Reading Comprehension Quiz

James McBride, “Hip Hop Planet”

Read “Hip Hop Planet” and check your comprehension by answering the following questions. Click the submit button when finished.

Question In the first four paragraphs of the section “High-Stepping,” McBride relates a memory of a party to the reader. What effect do these four paragraphs have on the reader?

Question McBride writes that the real storytellers of the American experience had “no journalism degree. No money. No credibility.” Why does he write this?

Question What does McBride mean by “high-stepping” in this section, especially when he refers to himself in paragraph 6?

Question In the last sentence of the section “High-Stepping,” McBride writes, “We’d be wise, I suppose, to start paying attention.” Who is he referring to when he writes “we”?

Question McBride entitles the second section “Burning Man,” and he describes people on fire coming into a room and a person putting them out. What is McBride alluding to by referencing a burning man?

Question McBride relates that in the “mid-1970s, New York City was nearly broke.” What does McBride wish for the reader to infer about the state of the city’s economics and rap music?

Question McBride quotes Abiodun Oyewole, a member of the group Last Poets, who said “A lot of today’s rappers have talent. But a lot of them are driving the car in the wrong direction.” By using this quote, what does McBride wish for the reader to understand?

Question In the section “The Crossover,” McBride notes the popularity of rap music among all youth, regardless of socioeconomic status. According to McBride, why is this the case?

Question McBride travels to Dakar, Senegal to continue tracing the roots of rap music. He writes “There is a restlessness, a deep sense of something gone wrong in the air.” What is he referring to?

Question In the second to last paragraph, McBride writes that “The drums are pounding out a warning. They are telling us something.” What is McBride alluding to?