The Rude Boy culture in Jamaica Essay

With them they brought an important piece of their culture, the Jamaican "Rude-Boy." Originating in the poorer communities of Kingston, Jamaica, the Rude Boy culture resonated with many white low income men and helped to create the "Skinhead" phenomena. The original skinhead subculture was comprised of Jamaican Rude Boys and British skinheads, together they bonded over similar social status causing a collision of their respective musical styles The migration intermixed two tones, a mix between the traditional skinhead punk rock and Jamaican ska.
\r when society, unemployment, and poverty took basic human rights away, these poor and unemployed youth came together to form the Rude Boy subculture. Their style and subculture mirrored many followers of ska, but they altered the music to fit a new free form and aggressive style. The RudeBoy style was entirely new and unseen in Jamaica they, "favored sharp suits, thin ties, and pork pie or Trilby hats, showing an influence of the fashions of American jazz musicians and soul music artists." Another interest that shaped the rude boy image was the American cowboy and gangster/outlaw films. Many unemployed Jamaican youths found jobs as sound system operators for competitive dances in Jamaica. They were known for intruding and messing up competitors' dances "leading to the term dancehall crasher".The Rude Boy lifestyle which was characterized by violence that began at the dances gave rise to a music genre. People began to associate with the term Rude Boy with ska and rocksteady music. Many artists sang about rude boys with mixed emotions, their lyrics either "promoted or rejected rude boy violence." Rude Boy culture hit its stride "Between 1964 and 1967 a subculture of angry youths developed in the [Jamaican] society. Answering to the psuedonym "Rude Bwoy" The exploits of the Rude Boys became legendary in the lyrics of ska music." During the immigration of many Jamaican citizens to the U.K. the culture that was built in Kingston, Jamaica popularized and formed skinhead culture.
Although many believe that skinheads are a segregated racist organization the initial skinheads were mainly defined on social statues, and were uninformed in race and politics. The first wave of skinheads appeared in England in 1969. Skinheads bonded together because of their common working class membership. They all followed and developed a dress code. Starting with the shaved head, "high doc martens , jeans, Ben Sherman shirts and Fred Perry polo, braces." Skinheads began shaving their heads to prevent accidents in low level factories. The spirit of the skinhead movement in the late 1960's and early 1970's had no correlation with politics and racism. It was meant as a spirit of celebration for a culture that had finally found it's spot in society. Originally, skinheads started off as lower class factory workers with little education. This initial skinhead movement rode 10 years of steam in the mid-1970s, then revived thanks to the revival of ska bands like Madness, the spacial or Bad manners. Their culture was deeply inspired by the Jamaican rude boys.