Get Up Edina!

I Don't Know Much About History
by Joanna Wallace

I have been in this culture a very long time. Longer than some, not as long as others. One thing I have noticed in the past 6 years or so is the fall of the Rude Boy/Rude Girl culture. This past week, I realized this while going through old zines and whatnot, looking for information while writing the Laurel Aitken article I just put up. What happend to this culture? Was it overtaken by checkers and oversized ties? Did the people just get sick of it? Or did it not even exist as some claim?

When you type in "rude boy" or "rude girl" on Google, or almost any search engine for that matter, what pops up? A lot of awful photos of pre-pubescent teens in large black ties and checkers and sneakers and just all over black-and-white badness. Just awful. This is a far cry from the original pompus Jamaican rude bwoys that ran the streets of kingston in the late 60's and early 70's. So how did this happen? I believe that there are many generations of how this has come to be.

I'm sure most people reading this right now are hardcore Jamaican music fans, like myself. So when people like us think "Rude Boy", we think of the Rocksteady era in which Jamaican Superstars sang songs to either condone or tried to bring their behavior to a hault. These gun and switchblade toting men were angry with how the government did not bring in the goods in which they promised after Jamaica gained its independence in 1962. Most of Jamaica was very poverty stricken, very unsafe, and it was difficult to find food, all in which they thought would be eliminated after their independence was achieved. These Rude Boys became quite a problem in Jamaica, as they'd loot and shoot to get their way, also participating in trafficking drugs and supporting prostitution all the while. They were NOT a good thing for the police or the common people during this time, causing lots of panic and instability in every day life. Where do the "Rude Girls" come into play in this era? Usually the Rude Girls were the girlfriends of said Rude Boys, or prostitutes that helped participate in their unlawful activities. That's something to be proud of.
So how did "Rude Boys" and "Rude Girls" become associated with ska, when they originated in the rocksteady era?
Most of you know that at the dawning of the 2Tone era, founder Jerry Dammers created Walt Jabsco, the symbol synnonymous with 2Tone records and Rude Boys worldwide. Walt Jabsco was based off of an image of Peter Tosh, from The Wailers. Almost overnight, this symbol became a cult icon in which boys and girls based their fashion off of. This started a whole new definition of "Rude Boys" and "Rude Girls", which is just as legitimate as the outlaws of Jamaica post-independence. This new subculture was mainly young adults in the United Kingdom, as well as througout Europe who followed the beliefs and music style of 2Tone and Ska from Jamaica. These people were also known to get rowdy, fight, drink too much, and cause trouble, but over a different reason than just unkept promises. During this whole period, England in particular was going through a lot of political changes, most notably the extreme right wing associations like The National Front and The British Movement. Madness had a very large Skinhead following, and both associations used their shows as recruitment conventions for support. Skinhead violence during this time was looked down upon in the media, but The Young National Front's paper, The Bulldog, was glorifying it as "their" skinheads were fighting for "their" cause, even though most of the time, both skinheads and rudies that were featured weren't associated with either organization. With all these politics going on, the scene was split, and fights were just started over political association...whether about being associated with the NF or the BM, or just stepping on one's loafer, fights were to be had. The 2Tone label, which was known for its multi-racial friendliness was accused of being a racist label, despite the fact that every band signed on at the time was multi-racial. Needless to say, this second generation of rude boys and rude girls also had a reason and cause in their time, and helped bring awareness to their cause by starting a rucous, just like the original rude boys in Jamaica.
During the floating period, between the second definition of the Rude Boy/Girl culture and the third (which we'll get to), let me get to the half way point, which most people don't even think about. The uprising of the US's Rude boy and Rude girl scene. During the mid 80's, right at about the time when the 2Tone movement died the second that The Fun Boy 3 put on their eyeliner, bands started popping up here on American soil in Southern California and New York City. This was the start of the Third Definition, which ended up getting quite ugly. I was very young when this came around, but I was lucky enough to see small glimpses. My neighbor who was also my babysitter was into this music. He dressed full out, and so did his friends. Some of my earliest memories are of him and two of his friends putting records on a portable record player and dancing while I sat and watched. These boys wore small brimmed pork pie hats, very fitted oxford shirts, and pegged pants. They all had sort of cropped hair (about an inch) and wore big sunglases (oh jeeze). When I was young, I wasn't sure what it was all about, but when I was about 12, I found myself dressing in a similar (but feminine) way and hanging out with people that did, too. In my opinion, this was the golden age of the modern Rude boy/Rude girl culture. During this period, it had proven to stick along the same lines of music, the same simplistic but modern fashion, and the same principles. The people had old Jamaican music, and more modern 2Tone, as well as America's answer to 2Tone (acts like The Toasters, Boitovision, The Donkeyshow...). It was still underground, and people were content.
Then came "Definition Three".
The third definition is the one that is still prevelent today. It is the bastardization of a culture that was consistant through time. The ska-boom of the mid 90's. Although many acts worldwide were doing their version of Jamaican styled music or 2Tone, certain bands were mixing horns and pop punk and labeled it ska, despite the fact that compositionally, had very little in common with the true ska. For some reason, these bands were doing the right thing at the right time, and got lots of media attention. Bands like Reel Big Fish, No Doubt, Goldfinger, and Buck-o-Nine all managed to cash in on this "ska craze". Smart on their behalf, as I'm sure they're still getting cash, but they also helped mislabel a whole genre and subculture. Then came "Skaturday" on MTV, hosted by Carson Daly, clad in a wretched black and white suit, a-la Walt Jabsco/Peter Tosh. Sure, this may have helped point some kids that were interested in true ska in the right direction, but I'm sure that Carson Daly stating that rude boys wear black and white suits just helped futher blasphemize this music. During this time, I saw more than my share of wide black ties and ill-fitting suits. I saw more than my share of people in completely checkered outfits. I saw more than my share of people leave because they didn't want to be associated with such people. During this time, "Rude Boy", "Rude Girl", and "Ska" became dirty words. It became opposite of what it was before. Intelligent, sharp-dressed 20-somethings were replaced by goofy, bad tie-wearing young teens.
I remember when people would proudly refer to themselves as Rude Boys and Rude Girls. I don't think I've heard someone call themselves that in well over five years, besides those "checkered weirdos" (as asnis purins referred to them as.) It seems that all the ones I knew became skinheads even though they said they never would, and there is nothing wrong with that....Except the fact that they are helping lay to rest the culture that they were in for years for less hair and a stronger subculture identity.
So here, at the begining of the 21st century, will there be another revival? Will it be for the better or worse? On my recent trip to California, I saw some people that were dressed the part, but since I did not talk to them, I cannot be one to judge. Will there be another culture born of people who appreciate Jamaican music and dress nicely besides modern traditional skinheads? There is a fine line between modern day traditional skinheads and mods, and those are the rude boys and rude girls, the fanatics for Jamaican music. Is that fine line gone for good?

****Photo above is from an old rude boy/rude girl fashion spread in "Rude International"****