Asher Roth talks up his origins with the genre

My introduction to rap wasn't Hard Knock Life, but I totally feel the reference.
The summer of '98; middle school dances where the kids went ape shit during "Mo Money, Mo Problems"; not understanding what the hell Outkast was saying on the "Rosa Parks" hook (push that wood?); wearing out Capitol Punishment running back Big Pun's iconic tongue-twister on "Twinz '97":

"Dead in the middle of little Italy little did we know that we riddled some middle man who didn't do diddly"

Props to Ash Roth for being honest.