--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's either hip or it ain't." description: "\"It's either hip or it ain't.\" — Lee Morgan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/lee-morgan-65724_hips_it-s-either-hip-or-it-ain-t-561276_561276.png" --- # It's either hip or it ain't. ![“It's either hip or it ain't.” quote by Lee Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/lee-morgan-65724_hips_it-s-either-hip-or-it-ain-t-561276_561276.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/lee-morgan-65724_hips_it-s-either-hip-or-it-ain-t-561276_561276.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/lee-morgan-65724_hips_it-s-either-hip-or-it-ain-t-561276_561276.png) > “It's either hip or it ain't.” [Lee Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-morgan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music is either authentic and cool or it isn’t; there’s no middle ground. **In simple terms:** Music is either hip or not. Key Takeaway Embrace authenticity in style. Themes authenticity music culture Mood confident assertive Type musical philosophical When to use this quote - live performance - recording sessions - personal style Key Concepts Jazz identity expression Questions to Reflect On - What defines “hip” for you? - Can music be both hip and evolving? A Different Perspective Some may argue for nuance and evolution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hips/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) ## Related quotes > [Hip-hop is not one thing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-yachty/hip-hop-is-not-one-thing/) [Lil Yachty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-yachty/) > [If you're trying to be hip, be hip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/if-you-re-trying-to-be-hip-be-hip/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [Hip is the knowledge and Hop is the movement..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/hip-is-the-knowledge-and-hop-is-the-movement/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [anyone who used the word hip probably wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/anyone-who-used-the-word-hip-probably-wasn-t/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [I'm not hip-hop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-scott/i-m-not-hip-hop/) [Travis Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-scott/) > [Hip doesn't really come into play anymore as far as I can tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bernhard/hip-doesn-t-really-come-into-play-anymore-as-far-as-i-can-tell/) [Sandra Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bernhard/) > [You don't decide you're hip. It just happens that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cannonball-adderley/you-don-t-decide-you-re-hip-it-just-happens-that-way/) [Cannonball Adderley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cannonball-adderley/) > [To be hip-hop is much more than just rapping in the production. It is more in the attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/questlove/to-be-hip-hop-is-much-more-than-just-rapping-in-the-production-it-is/) [Questlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/questlove/) > [Hipness is not a state of mind, It's a fact of life!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cannonball-adderley/hipness-is-not-a-state-of-mind-it-s-a-fact-of-life/) [Cannonball Adderley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cannonball-adderley/) > [So, you wanna be hip. Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minnie-mouse/so-you-wanna-be-hip-huh-huh-huh-huh/) [Minnie Mouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minnie-mouse/) > [Well, I think that hip-hop is not just a music. It's really a culture and it's a way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chatterton-williams/well-i-think-that-hip-hop-is-not-just-a-music-it-s-really-a-culture/) [Thomas Chatterton Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chatterton-williams/) > [For us to keep claiming this isn't Hip Hop and that isn't Hip Hop doesn't make sense to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grandmaster-flash/for-us-to-keep-claiming-this-isn-t-hip-hop-and-that-isn-t-hip-hop/) [Grandmaster Flash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grandmaster-flash/) > [Hip-hop is all over the planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/hip-hop-is-all-over-the-planet/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [I don't know why this concept of what is hip became so important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-shaffer/i-don-t-know-why-this-concept-of-what-is-hip-became-so-important-to-me/) [Paul Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-shaffer/) > [Hip-hop is a vehicle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/hip-hop-is-a-vehicle/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) ## More by Lee Morgan > [“Would you teach me, Seth?’ Seth smiled and leaned back in his seat. ‘You do realise, of course, that you have no idea what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-morgan/would-you-teach-me-seth-seth-smiled-and-leaned-back-in-his-seat-you/) [Lee Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-morgan/) > [There are no natural barriers. It's all music. It's either hip or it ain't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-morgan/there-are-no-natural-barriers-it-s-all-music-it-s-either-hip-or-it/) [Lee Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-morgan/) > [The symphonic orchestras have sponsors, people who give them endowments, and I think it should be the same way with jazz - because this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-morgan/the-symphonic-orchestras-have-sponsors-people-who-give-them/) [Lee Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-morgan/) [Explore all 4 Lee Morgan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-morgan/) ## More Hips quotes > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [By the time you get into other kinds of music - R&B, country, or whatever - it becomes something that's romantic. It becomes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/by-the-time-you-get-into-other-kinds-of-music-r-b-country-or-whatever/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [Wherever I go, I bring the culture with me, so that they can understand that it's attainable. I didn't do it any other way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/wherever-i-go-i-bring-the-culture-with-me-so-that-they-can-understand/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [ Sexy for me is a curvy woman - doesn't have to be skinny, which I hate anyway. I'm glad \[the fashion industry\] is changing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-klum/sexy-for-me-is-a-curvy-woman-doesn-t-have-to-be-skinny-which-i-hate/) [Heidi Klum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-klum/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [For me, growing up in hip-hop culture, it's all about having the next style, the new fashion, the new way to express yourself, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-p/for-me-growing-up-in-hip-hop-culture-it-s-all-about-having-the-next/) [El-P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-p/) > [Rev Run is a living legend of Hip-Hop, who's still making great music, but now he's also the dad to an amazing family, ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-disanto/rev-run-is-a-living-legend-of-hip-hop-who-s-still-making-great-music/) [Tony DiSanto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-disanto/) > [I think hip hop allows us to talk about everything, and Africa is what I choose to talk about now. If people are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-hip-hop-allows-us-to-talk-about-everything-and-africa-is-what/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [Feed me hip-hop and I start tremblin'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakim/feed-me-hip-hop-and-i-start-tremblin/) [Rakim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakim/) > [I put the truth out there, I put the historical facts into Hip Hop to show us how much history repeats itself and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/i-put-the-truth-out-there-i-put-the-historical-facts-into-hip-hop-to/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [Hip Nip just sounds groovy. A drummer laid it on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-morita/hip-nip-just-sounds-groovy-a-drummer-laid-it-on-me/) [Pat Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-morita/) > [Hip-hop has always been exciting and interesting to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bangalter/hip-hop-has-always-been-exciting-and-interesting-to-us/) [Thomas Bangalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bangalter/) > [“Best I ever had Hips don't lie You make me wanna \*sssss\* One more night Irreplaceable, yeah Crazy, we're crazy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-horan/best-i-ever-had-hips-don-t-lie-you-make-me-wanna-sssss-one-more-night/) [Niall Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-horan/) > [Hip hop is expression..our roots and culture..Its your duty to contribute uniqueness to this artform. Desire of bringing somethin new, improved, witty and soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-bakersfield/hip-hop-is-expression-our-roots-and-culture-its-your-duty-to/) [Larry Bakersfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-bakersfield/) > [I don't care who you talk about down south, Boosie gonna win. I'm the only one to put out a whole album, with more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-boosie/i-don-t-care-who-you-talk-about-down-south-boosie-gonna-win-i-m-the/) [Lil Boosie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-boosie/) [Browse all 1,470 Hips quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hips/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's either hip or it ain't.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lee Morgan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-morgan/it-s-either-hip-or-it-ain-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hips" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-morgan/it-s-either-hip-or-it-ain-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/lee-morgan-65724_hips_it-s-either-hip-or-it-ain-t-561276_561276.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/lee-morgan-65724_hips_it-s-either-hip-or-it-ain-t-561276_561276.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/lee-morgan-65724_hips_it-s-either-hip-or-it-ain-t-561276_561276.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's either hip or it ain't.” — Lee Morgan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lee Morgan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-morgan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's either hip or it ain't.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-morgan/it-s-either-hip-or-it-ain-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-morgan/it-s-either-hip-or-it-ain-t/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```