What is a rude boy?
A rude boy is not just an impolite male child. The street-cool toughs of Kingston, Jamaica, dressed nattily in the latest and hip-est threads were known as rude boys and they ruled the Kingstown dance halls. (Read rude as chill or dope or, if you are older, cool, or if older still, reet). The term spread to the UK, and was revived by second-wave Ska fans in the UK.
Academic Caribbean historian Horace Campbell writes, in Rasta and Resistance:
Between 1964 and 1967 a subculture of angry youths developed in the [Jamaican] society. Answering to the pseudonym Rude Bwoy [sic] and searching for for avenues
of self-expression and recognition, these unemployed youths were quickly integrated into the [ganga] export trade, many of them as enforcers. ... these young people created terror among working people, such that they were feared by both citizens and police.
Referring to Desmond Dekker's Rude Boy Train, 007, and other songs describing rude boy Melody Maker defined the term as ``a sort of cool super-hooligan.' Dekker sings:
Them a loot
Them a shoot
Then a wail
At Shanty Town
When rude boy deh 'pon probation
Then rude boy a-bomb up the town.
Obviously, rude boys are the people your mother warned you about. For a cinematic example, check out Jimmy Cliff's portrayal of real-life rude boy Ivanhoe Martin Rhygin in the film The Harder They Come.
Laurence Cane-Honeysett wrote on:
From the summer of 1966, up until 1967, a whole series of records referring to the exploits of so-called Rude Boys were released in Jamaica. Almost every major artist on the island recorded material featuring lyrics either condemning or defending the actions of the young men who spread mayhem across the island. Some described the Rude Boys as no more than glorified hooligans, who caused trouble for trouble's sake, while others depicted them as heroes, akin to the gangsters and cowboys featured in the popular films of the day. To most, however, they were simply victims of the deprived social conditions into which they were born and subsequently raised. Whichever way one viewed them, the Rude Boys were an established part of Jamaican life and had been around long before the glut of releases which drew attention to there activities.
The main reason for the sudden interest was the explosion of violence during the summer of 1966, undoubtedly agitated to a large degree by the exceptionally hot weather. By October, following six deaths over the preceding three months, the Jamaican government declared a state of emergency and instructed the police and military to cordon off the trouble zone in Kingston and enforce a 10pm to 6am curfew. The fact that this period coincides with one of the major transformations in Jamaican music is no coincidence. The heat which had made tempers become frayed had also made dancing to Ska an exhausting experience and it was a natural progression to slow the tempo of the music. Eventually the rhythm slowed to such an extent that it became a completely new sound - Ska had been replaced by Rocksteady. By early 1967, both the weather and tempers had cooled and the Rude Boy theme became less frequent in song lyrics. Over the years that followed, Rude Boys were rarely mentioned and despite the success of Perry Hanzell's film, The Harder They Come, which starred Jimmy Cliff as the doomed anti-hero, 'Ivanhoe Martin Rhygin', they featured only occasionally in songs such as the Slicker's Johnny Too Bad. Towards the end of the seventies, British Ska bands such as The Specials and Madness re-invented the image of the Rude Boy, presenting him as a fun-loving young man, attired in a stylish two-tone suit and a pork-pie hat, more akin to the MoD's of the sixties than the original Jamaican version. The British Rude Boy was not to last, however, and following the demise of the Ska revival, he quickly vanished. Since then, Rude Boys seem to have been all but forgotten outside Jamaica ... until now!
Today, a Rude Boy or Rude Girl is a dedicated Ska fan, with a sense of history, style and the Ska scene. A trendy poseur *cannot* be rude.
Rudy is synonymous with Rude Boy and Rude Girl. Of course the only
difference is in the sex. Melody Maker described a Rude Boy as a "sort of
cool super-hooligan," where 'rude' in Jamaican usage means wild, violent,
or reckless. Rude Boys were a product of the mean streets of Shanty Town,
as described in Desmond Dekker's "007 (Shanty Town)" (1967), "Rude Boy
Train" (1968), and a host of other Dekker releases. Shanty Town refers to
Dekker's home, the overcrowded slums of West Kingston, Jamaica. The area
was plagued with unemployment, tension, and violence. An Associated Press
story noted that it contained "ramshackle dwellings, the majority of them
made of cardboard, plywood, corrugated metal or some other discarded
material."
Due to very repressive police policies, only a few "rudies"
actually went around looting and shooting. But every teenage male
in Trench Town adopted the rude attitude and dress, especially a
jaunty cap. In the popular culture, "Rudy" became an outlaw hero
figure, like Jesse James, Billy The Kid, or even James Bond.
During the '50s and '60s many Jamaicans and other West Indies immigrated to
the UK. In addition to the Mod influence, Skinheads
adopted the Rude Boy music, tough street -level
attitude and various aspects of their fashion. These days Rude Boys can be
typically identified wearing a dark suit, thin black tie, and pork-pie hat.
Rude Girls appear to have more freedom in their fashion.
How the Rude Girl looks:
The norm seems to be either the Fred Perry, short skirt (dark color or
plaid is common), ankle socks and loafers look (fishnets and 3 button
jackets optional) a la the usual skinhead girl out on the town look,
or the A line dress, usually two tone in color it seems with nice low
heel shoes. Hair seems to range from the chelsea (which I'm seeing a
lot more grown out these days) to a bob, sasoon style, or for longer
hair, a flip (which works well with the A line dress). If you can find
a Mondrian patterned dress, you'll win the heart of every guy in the
room!
These are pretty much the recognizable looks, but be creative! Don't
fall for the checkerboard myth. It's not as cool as everyone thinks.
There are more colors in the spectrum than black and white and if I
never see a short plaid skirt again in my life, I'll die a happy man.
Pleats are right out, and don't underestimate a well fitting double
breasted car coat for the colder weather coming up. Flights are
functional, but the skinhead crowd more than supplies an ample number
of those at shows. Parkas are warm, but most girls I've seen wearing
them end up looking like they've raided dad's closet.
Experiment, find something that looks smart that everyone else isn't
necessarily wearing. If you've got the flip thing going on, try a
scarf a la "That Girl" Marlo Thomas every once in a while, it works!
