black/white roots

Hip is an ethos of individualism, but it tends to grow in cliques. It has an epidemiology. In its larval, pre-hip stage, it is a creed without followers, out of rhythm with whatever is hip at the time. Only the abject, isolated or beat down are willing to sign on. In relative isolation, a small group of individuals, forsaking the general trends around them, give each other permission to do something new. They develop their own slang as part of their group identity, and encourage each other's idiosyncrasies as badges of membership. As the inventions become more flamboyant or cohere as a style, a second, slightly broader circle begins to adopt some of the gestures - and in turn to transmit these to a circle slightly broader than itself. With each expansion, something is lost.

(Hip: The History, John Leland)

а пък историята на тая книга е отделна история.