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. https://youtu.be/AKZp4uyvhh8 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?

Directions:Each student is required to respond to each question as thoroughly as possible, evidencing that you have read and interpreted the reading(s) that address the questions. Try to answer each question in the order in which it is given and to the best of your ability.Be thorough and creative! Each answer should span no less than two well written paragraph ( I would prefer two) and should be written in Times New Roman 12-point font within 1-inch margins; while I have given the range as a guideline, I am more concerned with the quality of the work instead of the quantity.Grading Rubric:Grade of AThis paper is insightful. It addresses the assignment in a way that indicates your comprehension of the assignment itself as well as an understanding of the underlying issues within the readings. The message is communicated clearly, concisely, and directly. There is a confidence in this writing. Paper ideas are written within your own words and passages/ sentences from readings are placed in quotations. No to very minimal grammar, spelling and other writing issues. There is only one idea per paragraph and no paragraph spans more than 5-7 sentences with clearly stated topic sentences. Grade of BThe paper meets, and at times, exceeds the basic requirements of the assignment. The paper indicates that you are beginning, at times, to think through and deal with major ideas in the assignment. The message is communicated with generally effective clarity, directness, and conciseness. Paper ideas are written within your own words, for the most part and passages/ sentences from readings are placed in quotations, for the most part. Some minor grammar, spelling and other writing issues are evident. Paper may have a few instances where there is more than one idea per paragraph and a few paragraphs may span more than 5-7 sentences with clearly stated topic sentences. Grade of CThe paper offers minimal insight into the greater issues of the assignment and it meets the basic requirements. The message, for the most part, is reasonably clear, concise, and direct, although there are clear problems with your writing. Questions:1. Discuss the three examples of MDW NTR that became the Phonecian alphabet and why this information is important for Africana people in American to know. For full credit, first, discuss what MDW NTR is, its relationship to the Badarians and then what the Semetic folks borrowed that eventually evolved into our current alphabet. Be specific here, yet place all of your ideas in your own words. 2. Discuss mathematics in Kemet and why this is important. For full credit, be able to discuss both papyri and Yefru's point about the circumference of the circle. What is the point of Yefru's writing about mathematics in Kemet. 3. What seems to be the importance of the Asarian Ressurection given Yefru's discussion of it and the supplemental readings? What does the creation story tell us? For full credit, please do not retell the story here. Instead, First explain the theme or themes in the story. There is no right or wrong answer here. I just want to read what meaning you are taking away from this creaton narrative.Lecture Notes for the Script, Kemetic Cosmology and PhilosophyThe ScriptIn looking at chapter three and four, be sure to pay attention to the following ideas. The Badarians who resided in pre-Dynastic Kemet "accidently" began the development of the alphabet that we use today. First, see page 97 and the idea that the Badarians created amuletes with animal heads scripted on the stones. The symbolism of the "natural" world, that is nature, becomes meaningfull for the Badarians because the qualities of the animals become the qualities that the wearer of the amulet sought to envoke for themselves. However, and what is important for our current conversation, is that the symbols are the early origin of the ancient Kemetic script called MDW NTR (words of the gods or words of the divine or divine speach). This script from the Badarians early spiritual symbolism evolved into an organized writing system that was indeed sacred. See page 131.MDW NTR is familiar to most folks as heiroglyphics, but heiroglyphics means sacred carvings, a derivative meaning of the original MDW NTR. Nonetheless, Yefru describes how this MDW NTR becomes our alphabet. In chapter four in particular, review the origins of the alphabet. On the one hand, paleopgraphers of writing (scientists who study the origin, development and spread of writing) have already confirmed that the source of our contemporary alphabet emerges from the Semetic (so called middle-eastern) area. However, only a few Egyptologists have located the origins of the Semetic writing from the Kemetic MDW NTR. For example, take note that the symbols in the MDW NTR for water evolved into the letter M and the symbol of the eye of Heru for instance became the starting point for the letter A. See page 130-132 for the complete discussion and read page 130 very closely so that you can catch the symbolism. Now, how does one know the meaning of MDW NTR? In 1821 Jean Francois Champollion deciphered MDW NTR based upon the finding of the Rosetta Stone that was scripted in 197 BCE, which had two languages, MDW NTR and Greek. See page 121 here for the interesting story, then see page 131 for the three MDW NTR scripts, MDW NTR, Hieratic and Demotic. See also page 139 for the evolution of the Alphabet chart. MathematicsIt is all too clear by now that within Kemet (the Black Land) ancient Egypt (Greek Aegyptos for water, the Nile) the pyramids and complexes are ancient, even if exact dating is unclear. Do an internet search for the pyramids of Giza, for instance, and look at the dating. What is even more intersting is that there are only speculations about how these monuments were built. In looking at chapter three, we can see that one suggestion is the existence of Kemetic knowledge of mathematics. The two key papyrus that detail mathmatical computations are the Rhind and the Moscow Papyrus. See page 111 for who European located and then named the Papyri. When were these written, according to Yefru? The key points here are that the Rhind has 87 computations and the Moscow has 25. See replicas of what is on each papyri on pages 110-113. See also the page 109 for replication of Kemetic numbers.What is Yefru's point there? That Kemetic people developed math in response to nature and used it for functional purposes. Take for instance understanding the circumferance of a circle and its median, PI. How was a circular house created? See page 109 and Yefru's discussion of measuring for a circular house. Kemetic Cosmology and PhilosophyRead pages 123-126 and consider the relationship between nature, the universe, divine origins and the human condition. First, what is the role of the sun in the creation story? Who are the gods and goddess? The point here is to think about that for the Kemetic folks, nature tells of the start of creation, including human creation and that these gods and goddess are forces, spirits in existence who have meaning in the lives of those who believe in the them; these concepts are similiar to the Badarian creation and meaning of the amulets. Take a look at the readings, the "Anu Creation Narrative," and the "Asarian Ressurection." These readings supplement pages 123-126 in the book. The point of these writing are for you to see that the ancient Anu (Heliopolis) had a creation story. (There are actually four creation stories that evolved over the course of ancient Kemet; see page 125 in Yefru's work.)The major theme in the creation story is that the universe emerges out of one source and therefore all existence, including human existence, is connected. The Asarian Ressurection writing is about the story of Asar (Osiris), Aset (Isis) and Heru (Horus) and the battle that Heru has to go through with Set in order to regain the throne of his father Asar. What themes are you finding here?