By Matt Harper
Asher Roth is a true man of the people. A few weeks ago, the young MC hinted that he was going to start a revolution down at South by Southwest — and Asher did not disappoint.
After his packed performance at Club de Ville, Asher took to the crowded Austin streets with our MTV News crew. Despite going to the doctor earlier that day because of an irritated throat, he insisted on hanging out with the throngs of music lovers wandering the streets.
Asher lit up when he got the MTV News mic (or, as he affectionately referred to it, his "magic wand") and immediately started talking to all the fans on the street. So what did Asher want from the SXSW'ers? He asked them to give their Twitter-size assessment of their experiences thus far. Although the request confused many of the inebriates on Austin's famed (and debaucherous) Sixth Street, Asher is a charming and convincing dude and was able to coax answers — albeit many incoherent ones — out of everyone.
By this point, it was well after 2 a.m., and we were all getting a bit famished. We dashed over to the closest pizza place (a ridiculous $4 a slice ... a far cry from Asher's college days). Seeing the daunting SXSW lines, Asher flashed a smile and challenged two girls near the front to a game of rock-paper-scissors for their place in line. It took about 30 seconds for him to lose 2-nil ... but the girls were nice enough to let Asher order with them, and of course he returned the favor by shelling out for the pizza.
So with pizza in hand and a bunch of new SXSW friends in tow, our night ended. And Asher Roth had once and for all secured the title of SXSW Man of the People.
