Yardie (or Yawdie) is a term stemming from the slang name originally given to occupants of "government yards"—social housing projects with very basic amenities—in Trenchtown, a neighbourhood in West Kingston, Jamaica. Trenchtown was originally built as a housing project following devastation caused by Hurricane Charlie. Each development was built around a central courtyard with communal cooking facilities. Poverty, crime, and gang violence became endemic in the neighbourhood, leading the occupants of Trenchtown to be in part stigmatised by the term "Yardie".
Is the gangster culture is coming from the music? Many Caribbean songs now glorify the gang culture and often describe gruesome and grotesque murders, mothers weeping for the dead sons and even the difficulties police would have in solving the murders
Maybe the other caribbean islands should look at the amazing success of the Grenada model in dealing with youth violence and youth gangs. Grenada has been able to squash close to 95% of the youth gangs in the country and reform the majority of participants.