Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What images or ideas come to mind when you see the term “hip-hop”? What do you know about hip-hop culture and how it developed? Are you aware of any political movements connected to hip-hop?

Teaching Suggestion: Some students may be very familiar with hip-hop culture and its origins while others may have little understanding or interest. It may be beneficial to introduce hip-hop as both a musical genre and a youth culture; prompt students who may not be interested in hip-hop to consider what they know or enjoy about other musical genres and cultures, then apply similar points of analysis to hip-hop culture. If you choose to provide these links before asking the question, students will have a basic understanding on the origination of hip-hop.

• “The Birth of Hip Hop” tells the story of how hip-hop originated in a 3-minute video by Black History in Two Minutes or So; the video connects to the theme The Evolution of Hip-Hop Culture.  
• “Hip-Hop: A Culture of Vision and Voice” from the Kennedy Center describes hip-hop culture by breaking it down into basic elements and discussing how each element contributed to the creation of the culture.