Beatniks

The Beatniks were the 50s/60s equivalent to what a "hipster" is in the new millennium. The Beatniks were an underground coalition of artists and non conformist young people in the New York area which is ironic to me because I am from New York and most people from my high school which I hung out with I would consider hipsters.  The above is a negatively connotated hipster. I mean hipsters do love American apparel and vans and are usually financially well off but are not all drug users and weirdos. The Beantiks had the same wrap that Hipsters have now.... they were young people in NYC who dressed differently, cared about art and did spoken words on the street corners of NY. The Beaniks were called Beatniks because they were always creating a beat of spoken word on the street. That premise makes me think about the hip hop movement and the beginnings of rap and I respect the Beatniks for paving a medium for inner city kids to be on.