Two days after the release of his debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle, SRC/Universal Recording artist Asher Roth has reached another career milestone.
The Morrisville, Pennsylvania born rapper received news today (April 22) that the album’s lead single, “I Love College” has officially been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The single, released on January 13 in the U.S., is Roth’s tribute to the same college experiences that allowed him to connect with his fans via social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook before becoming a bonafide internet sensation.
A video clip soon followed, featuring appearances by The Cool Kids and DJ/Producer Don Cannon.
Roth’s manager, Scooter Braun, attributes the song’s success to the fans.
“I think it’s a testament to the power of the fans,” Braun told AllHipHop.com. “And it’s also a testament to the fact that people are getting their music from these blogs. And they’re getting introduced to artists.”
Asher Roth fans made their voices heard resoundingly on the Monday (April 20) when Asleep in the Bread Aisle officially hit stores, one day before this weeks other album releases.
According to Braun, the album has completely shocked retailers, who have already doubled their forecasts for what they thought he would sell.
Several fans and bloggers reported being unable to purchase the album on Monday, as retailers around the country sold out of the record by mid-afternoon.
The album also debuted at #1 on iTunes, where it was ranked among albums released on April 14 and earlier, that included the Hannah Montana movie soundtrack.
“I hope that the majors see this and realize that they have to give the music back to the fans and start asking the fans what they want to hear, instead of just trusting research of radio and that stuff. Go to where these kids are and ask them what they want,” Braun stated.
The news comes on the heels of web reports of an altercation Tuesday night (April 21) that left Asher Roth unable to perform as expected in New York City, a rumor the rapper says was grossly exaggerated.
“I wasn’t even really involved,” the rapper told AllHipHop.com exclusively. “I was watching Chester French side stage, and this kid just came up and threw ice at one of my buddies. He slapped me real gently and ran. A friend of mine went after him and the kid got thrown out.”
The rapper added that text messages found in the assailant’s discarded phone, indicated that he might have attended the show with intentions “on creating a scene.”
“I feel bad for the kid and the fact that he thought this was the way to make news,” Asher commented. “But I’m just frustrated that people would put on for that. Please, let’s not continue to make this a big deal.”
Brief interruption aside, the sold out performance, which took place at the Blender Theater at Gramercy, took place without a hitch, with fans joined by industry tastemakers and high powered execs like Sylvia Rhone, Executive Vice President of Universal Records.
Asher was joined onstage by alt rockers, and recent Diddy-collaborators, Chester French and Beanie Siegel, who both make appearances on the album as well.
Asher will be performing a private concert tonight in Philadelphia for winners of an on-air concert run by local radio station Wired 96.5.
