1. What does it mean to be a part of hip hop culture? How am I a contributor to this culture and the movement through taking this class and through whatever past experiences I bring? Please do not just talk aimlessly in formulating your response. Ground it in what you read in That's the Joint and Black Noise, and in what you see in Black Power Mixtape. Cite specific examples. The goal is not to just share what you already know -- we all already know a ton, as our Icebreaker forum last week showed -- but rather to build together on what we are learning by integrating our past experiences with the new work presented in readings and film.
2. Rose particularly highlights the fact that hip hop emerged as a form of "articulating the pleasures and problems of black urban life" but notes that the global popularity of hip hop is due strongly to the appeal of the music, the clothing styles, the dance, the poetry, and the art of the culture among white youths. How might be best address this racial crossing? How is it a gap, or a bridge? What might be a way of articulating a history of hip hop responsibly that remains true to its roots but allows it to educate others, and grow and change with dignity over time?
3. How do flow, layering, and rupture characterize the three central practices of hip hop that Rose particularly explores in chapter 2 -- breakdancing, graffiti, and rapping? How do these characteristics connect the practices of hip hop and the conditions of the society about which it speaks? In answering this question, try breaking down one of the videos shared in the Icebreaker forum or finding a different video/song to analyze.