Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(UK black) a tough, intransigent black man who rejects the constraints / demands of establishment society, thus attrib.

[1882		Nat. Police Gaz. (NY) 10 June 3/4: [A]lthough he has lost both legs and Is compelled to drag himself along on two short crutches, has gained quite a reputation as a ‘bad man’ and a rough-and-tumble fighter] .
1940		Davis & Dollard Children of Bondage 199: Martin associated with a clique of boys who were gun-toters, thieves, and ‘bad men.’ His best friend was sentenced to the penitentiary.
1958		D. Burley N.Y. Amsterdam News 6 Feb. 11: Jones himself was no tenderfoot and had his own reputation as a ‘badman’ .
1964		R.D. Abrahams Deep Down in the Jungle 35: Naturally the heroes of the group are going to be the bad men, Stackolee and Jesse James.
1970		R.D. Abrahams Positively Black 80: It is this ‘tombstone disposition’ which seems most characteristic of these badmen, because it illustrates a willingness to place one’s life on the line, perhaps to die if only the dying can be done in proper style.
1980		E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines 228: bad-ass(ed) nigger 1. Troublemaker. 2. Fighter. 3. Hot-tempered person. 4. General reference to a male who mistreats or demeans another, especially a female. [...] bad man.
1994		M. Ribowsky Don’t Look Back 161: Jackson, the numbers king of Homestead [...] whose dark image gave the rather square Grays a dose of badman cool.
2005		Jade LB Keisha the Sket (2021) 80: ‘Imma bad man. U neva kno?’.
2008		A. Wheatle Dirty South 56: It couldn’t spoil the feeling I had, the feeling of being a badman.
2014-20		T. Thorne (ed.) ‘Drill Slang Glossary’ at Forensic Linguistic Databank 🌐 Badmanz — gangster.