Asher Roth: Justin Bieber Is Like My Little Brother

Rapper Asher Roth said teen pop phenom Justin Bieber holds a special place in his heart -- and that he even considers the pint-sized singing sensation to be like his younger sibling.

"I've actually watched Justin grow up," he told Niteside last night during a launch party for his new website at Manhattan's Gold Bar. "He actually used to play Rock Band at our house all the time and just hang out. I see him like a little brother, so to see all of the success is really surreal."

Roth, who was partying along with DJ Wreckineyez and David Appleton Thursday night, may be close to Bieber but was quick to squash word of a collaboration in the near future.

"I don't know about collaboration because I'm a little bit more wild and Justin has a very strong target audience he's working with. Teens need their pop stars, and people they can look up to as role models and Justin's just that," he said.

Roth was also fast to shrug off comparisons of himself to fellow white rapper Eminem.

"Time is my friend," said Roth. "When Shine first came in, everyone was comparing him to Notorious BIG and with only a handful of white rappers it was only kind of natural. I think people are gonna start to get it as I go though."

Since releasing his mixtape earlier this year, the first release since his debut album, Asher hopes to follow in the footsteps of his producer Pharrell.

"When you go and work with people, you never know if you're going to have good chemistry, but Pharrell is a very smart person and very versatile," he said. "He was just fun to be around and I'm all about working in a fun environment."

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