Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi, and rudy are slang terms that originated in 1960s Jamaican street culture, and that are still used today. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms ''rude boy'' and ''rude girl'', among other variations, being used to describe fans of two-tone ska. The use of these terms moved into the more contemporary ska punk movement as well. In the UK, the terms rude boy and rude girl are used in a way similar to

gangsta Gangsta may refer to: Urban culture * Gangsta rap, a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths * Gangster, a member of a gang * Hip hop fashi ...

, yardie or badman.

Jamaica

The term ''rude boy'', and the rude boy subculture, arose from the poorer sections of

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

, and was associated with violent discontented youths. Along with ska and

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

music, many rude boys favored sharp suits, thin ties, and pork pie or Trilby hats, showing an influence of the fashions of US jazz musicians and soul music artists. Well-known cowboy and gangster/outlaw films from that period were also influential factors in shaping the rude boy image, as scholars like Rob Wilson, Christopher Leigh Connory, and

Deborah A. Thomas Deborah A. Thomas (born 1966) is an American anthropologist and filmmaker, and is the R. Jean Brownlee Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Experimental Ethnography at the University of Pennsylvania. She has published books a ...

have shown. In that time period, unemployed Jamaican youths sometimes found temporary employment from sound system operators to disrupt competitors' dances (leading to the term dancehall crasher). The violence that sometimes occurred at dances and its association with the rude boy lifestyle gave rise to a slew of releases by artists who addressed the rude boys directly with lyrics that either promoted or rejected rude boy violence, for example the 1967 song " Rudy a Message to You" by Dandy Livingstone. Starting in the 1970s, Jamaican reggae music replaced the ska and rocksteady music associated with the rude boys. In the 1980s,

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

became the main Jamaican popular music genre, drawing some parallels with the earlier rude boys in its culture and lyrical content.

United Kingdom

In the 1960s, the Jamaican diaspora introduced rude boy music and fashion to the United Kingdom, which influenced the

mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

and skinhead subcultures. In the late 1970s, the term rude boy and rude boy fashions came back into use after the

2 tone Two-tone, two tone, or 2 tone, etc., may refer to: Audio and sound * Two-tone analysis, in nonlinear system measurement * Two-tone attention signal * Two-tone chime, such as the "ding dong" sound of a doorbell * Two-tone sequential paging, sel ...

band the Specials (notably with a cover of "

A Message to You Rudy "A Message to You Rudy" is a 1967 rocksteady song by Dandy Livingstone. Originally titled "Rudy a Message to You", the song later achieved broader success when, in 1979, a cover version by The Specials reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart. ...

") and their record label

2 Tone Records 2 Tone Records was an English independent record label that mostly released ska and reggae-influenced music with a punk rock and pop music overtone. It was founded by Jerry Dammers of the Specials and backed by Chrysalis Records. History ...

instigated a brief but influential ska revival.Panter, Horace. ''Ska'd for Life''. Sidgwick & Jackson, 2007. In this same spirit, the Clash contributed " Rudie Can't Fail" on their 1979 album '' London Calling'', and The Ruts their 1980 single "Staring at the Rude Boys". In more recent times in multicultural Britain, the term rudeboy has become associated with street or urban culture, and is a common greeting. The term rudeboy has become associated with music genres such as ragga, jungle,

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

, UK garage, and grime – although is still used by many ska and Ska Punk bands, old and new – predominantly in the UK and USA.

References

{{Counterculture of the 1960s Ska Jamaican youth culture Youth culture in the United Kingdom Jamaican culture 1960s neologisms

Jamaica

United Kingdom

See also

References