Junglist is a slang term which first referred to a person living in an area of West

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), 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 spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, called Jungle.Cassell's dictionary of slang By Jonathon Green
/ref> It was later used as a term to refer to someone who is a dedicated listener of

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

and/or drum & bass music. Tracks from this genre often contain calls and references to the "original junglists" and "jungle soldiers".

History

The term itself is connected with the origin of the name jungle. During the time of junglists, they were sometimes referred to as "rude bwoii", a slang term originally used by

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

ns (as rude boy), meaning "gangsta" or "badbwoy" ("bad boy"). The term refers to an inner city area of West Kingston, Jamaica, called Jungle (the subject of the

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

song "Concrete Jungle", from the Wailers album ''

Catch a Fire ''Catch a Fire'' is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers (aka Bob Marley and the Wailers), released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had sta ...

''). 'Junglist' developed into a slang term for outlaw toughs who have ostensibly survived- or operate according to the '

law of the jungle "The law of the jungle" (also called jungle law) is an expression that has come to describe a scenario where "anything goes". The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines the Law of the Jungle as "''the code of survival in jungle life'', now usuall ...

'. Certain tracks made references to the "original rudebwoys" or "original gangstas" as denoting particularly respected junglists. Most members of this sub-culture took great pride in the music created by jungle producers. Unlike some urban styles of music, drug-dealing is rarely mentioned in drum and bass tracks, but several MCs sometimes feature lyrics in relation. The only generally accepted illegal activity in the subculture are drug use and

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

. Junglists often consume

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

perhaps arising from the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

roots of jungle music. Other terms applied to junglists in varying degrees are "

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

rs" or "drum and bassheads". Junglists belong to what is seen as a predominantly UK-based drum and bass

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture, cultural society that differentiates itself from the values of the conservative, standard or dominant culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures ...

. As a subculture, however, it is not nearly as distinct as goth or

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

to the untrained eye, where members can often distinguish each other by their mannerisms and fashion without hearing their choice of music. Many of those who identify as Junglists adopt a mix of rasta, rudebwoy and B-Boy fashions since jungle, drum and bass and hip hop have close ties as subcultures.

Ali G Alistair Leslie Graham, better known as Ali G, is a satirical fictional character created and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. A faux-streetwise poseur from Staines, England, Ali G speaks in rude boy-style Multicultural Londo ...

could be seen as a parody junglist (e.g. dressing in camouflage and listening to loud drum and bass music in his car;

M-Beat Marlon Hart (born 1975), known professionally as M-Beat, is a Jungle music, jungle musician and record producer. The nephew of Sly Dunbar, Hart scored three top 20 Hit song, hit singles on the UK singles chart: "Incredible (M-Beat song), Incredi ...

and General Levy's "

Incredible Incredible may refer to: Music Albums * ''Incredible'' (Clique Girlz album) or the title song, 2008 * ''Incredible'' (Gary Puckett & The Union Gap album), 1968 * ''Incredible'' (Ilse DeLange album), 2008 * ''Incredible'' (Mary Mary album) or ...

" was played in the Ali G

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

and appearing on its soundtrack), though he could also be treated as a parody of an avid

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

listener.

References

External links

Concrete Jungle
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225142312/http://www.shmoop.com/concrete-jungle/ , date=2014-12-25
Junglist Download
Drum and bass Musical subcultures