sparxxx got way more radio play. Kanye? What’s the chance of him making it? A dude like him that raps the way he raps? What’s the chance of people really liking Rhymefest? A dude like me, I’m blue collar. In times like this when gas prices are high, don’t nobody wanna hear about your fuckin’ grill. Not dissin’ nobody with grillz but I just think times are changing. A new era is coming in.