When Justin Bieber first got scouted by music executive Scooter Braun, he moved down from Canada to Atlanta with his mom. As his mom worked, the then 13-year-old was dropped off at Asher Roth’s house. While babysitting him, the rapper would teach the rising star skills that would become valuable in his musical career. Roth lived in the same building as Braun, who ultimately took the two emerging artists under his wings, thus building their careers today.
At the time that Roth started babysitting the “Sorry” singer, he was working on The Greenhouse Effect. The rapper noted in a 2010 interview with VladTV how Bieber’s mom was worried, supposedly based on the mixtape’s content. However, little Bieber remained with the upcoming artist and learned “everything he knows” from him, according to Roth. The “I Love College” rapper reflected on young Biebs influence on the youth, noting how “at the end of the day, the kids is really what it’s all about.”
Roth And Bieber Were Taken In By Braun
In a recent interview with Idea Generation, Braun reflected on that time period in his career. He recounts the balancing act of managing young artists early on, “I had this kid living in a townhouse illegally, and this guy living in like this broken down house two minutes away from that, and Asher was babysitting Justin sometimes, and like, it was wild back those days. But I fully believed in these guys, and I risked everything.” Ultimately, Braun’s recruitment of both Bieber and Roth resulted in their successful careers today.
Both artists remain signed to Braun’s label, School Boy. Roth released a collaboration album last year with Heather Grey titled Why’s It So Grey Out?, which includes features from Kota the Friend, Lord Apex, and Like. Bieber, on the other hand, recently joined talents with Don Toliver for their song “Private Landing.” Additionally, Biebs made a big win this year by selling his music catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Capital for $200 million. Needless to say, that’s a big jump from his early days of being babysat in Atlanta by Roth. For more news on hip-hop and pop culture, be sure to check out HNHH.