The Roots of Cool 2: Hip Awareness

Part 2: Tracing "Hip" from Africa to Harlem (5 minute read)

This is Part 2 of a 5-part series. Start with Part 1:

The Roots of Cool: Composure

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It’s 1922, and you’re in New York. The Harlem Renaissance is in full swing, and clubs are abuzz with legendary performers like Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Duke Ellington. Among those figures, one man stands out for his style, charisma, and music.

This is Cab Calloway, the zoot-suited bandleader at the Cotton Club in Harlem. His hit record, Minnie the Moocher, made him the first African American to sell a million records.

Calloway was known for using “jive” or slang that is part of African American Vernacular English. In 1938, he published a book called “The Hepster’s Dictionary”, a popular guide to “jive talk” at the time.

It contains short definitions of the slang used mostly by jazz musicians. A few examples:

• Hip (adj.): wise, sophisticated, anyone with boots on. Ex., “She’s a hip chick.”

• Hep cat (n.): a guy who knows all the answers, and understands jive.

• Dig (v.) comprehend, understand. Ex., “Do you dig this jive?”

One of the defining stories of this project is the origin of the words “hip” and “hep” and how they reached Harlem.

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Hip Origins

When you think of a hip person today, what comes to mind? You might imagine someone with cultural awareness, charisma, taste, and effortless style. They might engage in trends or reflect progressive ideas. They are knowledgeable and informed.

Our use of “hip” in this context is relatively new. It first appeared in print in 1904 in a book by George Vere Hobart, in which an African-American character asks, "Are you hip?"

Despite this evidence, I believe hipness is much older and may be a human quality that transcends race, culture, and time. To explore this further, we can look again to Africa, Italy, and other cultures. 

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Wolof and Hip

In his excellent book Hip: The History, John Leland describes the origins of the American “hip” to Wolof, a popular language in West Africa.

The British linguist David Dalby traces the likely origins of “hip” to the Wolof verb hepi ("to see") or hipi ("to open one's eyes"). So, from the linguistic start, hip is a term of enlightenment.

Wolof is widely spoken in and around present-day Senegal. Some interpret hipi or hepi to mean people who are attuned to unspoken social cues, norms, and cultural dynamics. They have street smarts and social grace.

I will refer to the Wolof words as “hipi” in the future.

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What is Hipness?

I think of hipness as a social expression of personal attitude, confidence, presence, taste, and style that requires cultural awareness. Being able to “read the room” or “know which way the wind blows” requires hipness. 

John Leland:

Hip is a social relation. You cannot be hip in the way you might be tall, handsome, gawky, nearsighted or Russian…It requires an audience.

It exists in public view, its parameters defined by the people watching it. You decide what is hip and what is not. Hip requires a transaction, an acknowledgment.

Think again about a hip person today. They are likely adept at reading and reflecting cultural cues and social norms. They perceive subtle signals from situations or people. They engage in the trends and styles of popular culture. They are aware and participating.

The Calloway Connection

When Cab Calloway described some as “hip” or “hep cats,” he echoed words and qualities that have existed for many generations in West Africa.

Does this mean that the Wolof people invented hipness? I doubt it. Much like the Yorùbá term itutu, which means “coolness”, hipi may describe a human quality that’s not unique to a specific culture or time.

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Hip Around the World

If hipness is a human quality, we should be able to find terms with similar meanings in other languages and cultures.

Bella Figura - Italian Hip

In part one, I discussed the Italian concept of sprezzatura as an example of cool composure and emotional control. The Italian phrase “la bella figura” complements sprezzatura and means “the beautiful figure.”

It reflects a deep-seated cultural emphasis on presenting oneself with grace, dignity, and respect in all aspects of life. La bella figura influences behavior, manners, and even the aesthetics of daily interactions.

Meot "멋" - Korean Hip:

While it does not translate directly to English, “meot” means stylishness, charm, and elegance along with a deeper sense of aesthetics and culture.

Tehzeeb (तहज़ीब / تہذیب) - Indian Hip

This Hindi/Urdu word refers to refinement, sophistication, and cultural grace. It often implies an awareness of social and cultural expectations, combined with a stylish, well-mannered demeanor.

Hip and Awareness

As Leland described above, hipness is mostly an outward-facing, social quality. When a person is hip, they are aware of cultural cues and reflect a sophisticated grace that is appreciated by others.

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Two Threads in Our Story

We now have two threads from West Africa and around the world:

1. The first refers to someone with cool composure. This is an internal quality we see in both itutu and sprezzatura.

2. The second refers to someone who is “hip” and has cultural awareness. This is an external quality that we see in hipi, bella figura, meot, and tehzeeb.

These two qualities, composure and awareness, will occur repeatedly in our story and help explain our perceptions of coolness in America today.

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A Quick Test

A goal of this series is to define specific qualities that anyone with a “cool” vibe exhibits. We can test these qualities with a simple question:

In part 1, I asked:

• Is a “cool” vibe possible without composure?

We can use a similar question for part 2:

• Is a “cool” vibe possible without cultural awareness?

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Coming Soon

Next, we’ll follow Yorùbá and Wolof people (and their connections to coolness) to the New World via the horrors of slavery. We’ll see a fusion of languages, traditions, attitudes, and ideas that will come to define American music and our perceptions of coolness.

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