Well, if not the best mixtape of 2008, Asher Roth's The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 1 is certainly sporting the best cover art this side of The Carter III. I first heard Asher Roth via a press release, and though lukewarm, I thought the kid had potential and gave him a post--the thing that really stuck out to me was his planned mixtape with DJ Drama and Don Cannon. That mixtape has finally dropped, and I'm blown away. It's just what the rap game needs right now.

The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 1 finds a young Asher Roth with both a flow and a philosophy unlike anything out there right now. From what I can tell, he's somewhere between 2Live Crew and a 10-year-old, but with lyrical skills that are just obscenely good. He's a suburban kid who understands the rap game for what it is. He likes weed and women and all of the extravagance. Most importantly, he reps where he's from--finally, a white kid not afraid of spitting the truth. Asher Roth feels authentic and qualitatively different than a lot of his predecessors. He's also really fucking funny.

The things he does to some of these beats is absolutely nuts. I was convinced that the Re-Up Gang had put down the best verse on Shawty Lo's "Dey Know," but then I heard Asher Roth--he may not beat the Clipse & Co., but his verse is unforgettable. Where Pusha starts, "Pusha ton, but you can call me zip lock," Asher begins: "Riddle me this yo, I spit... Like a little kid." Yeah, he's not the hardest rapper ever, but then you never really doubt for a second that he could massacre most MCs in the game. It's not only "Dey Know" that Asher destroys. In an unbelievable act, he manages to resurrect "Cannon," a track that's been beat up by pretty much every MC out there. He makes it sound fresh.

Asher has a highly active libido that combines with his childish sense of humor to great effect: it's like an elementary aged Spank Rock, a little kid with a nasty mouth. Everything about his music feels a bit twisted, which is good. The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 1 may not be the best mixtape so far this year, but it's something different--uncharted territory in hip-hop (forget all the Eminem comparisons, Asher sounds nothing like Marshall and their themes are entirely different). If Asher Roth really wants to succeed, he's going to need to find his voice more fully and count on a lot of help from SRC. With those two pieces, kid could see major success--he's already been approved by everyone from Jay-Z to 3 Stacks, and he just did a mix with DJ Drama. It's his game to lose.

If you haven't yet, head over to The Daily Kush and download The Greenhouse Effect Vol. 1.