Article: Avignon was the seat of the papacy from 1309 to 1376. With the return of the Pope to Rome in 1378, the Papal State developed into a major secular power, culminating in the morally corrupt papacy of Alexander VI. Florence grew to prominence amongst the Italian city-states through financial business, and the dominant Medici family became important promoters of the Renaissance through their patronage of the arts. Other city states in northern Italy also expanded their territories and consolidated their power, primarily Milan and Venice. The War of the Sicilian Vespers had by the early 14th century divided southern Italy into an Aragon Kingdom of Sicily and an Anjou Kingdom of Naples. In 1442, the two kingdoms were effectively united under Aragonese control.

Question: What city was the seat of the papacy for most of the 14th century?
Ans: Avignon


Article: A treaty is an official, express written agreement that states use to legally bind themselves. A treaty is the official document which expresses that agreement in words; and it is also the objective outcome of a ceremonial occasion which acknowledges the parties and their defined relationships.

Question: How are states that enter into a treaty bound?
Ans: legally


Article: Back in America the scene had still not progressed beyond a small number of clubs in Chicago, Detroit, Newark and New York City. However, many independent Chicago-based record labels were making appearances on the Dance Chart with their releases. In the UK, any house song released by a Chicago-based label was routinely considered a must play at many clubs playing house music. Paradise Garage in New York City was still a top club. The emergence of Todd Terry, a pioneer of the genre, was important in America. His cover of Class Action's Larry Levan mixed "Weekend" demonstrated the continuum from the underground disco to a new house sound with hip-hop influences evident in the quicker sampling and the more rugged bass-line.

Question: what was different about the bass-line in the hip-hop influenced house songs?
Ans: more rugged


Article: West demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age; he began writing poetry when he was five years old. His mother recalled that she first took notice of West's passion for drawing and music when he was in the third grade. Growing up in the city,[which?] West became deeply involved in its hip hop scene. He started rapping in the third grade and began making musical compositions in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists. At age thirteen, West wrote a rap song called "Green Eggs and Ham" and began to persuade his mother to pay $25 an hour for time in a recording studio. It was a small, crude basement studio where a microphone hung from the ceiling by a wire clothes hanger. Although this wasn't what West's mother wanted, she nonetheless supported him. West crossed paths with producer/DJ No I.D., with whom he quickly formed a close friendship. No I.D. soon became West's mentor, and it was from him that West learned how to sample and program beats after he received his first sampler at age 15.

Question: Who did Kanye meet early in his career who later mentored him?
Ans:
DJ No I.D.