"I'm done fantasizing on what the Hell the Eight of Wands means:" Asher Roth & Black Milk - "The Hierophant" (Hash Wednesdays)

"Hit the HASH [button] at retrohash.com to uncover secret raps over @black_milk madness..." @asherroth somewhat cryptically Tweeted late Wednesday afternoon, accented by a "#hashwednesday" hashtag; a trend which can be attributed to the bulk of Roth's recent post-RetroHash activity, consisting of fully fleshed out non-album tracks haphazardly uploaded to his Asher Paul Roth Soundcloud account. Hash Wednesdays roll call additionally includes Chuck Inglish-produced "That's Cute," "Oren's Not Sure," Fat Tony-assisted "Sushi," "Taking My Time," and Nottz-produced "Blow Yr Head" amongst other questionable non-album loosies. Although many of Asher Roth's one-time fans and detractors might have quickly written him off as a mere "one-hit wonder" during the five years between "I Love College"-featuring Asleep In The Bread Aisle and his nearly flawless second album RetroHash — I've relentlessly stuck with him through it all over the years and honestly, always knew he would become the witty, sharp-tongued emcee that he's morphed into today. Albeit, in his defense, Asher Roth has remained far from inactive over the gestative years between Bread Aisle and its then tentatively-titled, and ultimately scrapped, Is This Too Orange? Def Jam follow-up.


Unbeknownst to most casual fans, having unleashed a number of impeccable mixtape-albums like Seared Foie Gras with Quince & Cranberry, Pabst & Jazz, The GreenHouse Effect (Vol. 2), and nearly an entire album's-worth of hit-and-miss non-album singles. "I'm done fantasizing on what the Hell the Eight of Wands means. The Hierophant, pulling from the sky my guide's a higher one," Asher Roth ferociously rhymes on "The Hierophant" atop Black Milk's glitchy, spaced out bell-accented production work. Hierophant dates back to the late 17th century and is rooted in Latin from the Ancient Greek word "hierophantēs, from hieros 'sacred' + phainein 'show, reveal,'" as per a quick Google Definition search, which additionally defines hieropant as "a person, especially a priest in Ancient Greece, who interprets sacred mysteries or esoteric principles." 2dopeboyz seems to speculate that "The Hierophant" acts as an airing of grievances for Roth's feelings towards corporate America or more specifically, his disdain towards business dealings within the record industry; I'm guessing quite possibly even his oft-delayed and finally released sophomore album Is This Too Orange? aka RetroHash.