Asher Roth's Nonstop Party

'I feel good," says Asher Roth. It's 2 a.m., and he's lurching out of a Panama City, Florida, club, where he has downed many Miller Lites and vodka shots, and made out with a mousy brunette. "We'll see how I feel in the morning." When he wakes up six hours later, Roth will puke. He'll then go on to get drunk that night at another bar and hook up with an attractive University of Pittsburgh undergrad. (He decides not to sleep with her, because she has fake breasts.)

Roth, 23, doesn't seem to need a reason to celebrate, but this week he's got one: He's here to perform at mtvU's Spring Break, thanks to his Top 20 hit, "I Love College"— an easy-grooving ode to wild campus parties, beer pong and random hookups. Based on the chords to Weezer's "Say It Ain't So," the single— like much of Roth's debut, Asleep in the Bread Aisle (due April 20th)— doesn't resemble anything on the hip–hop charts. "I absolutely rep the suburbs," says Roth, who grew up near Philadelphia, in Morrisville, Pennsylvania (population 9,645).

Inspired by radio–friendly Nineties rap hits like Jay?Z's Vol. 2 . . . Hard Knock Life, Roth began rhyming with friends in his teens. Buoyed by positive feedback for his homemade CDs, Roth kept at it while studying at Pennsylvania's West Chester University. (He dropped out after being signed.) It was after reminiscing with a West Chester buddy one night that Roth wrote "I Love College." Now he worries the hit makes him seem too pop. "It might be the worst song on my CD," Roth says.

When he performs the track at the mtvU gig in front of hundreds of well–lubricated revelers on the beach, the crowd sings along. "This is the life!" Roth gushes, as he comes offstage. Walking back to his rental condo takes ages, as he's besieged by girls who want to take a picture— and then make out. A group of guys chants a line from his hit— "Do something crazy!"— as he walks by.

When not partying, Roth is actually kind of a spacey stoner, ruminating about politics, yoga (he practices it often) and how he wants respect from hardcore hip–hop fans. "There's something for everybody in my music," he says. "I'm like an iPod on shuffle."