my father had bobby darin's 'live at the copa' album when i was a kid, liner notes included a glowing newspaper revew of the performance, writer of the article referred to audience members as hippies, if i recall picture on the album cover correctly, the audience was comprised of what appeared to be relatively affluent white folks, guess the 'hippy' reference meant 'in the know' (or would that be 'now') and 'with it' maaaaan, album was early 60s... mh
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CB: Yes, "in the know" about the "now". To be "hip" is to know what is cool, to know what is hot, to know what is happening now. Today, 2006, here, to say something like " Yea, my man hipped me to some nice 'whatever' " is understood readily. Or if somebody tells you something ,and you already know it , you say "Yea, I'm hip". Use of "hip" is not archaic in Detroit.
Hippie was evidently white people hip to what is current in Black cultural fashion. Eminem is a hippie.