Hip: The History
Hip: The History by John Leland, published by Harper Collins on October 5, 2004, is a comprehensive exploration of how an underground idea has profoundly influenced American culture. Spanning 405 pages, this book delves into the multifaceted concept of “hip,” tracing its origins from the Wolof word hepi, which means “to see” or “to open one’s eyes.” Leland examines the interplay between various cultural elements, including sex, music, race, fashion, and rebellion, illustrating how these aspects have shaped American identity.
Readers will find a narrative that connects diverse figures and movements, from Walt Whitman to Snoop Dogg, highlighting the dynamic relationship between insiders and outsiders in American society. The book investigates the quest for authenticity within the hip culture, revealing how this desire unites individuals in their pursuit of uniqueness. By weaving together themes from social history, psychology, and anthropology, Hip: The History offers insights into the complexities of modern American life and the enduring impact of hip on our collective consciousness.
Official synopsis Publisher
How an underground idea shaped American culture, from sex and music to race, fashion, drugs, commerce and the national rites of rebellion.
Hip: The History is the story of an American obsession. Derived from the Wolof word hepi or hipi (“to see,” or “to open one’s eyes”), which came to America with West African Slaves, hip is the dance between black and white — or insider and outsider — that gives America its unique flavor and rhythm. It has created fortunes, destroyed lives and shaped the way millions of us talk, dress, dance, make love or see ourselves in the mirror. Everyone knows what hip is.
This is the story of how we got here. Hip: The History draws the connections between Walt Whitman and Richard Hell, or Raymond Chandler and Snoop Dogg. It slinks among the pimps, hustlers, outlaws, junkies, scoundrels, white negroes, Beats, geeks, beboppers and other hipsters who crash the American experiment, and without whom we might all be listening to show tunes.
Along the way, Hip: The History looks at hip’s quest for authenticity, which binds millions of us together in a paradoxical desire to be different. Because, as George Clinton said, “You can’t fake the funk.”
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