Skinhead roots began during the late 1960's when the Jamaican rude boy subculture mingled with the British mod subculture. A rude boy is best defined as a "cool super-hooligan." Rude in Jamaican vernacular meant wild, violent, or reckless. These rude boys were best portrayed in such songs as Desmond Dekker's "007 (Shanty Town)", "Rude Boy Train", and many other such releases. A rude boy is now portrayed as a person who listens to reggae and ska music primarily, dressing in nice clothes and suits. The term mod is short for modernist. Mod is a direct outgrowth of Post War Britain, when all the teenagers suddenly had a

Oi! is street punk, plain and simple. The word Oi comes from Cockney slang meaning "Hey." It is also a shortening of the Greek "oi polloi," meaning common people. Oi! Began more as a movement than as a sound. Oi! Bands sung about real issues faced by youth in the UK, such as unemployment, prison, authority, and social injustices. Many of the original and most revered bands had an obvious left-wing slant. The first time the word Oi! was used in a song was by the Cockney Rejects, singing "Oi! Oi! Oi!." Gary Bushell gave these street punk bands of the late seventies/early eighties the name Oi because they refused to be a part of the plastic punk genre. Bushell also gave the world its first taste of Oi! in the Oi! The Album compilation. This compilation exposed many people to the movement and preceded the numerous Oi! compilations that followed it. The forefathers of Oi! Sham 69, The Lurkers, Cockney Rejects, CockSparrer, Angelic Upstarts, and the Business, played what the smarter press of the time called real punk. Around 1980, the 4-Skins, Infa Riot, The Last Resort, Combat 84 other like-minded bands began appearing all over England. The impact of the early 1980's Oi! scene could be felt around the world. When Oi! hit American soil, it found its way into the hardcore scene, influencing many other scenes instantly. Socially, Oi! is the converging of skinheads and street punks, emphasizing working-class concerns and themes. The main themes being labor, fighting, drinking, self-pride, self-respect, also known as the politics of life. Such bands as Blitz, The Oppressed, Anti-Heros, The Bruisers, Patriot, and the Dropkick Murphy's are all fine examples of Oi! music.

The last of the three main musical genres listened to by skinheads would be none other than punk rock. Punk rock is a melding of loud, snarling vocals, and overly distorted guitars grinding away as fast as they can. Punk rock came around during the late 1970's. In Britain, the Sex Pistols broke down the walls of society, singing anthems of anarchy and chaos. While the clash taught the world about the rhythms of punk through life in London. At the same time, in the USA, the Ramones broke loose and did their part to bring punk rock to the eyes of everyday society. These bands are often referred to the first punk bands ever. When punk exploded in both countries society saw them as violent, troublesome youth trying to overthrow the system. Punk has gone through many changes since its inception in the seventies. Some of the most noticeable punk bands are U.S. Bombs, Rancid, Germs, and Social Distortion.

While skinheads weren't being hooligans, they listened to and still listen to many different genres of music. The most common forms of music listened to by skinheads are as follow: Oi!, a form of street punk, '77 style punk, which was the first years of punk, and ska. Oi

Some common words found in the essay are:
SHARP Laces, War Britain, SKINHEADS Skinheads, Oi Music, Skatalites Second-, Nazi Party, Punk Ska, Distortion Skinheads, Boot Crew, USA Ramones, punk rock, rude boy, street punk, punk bands, oi oi, doesn't stand, skinheads usually, late 1970's, style punk punk, supporters clubs, boots braces, steel toed boots, '77 style punk,
Approximate Word count = 1941
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)