Asher Roth Dropped The Album of MY 2020

Yup, Asher Roth.

The 2009 XXL Freshman has been a steady guest on my music shuffle for years.  Most often while ripping through a workout to the bass-knocks of the criminally underrated Rawth and Rawther mixtapes- collabs with Nottz Raw and Travis Barker on the latter.

I'm not here to tell you about the year YOU had. Whether it was good, or bad, or weird, or whatever.  But much like every year, we gravitate towards the music we need. A song springs you action just when you need it to. Or an album becomes a soundtrack to ferry you along a river of positivity. Music is magic because the music that is "good" is simply the music YOU gravitate towards, resonate with, and apply as needed. 

Flowers On The Weekend nestled so neatly in my life as I entered the 30 year mark, and what would eventually be a year learning lessons of patience, appreciation, and love in the midst of quarantine.

The album dropped about a month into the Covid lockdowns and, quite soon after, became a top to bottom play. It served as the soundtrack for chores, Saturday morning coffee, and relaxed rolling sessions.  Let's take a ride through the tracklist, shall we? (Each song accompanied by its own flower art which is *chef kiss* nice)

1. Things Change

Spray Rose

If this is your first visit from Asher since his time at my alma mater, it's kinda fitting that we open on "Things Change."  We're not beer bonging anymore, gang. These days, we're trying to relax and using the simple tools to get there: "I ain't tryna get really deep, but really B, These breaths be really free/I really feel better as soon as I take a breath or a breather."

These last eleven months were Double Stuf'd(R) with openings for negative shit. The first and easiest way for me to close that door? A breath. I breathe in as much as I can, sometimes I say 'fuck', and then I slowly exhale. Negativity down 0-1 early. The simple tricks were put to the test this year, and they held up well. 

2. Flowers On The Weekend 

Carnation

The album's title track is right when the flowers hit. The song vibrates you into some funky strings that Asher takes his time warming up to, "I be in the shed makin' HEAT heat/you be YouTube 280p"
(Ben Simmons emoji).  

Up until very recently, I have been FIRMLY anti-flower. They're expensive. They die. And they're kind of like handing off the responsibility of keeping something alive. You gotta clip them, have a vase handy, and give it the weird plant food? BUT. I have realized, if someone gave me a visually stunning array of flowers as a sign of love or appreciation at any level, I would swell with joy. "My girl brings me flowers on the weekend." I appreciate things that are beautiful so much more these days.

 

3. Way More Fun (ft. Lil Yachty)

Daffodil

One of my favorite quotes is Viktor Frankl's "Success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it." Asher, to me, has found himself presenting his most enjoyable album simply because he enjoyed doing it. The chorus rings, "So they say you should trade your fairytales for a day when the rain comes, but it dreams to believe, don't care to fail, 'cause to me its way more fun."

I have always been the one to struggle with career vs. enjoying life. There is no right answer. I am in constant conflict to add struggle to my current moment in the hopes that it makes future moments more abundant, or to be happy and add value to my current moment by doing something I love. 2020 allowed me to do both. I found myself in front of a canvas more than I have since high school. I picked up hobbies that I look forward to. Even just sitting and appreciating silence is a welcome activity for me.

So many people found themselves with time to hone a craft, or learn they could workout at home, or at least bake a mean sourdough! "But it's crazy that maybe your fate has been waiting for you to call its name/But imagine delaying 'cause they nay-sayin', oh that would be a shame." 

I think its safe to say a good number of us learned that when we're doing something simply for joy, the musical horns fade in, outside opinions fade out, and its just way more fun.

 

4. Hibiscus (ft. Gaby Duran & CJ Smith)

Baby's Breath

In tough competition for my favorite track, "Hibiscus" is a beautifully smooth song that guests CJ Smith on the chorus and Gaby Duran on a lovely second verse describing my dream date, "Pick me up in the soft top, drop it/Wander around with the wind and sunset/With the volume turned way up 'cause they're playin' my song."

This song is a soothing anchor to not only this album, but many of my days this year. I found myself drying off my hand while I'm washing dishes just to run it back. Some people use mantras to find peace, I use 4-5 go-to songs, and Hibiscus is one of them.

 

 

5. Still Got Some

Iris

Ash digs a little deeper on this track, confronting the nagging mini-demons that summon us to sloth, indifference, and close-mindedness.  There was no shortage of those little pushes this year, but Asher states, "A little inspiration, goes a long way hombre, helps to carry me through the off days/When it all says stay in bed and pretend, in the end, it gets said the enemy is in your head."

The task for me hasn't been trying to avoid the snap reactions I had this year towards people, or politics, or negativity; it's been to catch those thoughts in a net, and then pour a little love on top until they stop jumping around. "I can feel it, hope to better myself/I wanna yell but can't help that I still got some love to give."

For a person who thrived on negative emotions and rage for most of his adult life, this love thing has worked out nicely as a beacon of calm and rational thought. I'll slip up from time to time, but still, "slow motion's better than no motion."

6. Hunnid (ft. Joyce Wrice)

Dahlia

"We don't really need it just to have a good time, but gotta get that money so that we can stay alive." For a song that brilliantly samples Camp Lo's "Luchini AKA This Is It," Roth lays it straight when it comes to the perils of money and material things.

Remember when I said I struggle with career woes? Well that's mostly because of that little bitch we call MONEY.  I re-read Kyle Cease's "Illusion of Money" (highly recommend) during lockdown no.1 and identified that I have a wildly irrational fear of being broke. I had always allowed a blind desire for money and fame to decimate my daily happiness with what I have, WHICH IS PLENTY. 

Money isn't happiness. Toyotathon isn't happiness. None of the holiday gifts you get are happiness. I appreciate that this lesson was hammered home during 2020. The best and most fruitful things that emerged were done without money. Now, if we could just convince any elected official of the same...

7. In Between

Ranunculus (Buttercup)

"Shit gets complicated but you know it ain't a race. Chill don't pay the bills but you need a little patience."

One of the lessons I pieced together this year was that highs and lows will always be a part of my life. There will be days when I am bursting with motivation- I workout, I read, I create, all of it. And then there's days when it feels like I'm reaching into an empty bucket for a morsel of that feeling. On those slow moving days, sometimes its best to give the brain a break and look forward to the bounce back.  And the horns on this song will make you feel great in doing so. "We some procastin', no hope havin'/Don't matter, feelin' low on the magic/Blowin' smoke till it passes, got no where else but up to go."

The key for me here is to not let that brain overthink one way or another. Should I push through the fog and bang out my to-do list? Sometimes. But I do my best to recognize when that mindset may do more damage than good. And, more importantly, learn from it so I can handle it better next time. "Always got it figured out, you know that ain't the case/Sometimes the intellect, it only ends up in the way/Only thing to do is let it go and simply wait for it."

8. Spaceship (ft. Buddy)

Liatris

Side B kicks off with Asher laying down one of his best flows on the record. "I'm tasked with making sense of this mess/I confess, I have no idea where we're headin'"

Spaceship's chorus boasts "take me all the way to you/Take me away from all the bullshit, baby." 

We all had our spaceships this year. I was fortunate that I could use a majority of my free time learning, reading, and ingesting as much productive knowledge as possible. Basically, the opposite of watching the news.

 

 

9. Dark Chocolate

Daisy

The simplest song on the record is about the simplest remedy for most of my days "problems." Whether it's because I'm eating clean, I'm lacking some clarity, or just need something sweet to wind down my night, dark chocolate is the tiny boost that I reach for. 

It was cool to hear this song and realize the small treats deserve some musical praise, just like the big ones.

 But don't let relaxing with chocolate take hold for too long, "Part of me wants to stay home, part sees me getting old."

 

 

 

10. Cher in Chernobyl (ft. lojii)

Alstroemeria

Maybe a perfect representation of 2020, Track 10 pairs two smooth flows from Asher and lojii in which they both tout their perseverance through the negative world around them. lojii raps "Findin' my objective that all I really need is friendships of/Mutual intentions, people buy the tension, talkin' bout prevention/Of violence in communities the news forgets to mention."

It was impossible not to ingest the scope of negativity this year spewed out. Black men and women being killed, protests pointed at each other, blind hate at hints of your political affiliation, arguments about mask or no mask- it was all there no matter where you looked. But so much negativity should only be met with an abundance of the opposite, even if in an unrelated fashion. Asher hits this point in his line, "Fentanyls a killer, plant perennials/Planet disadvantaged ever since the Bicentennial."

One painful realization I had this year was that no matter how negative the world around me became, my adopting that negativity would only make it worse, especially for myself. If I hoped for others to be positive, then I must personally exude that light. Will it keep people from being killed? Or deter Karen from having a meltdown in Target? No. But it may bring one person in my day a moment of happiness they may have missed out on otherwise. Good enough for me.

 

11. Back of the Class

Chrysanthemum

Reading Asher Roth's name in the title of this review may have transported you back to the "I Love College" days, so it was cool to see Ash revisit the subject and give us an update on how he sees his evolution from "frat rap" to Flowers.

"I sat back in the classroom and I ain't learn a goddamn thing" could be on my tombstone. I sit here writing this review as the main utilization of a B.A. in Writing from the same college Roth attended ("I ain't even graduate, how about that?"). As much as I loved my time at WCU, I can't say the student loans and absence of 4 years worth of knowledge is worth it. "It's a shame, gotta teach yourself to teach yourself/But please don't beat yourself/Gotta reach out, seek out." I began to love learning precisely when it was no longer required of me.

It's funny to me how much my generation was pushed towards higher education. Not for the actual education, but more so to add it to you resume. Asher goes on to motivate against this route, "Watch your head man, forget what they said yo/Thinkin' for yourself is the best mode, let's go." Heard. A desire to learn is infinitely more useful than a requirement to do so. Proceed accordingly.

 

12. Mommydog (ft. CJ Smith)

Peony

Of all the lessons this album helped me iron out, the closing track remains the most impactful. The song is a beautiful testament to forgoing fame, riches, and materials for the simple love and familiarity of family. "But it's true, it'd be cool if I had a pool and backyard/Hundred acre home with a fast car/Facts are, I don't care for it if they ain't there for it/Need the perfect people in my life for me to share it."

I had a eureka moment this year when it came to appreciating the relationships with my family and friends. I read somewhere that by the time you move out, most people have exhausted around 95% of the time they'll spend with their parents. With so much loss of time, opportunity, and life this year, it's easy to "look back" and wish we could have done something differently with someone we cherish. What I realized was that the moments we cherish aren't special when we look back on them, they're special when you're in them. So the next time you go home to see your Mom and your dog, I hope you look around and realize you're in one of those special moments. You only get a finite amount of them.

 

Rollout: I'm a gigantic fan of a multi-layered album rollout.  Childish Gambino's Because the Internet remains my favorite album for this very reason.  Asher didn't skimp out when it came to bundling his music with more to experience.  

Aside from the overly-comfortable Flowers crewneck I scooped, Ash teamed up with Higgs to drop an exclusive CBD pre-roll collab properly titled "Weekend Hybrid." He also opted to sell the original floral artwork and donate 100% of the proceeds to the American Civil Liberties Union. While the album was making its rounds through our headphones and speakers, Asher also teamed up with Sunflower Philly to weed and replant a garden in Fishtown, and promote "Trash Club," which organizes neighborhood cleanups around the area. Practice what you preach at its finest.

So that's that. Flowers on the Weekend was my album of the year. Give it a spin and let me know what album got you through the infamous year that was 2020.

Honorable mentions: 

Alfredo - Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist

Chilombo (Deluxe) - Jhene Aiko

The OutRunners Director's Cut - Curren$y & Harry Fraud