“You must know where (the word) bop comes from” said Simple, astonished at my ignorance. “I don’t know” I said “Where?” “From the police… from the police beatin on negros heads” said Simple. “Everytime a cop hits a negro with his billy club, that old club says “Bop! Bop!....Be Bop…Mop…Bop!” Thats where BeBop came from, beaten right out of some negros head into them horns and saxophones and piano keys that plays it…

Langston Hughes – The Best of Simple