His Dream

Album: Asleep in the Bread Aisle (2009)
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Songfacts®:

  • Asher Roth is not your everyday Hip-Hop artist. He raps about the sort of things you might hear a Country artist singing about. Like his love for his dad. "I think every parent wants their children to outlive them," he says. "And coming to the realization that your parents are 60, and you kind of say, hey, you won't live forever. And I just wanted to say something to my dad. I wanted to make sure that I got that out, whether it's just 'I love you' or anything like that. I think it's very important for parents to know they are appreciated. I know Tupac did it with his mom and stuff like that. And for me, just growing up and understanding my dad's not just my dad, but he's a human being as well, I started to talk to him about when he was my age, realizing that he wasn't born 40. It was interesting to hear his story. So after we had that conversation, I just wanted to let him know: thank you so much. Even at my age I think, a little bit older than me now, he had his children. And then he realized at that time that his life was no longer just his life. He had a new life to lead, and it was through his kids. And I appreciate that now, and I wanted to let him know that I really appreciate that.

    And that's really all that was. He didn't really want that song on the record, he said it was fairly embarrassing, and I asked him why, and he said, 'Because I didn't do anything. I was just a responsible parent.' And I said, 'Well, that's the thing. A lot of people have their children and just continue on with what they're doing. And the kids don't get adequate attention.' And a lot of things stem from that. A lot of mental things can happen when a male figure in your life isn't there. It's very necessary to kind of have that female and male influence in your life. And you see it if someone's raised by just a single mother, they'll behave differently than if they're raised by maybe a single father, or both parents. So I just wanted to let my dad know, Hey, thank you very much for being a responsible parent."
  • A "millie" is a word coined by rapper Lil Wayne to mean a million dollars. "And then Jay-Z did a 'billie,' and that kind of goes into what I don't like about the obsession over the dollar and the obsession of money," Asher explains. "Which, to me, originally that record was, a million here, a million there, and I've got so much money. It was a hit, it was huge."
    Although he's a millionaire already, many times over, Asher says he doesn't agree with the mind-set of money over enjoyment. If he stops enjoying what he's doing, he says, despite the money, he'll quit. Read more in our interview with Asher Roth.
  • R&B singer Miguel is featured on this track, which he also co-wrote.

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