'Well Look Who's Back': A Review of The Repeat Riddim by Various Artists

Outside of the big and constantly producing labels which fill digital and physical release shelves, I’m well noticing a very nice and fulfilling group of younger labels that I find it very important to keep an eye on as well. While these brands may not be neither as prominent nor as active as the bigger ones, when you look at what they’re doing, it’s hard to imagine that, should they continue, they wouldn’t taking a bigger role in the scene of Reggae music as well. Currently, the prime example of such a label well along in this process is definitely Curtis Lynch Jr.’s Necessary Mayhem. You could ALREADY make the case that they are have become one of the biggest in the world with the amount of work they’ve gone on to do and certainly in the regional discussion - The UK based imprint deals with some of the biggest talents in the world and in my opinion are well on their way to being one of the biggest groups around, not only in England. And I’ll even point to labels like one of my favourites, Lustre Kings Productions. While nearing a decade of existence (if not having passed it already) the label has essentially come what it is going to be and what it is, is a very solid group with fans worldwide which is much more than it was when it started and the same could be said for the ever-growing Itation, who just seems to have their material in such a strong order that them not rising and becoming even bigger is just a hard thing to envision. That being said, however, when you take a look at all of those labels that I’ve mentioned thus far, they fall, geographically speaking, in not too unfamiliar places. Of course, with Necessary Mayhem, the UK is and has pretty much always been a hotbed for Reggae music and the fact that it has one of the largest populations of Caribbean people in the world also helps with offering it this kind of ‘built-in’ audience. And in the cases of both the Lustre Kings and Itation - Well they’re from California in the States and . . . Well I shouldn’t have to tell you how pretty RIDICULOUSLY popular Reggae is in that region as it seems that almost every single artist that I research these days is either currently on tour, planning a tour or just wrapping a tour of California and the surrounding areas. Certainly no one is going to confuse Reggae-loving California or the Reggae-needing UK (seriously, you know Caribbean can’t live without Reggae music, stop it) with the Reggae . . . I don’t know of Philadelphia, which perhaps goes to make it even nicer each and every time we get to ‘travel’ back to the area, courtesy of the boys at Philadub Records.

When we last left (about eleven months ago), Philadub Records had released their second riddim project, the very strong album for The Mighty Right Riddim. That piece was well carried through and I would ultimately go on to score it as number seven on the list of The Top Ten Contemporary Reggae Compilations of 2009 and deservedly so, still, in retrospect. And of course the source of appreciation for Philadub also dates back to 2009 as they dropped one of the best albums of the year (ranked #9 by yours truly) (maybe a little low in retrospect), ”Justice” from Lutan Fyah. I believe I may’ve made the joke somewhere along the line that the company could rather simply make their existence dropping riddim albums for the various GORGEOUS pieces which backed the tunes on the ”Justice” album, after doing just that with the aforementioned Mighty Right Riddim. Well . . . Okay maybe I had a pretty good idea. Philadub hasn’t been the most active of labels, but because of that big album and that big riddim release (and the fact that, personally, they’ve been very nice to us), it certainly has made them one to watch for me, as I said, so I was VERY happy to see that for their first release of 2010, they did just what I joked that they might and brought forth a next riddim project, the sterling Repeat Riddim album. At this rate of releasing an album for every riddim on ”Justice” once annually, Philadub (by my almost certainly incorrect calculations) should have covered every riddim there by the year 2023 and if I’m still walking the planet (and 42 years old) (yuck), I’ll still be paying attention. Like the excellent Mighty Right riddim, the Repeat is a kind of aggressive one-drop piece which almost sounds kind of ‘angry‘ at times. I‘m thinking that, on sound alone, more of the old school crowd will absolutely and immediately eat this one up (and it won‘t be hard) (more on that in a minute). Another of the main characteristics that stick out for the HEAVY Repeat Riddim, like the Mighty Right, is just how well done it is and how well it was carried through. It may not exactly blow you away (but it might) and, hell, you might not even like Reggae music too much, but strictly from a musicianship and musical craftsmanship aspect, you’d have to admit just how strong this composition is. It also is pretty inviting - A lot of times you hear productions where it’s clear just how far a producer or a musician tried to take a riddim and do too much with it and that’s a quality, listening back to the album and listening here, which is probably pretty underrated for Philadub - They simply make vibes which don’t need much help to be conveyed to the listener and, more importantly, to the vocal artists. The result of that is a phenomenon which kind of hit me in the middle of this release, which is that you have certain producers/labels, and apparently Philadub is one such (I Grade is another), who can make riddim sets and not tinker with the original sound of the composition too much (if any at all) between different artists and STILL be able to create a unique sound on each tune because what happens is that the artist sounds SO comfortable on the riddim that he/SHE makes it their own. Whether that’s by design or not, I can’t tell, but what I can tell is that should you have the slightest interest in what turns out to be one of the stronger Roots Reggae riddims explored in 2010, you might consider getting your hands on Philadub’s Repeat Riddim.

So let’s just get the formalities out of the way, shall we? The Mighty Right Riddim checked in at seventeen tracks, including one of the clean version of the riddim and SIXTEEN different vocal tracks. The Repeat??? It has seven different vocal tracks. I am greedy as hell. You know I need more and particularly when I already know one of the tracks quite well. So while it’s pretty unlikely, should Philadub want to run the ‘Repeat Vol. 2’ or ‘Repeat Expanded’ at some point, I’d have no problem with that.

I also have no problem at all with the artist selection here, not even with Lukie D who starts off matters on Philadub Records’ Repeat Riddim with his nice tune ‘My Type’. Of course, I’ve never been the largest fan of Lukie’s, but I have to admit when he does well and here, he’s done very well with the captivating tune. I’d also like to remind you what I said when I mentioned how nicely Philadub’s work seems to work so broadly and so comfortably for a wide variety of artists, giving them a nice unique sound. You listen to this song and, strictly based on the way Lukie D sings it, it almost sounds kind of R&B-ish, but there is NOTHING R&B-ish about the Repeat, still it sounds so under him. Well done. It doesn’t AT ALL have that sound (despite the fact that it doesn’t change very much, at least not my ears) when Lukie D passes the Repeat to the very familiar vocals of the oft-aforementioned Lutan Fyah for ‘Show Me Some Love’. You probably shouldn’t need me to say it but I will anyway - This is the best tune you’re going to hear on the riddim, it nearly (and arguably) was the finest moment on ”Justice” and for as much as I’ve listened to it over the past year or so, it’s only gotten better to my ears.

“Hey trust me
Babylon city full ah dirt and dusty
Dem waan fi treat di ghetto youths dem kruffly
Tell dem seh wi smooth and wi no roughly
Hey, none ah dem can touch wi
Hey dem too filthy!
Ghetto youth find out seh dem no innocent, dem guilty!
Hey, look how dem work us so hard and dem ah milk wi!”

The tune is essentially one WICKED piece of social commentary with the Fyah, unsurprisingly, ultimately relying lyrically on ‘LOVE’ as the missing component to make society a much better place. And it’s just such an interesting tune with how it is built - It’s always interesting to me how Fyah does his tunes so NEATLY, it’s almost like he writes them in his sleep. The final tune of opening bunch (which is almost half of the vocal tracks) goes to the biggest name voicing the Repeat Riddim, super star Anthony B who brings us ‘Rasta Livity’. The riddim, as they always do, brings surprises and surprise performers and performances, but that being said, I would’ve honestly been disappointed had Philadub not brought at least one more, on paper, big name SUPREMELY talented artist, after Lutan Fyah and definitely Anthony B fills that role (and you‘ll recall this is following the Mighty Right which featured the likes of Fyah, Capleton, Luciano, Jah Mason, Ras Shiloh, Tony Rebel, Perfect etc.) and then some. The chanter is in a fine form on his tune as well as he approaches nearly vintage Anthony B and does so with a nice and pretty subtle bit of energy that shows itself on the very straight forward big tune from the veteran.

The remaining four vocal tracks on the Repeat Riddim features two unexpected acts as well as two very (very) expected performers as well. As for the couple we didn’t expect to hear here, first up is Skilli Bangs on ‘As A Rastaman’. The title of the tune, itself, is somewhat revealing, because I don’t know a lot about Bangs, but he’s an up and coming talent who shot out earlier this year (or maybe even later last year) with the big tune ‘Elements’ (also available digitally right now) and one to keep an eye out for in the future with his very nice free-flowing and rough around the edges style of vibing. And there’s also the well functioning duo of Andrew Wright & Tippa Lee who chime in with the very straight forward, but more than solid ‘Love Jah’. These two run what has to be considered one of the stronger pairings currently in Reggae music (in terms of quality) and despite the fact that we so rarely (unfortunately) run into their music, when we do, it’s a big deal and here is no exception. For as simple as it is, ‘Love Jah’ is a BIG praising tune for His Majesty and if you’ve never heard Andrew Wright & Tippa Lee, definitely let this piece be your formal introduction because it is a heavy vibes (and not to mention what happens after the vocals conclude) (more on that in a minute).

As for the couple of names you very well expected to see here - First up is the heart and soul of Philadub, Gardian (who unsurprisingly adds a bit of flare to his own riddim for his tune, in the form of an electric guitar), with the lamenting ‘Broken Hearted’. I’m slowly but surely waking up to Gardian’s music and it certainly helps matters that almost every time I hear him he’s on his own productions and, as you might expect, he does shine (strange accent and all). And lastly there’s [Burning] Spectacular who is ‘Hotta Than Lava’. I definitely have a ‘love-hate relationship’ with Spectacular’s music because the man simply has one of the strangest and rarest of talents (I.e. being able to YELL AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS without sacrificing even a bit of melody) when at his best, but consistency seems to be a problem for him. Philadub seems to draw out the best of him these days (along with Irie Ites), so hopefully that’s a link that continues because this tune is another very strong offering from Spectacular on a Philadub riddim.

The Repeat Riddim album also includes three riddim tracks, WONDERFULLY. As I alluded to, on ‘Love Jah’, roughly 4:20 into the tune the vocals fade out and it goes straight instrumental on the riddim which is a BIG kind of warning shot of what is to come. First is ‘Show Me Some DUB’, a dubbed out version of Lutan Fyah’s huge tune (which was a bonus track for the ”Justice” album, if I recall correctly). It’s gorgeous - Absolutely gorgeous. We also, thankfully, get the straight riddim track which is always a nice touch from labels/producers smart enough to include it and this one is very nice as well. I’m thinking that, for a change, it actually sounds better with a vocalist, which is pretty rare actually, but again maybe that goes back to Philadub’s style. And lastly, if you get the bigger version (see note), you’ll also receive a straight dub of the Repeat Riddim which is probably one of the biggest vibes you’ll find here. I’ve never been the biggest fan of Dub (but have certainly been more and more interested as of late), but this is top notch material for a riddim which sounds so HEAVY that it almost seems to be begging for someone to bend it over and Dub the ever-living life out of it.

Overall, I’ll restate the fact that - Yeah, we need more than seven different vocal tracks and as I said in regards to the Mighty Right Riddim, I well think that Philadub Records should start mixing in a bit of the very talents Empresses on their productions as well. Besides that, however, you’re going to have a really difficult time telling me that this isn’t top notch work. As I said, even if it isn’t completely on your vibes or it’s just not your style, should you possess at least semi-functioning ears, you’re going to be able to appreciate the level of craftsmanship and obvious time given to this work. And speaking of time, apparently Philadub Records are already back at work with riddim projects forthcoming as well as a next album fro Gardian so hopefully, with big vibes like this, we won’t have to wait another eleven months to get the followup to the Repeat Riddim - Although I’d wait if I had to, even if it took until 2023. Well done.

Rated 4/5
Philadub Records
2010
Digital


Philadub Records

{NOTE: There're apparently two versions of The Repeat Riddim available digitally. One has 9 tracks, sans the Dub and the tenth track on the other edition is the Dub version}