write 300 word responses to the topic listed below there is 4 short topics
1.According to Ogbar, what constitutes “realness?†In your opinion, what contributed o the transformation of conscious, Hip Hop lyrical content such as those of Public Enemy, to the more lewd, “gangster†lyrical content of a group such as NWA?
2.Ogbar takes issue with critics who blame hip-hop for myriad social problems, and exposes the prevalent employment of racist fears in these critiques. Ogbar uses statistics on the rising rate of graduate degrees, the drop in teen pregnancies over the last twenty years, and increased political awareness of youth to challenge characterizations of young blacks as passive, uncritical listeners.
Given these statistics, in your opinion, is Hip Hop getting unfairly criticized for the effect it is having on youth and society? Would these statistics be even more favorable if Hip Hop music was censored to a higher degree?
3. Watch the provided YouTube link in its entirety.
In the book’s introduction, Ogbar broke down Hip Hop into four elements. In the video clip, KRS – One expands on those initial four elements, and adds five more. What are the additional five elements of Hip Hop according to KRS – One? Please provide examples of the additional five based on your own personal knowledge or what you believe them to be.
After reading Chapter 2 and watching the video, it appears as if conscious Hip Hop is close to being extinct. In your opinion, is it due to not rappers not possessing a collective consciousness, or is it due to greed? Should record label executives, and not just rappers share more of the responsibility of the lyrical content being distributed? Are the youth who feed into and admire these Hip Hop artists conscious of what going on in the world today?
4. In your opinion, does the contemporary Hip Hop Culture glamourize, or bring awareness to issues such as the Prison Industrial Complex? What types of training should be available to Law enforcement officers who may not be versed in the Hip Hop Culture? How can this recent trend of mass incarceration be reversed? Can it be reversed?