Signs of Life

Where is the fucking Dancehall? Despite the fact that I write almost everyday and I find myself writing about Roots Reggae (and even Soca) at a ratio of at least 6 to 1 when compared to Dancehall these days, I STILL consider myself a Dancehall head at heart. But now, ‘Dancehall Heads’ are a bit brainless and headless because . . . If you REALLY listen, there isn’t much Dancehall being made. Of course our artists are still quite (over)active, but they’re NOT really doing Dancehall anymore for the most part. The genre has seemingly become this bastardized ‘Hip-Hall’ shit, combining with not only Hip-Hop, but a variety of, generally ‘urban’, genres at any given opportunity and I cannot fucking stand it! There is something which is nearly paralyzingly beautiful about a carefully (or uncarefully, I really don’t care too much) crafted DANCEHALL Riddim which isn’t even best explained by words. Instead, while such a thing is surely an endangered species these days, I thought that I’d narrow it down a bit by showing a few people who’ve gotten it right as of late. These are a few ACTUAL Dancehall riddims - Signs of life in a genre which is apparently and unfortunately on life-support.

{Note: Obviously I tried to focus on releases which are readily and officially available from the last year or two}
{Note 2: I also tried, however unsuccessfully, to avoid definitive remakes and re-releases of older riddims}
{Note 3: Riddims are listed only in alphabetical order}

#1. The Bad People Riddim [Di Genius]

. . . Hidden Dragon. Stephen ‘Di Genius’ McGregor went through the surely tedious process of literally BURYING the Bad People Riddim behind as much FLUFFY shit of an intro that he could possibly think of. The result was that the first time I heard it, I can well remember rolling my eyes and thinking (and maybe even saying) (facetiously of course) ‘oh great another one’. I was right, however, it was another one. After all of that 10-15 seconds of flashiness, the Bad People Riddim ascends to this electrically POUNDING riddim which was given to the likes of Aidonia, Busy Signal (twice), Mavado, Ele, Bramma, T.O.K, Laden and even Frisco Kid. Still, the most shocking thing about this gorgeously VIOLENT thing was the fact that the Bad People came EQUIPPED with not one, but two WICKED tunes from the enigma that is [Baby] Cham.

Must Hear: ‘Bad People’ by Aidonia

#2. The Badda Don Riddim [Yard Vybz]

Shit! The Badda Don Riddim is better than you are. I’m sorry, but that’s just the way that it is and it’s time that you got used to it. You know you’re dealing with something special when a riddim can take some of your LEAST favourite artists and turn them into winners in your ears and that it is exactly what happened when I heard both Bling Dawg, Matterhorn and Wayne Marshall over this riddim. And not only that but the Baby G licked riddim also backs the tune ‘Some Gyal’ from Liquid and that tune is some mess . . . But I like it over this thing. Also to like are efforts from Beenie Man, Mavado, I-Octane and a surprising Pressure Busspipe. KNOCKING!

Must Hear: ‘Last Night’ by Pressure & ‘Coming Soon’ by Mavado

{note: If you want to pick this one up digitally, know that it is actually split into two different volumes}

#3. The Bankrobbers Riddim [Don Corleon]

Oh yeah. You know, I made this entire list (with no final number in mind and I’m probably going to still add or subtract from it even after writing this) and got to thinking that, after having (at least) two Big Ship riddims, I had nary a one from super producer, Don Corleon. The one I had in mind eventually turned out to be the heater that was the Bankrobbers Riddim. Okay - I have issues with this thing because, as it turns out, the vast majority of the artists riding it don’t do it very well, they don’t even come close actually. Still, just judging it on what IT is and the Bankrobbers sounds like a souped up something from out of 1996 with its infectious bounce and unrelenting NICENESS! I could mention names like Kartel, Beenie Man . . . Merital and Wayne Marshall - Yeah. You get the point. The only two tunes on the riddim with words worth paying attention to come from Ce’Cile (alongside Liquid) and Da Professor who does NAUGHTY things to riddim.

Must Hear: ‘Low We’ by Da Professor

#4. The Catalog Riddim [Di Genius]

Sounding Familiar. When McGregor REALLY began his ascent to the heights of Dancehall production, he had riddims going such as the Tremor, the 12 Gauge and the Power Cut which had this kind of EVIL sound to them. They were this BIG riddims which literally sounded like they had been plucked straight from action scenes in horror films (and spawned viciously violent tunes) and he most skillfully adapted them to (actual Dancehall riddims) and he kind of began a similar trend from a whole heap of different producers at around the same time as well. I mention this because when you dig into the Catalog Riddim, it only sounds a step or two away from such a vibes instantly breaking out and turning into 2006 again. But it doesn’t take those steps. Instead, the Catalog takes a very fortunate turn DIRECTLY into some madness best appreciated by Dancehall fans. With its INTENSE BANG tracing some of the best in the game (including Mr. McGregor) who actually bring good material, the Catalog is definitely one of Di Genius’ best riddims of all time.

Must Hear: The entire thing

{note: I STILL might review this thing someday}

#5. The Cosa Nostra Riddim [Ward 21]

Made Men. While the boys of Ward 21 have seen a very noticeable decline in their popularity as a vocal act over the past five years or so, what they’ve managed to do in that same time is reestablish their once potent name as a force in production. Certainly, at least as of late, the Cosa Nostra Riddim has played a large part in that. To my opinion, just in terms of the piece itself, this is probably the single best Dancehall riddim of 2010 and it just may be the greatest creation from Suku and co. since they SMASHED the door down with the Bellyas more than a decade ago at this point.

Must Hear: ‘Mi Ahgo Fi Mine’ by Assassin & ‘Tighta’ by Lady Saw

#6. The D.N.A. Riddim [TJ Records]

Stylish. I mentioned back at the Badda Don Riddim how I tend to notice when a certain riddim can make a bag of my least favourite vocalists sound good and while that’s definitely true - It well does capture my attention - An even greater way to do that is to do what happened on the D.N.A. Riddim. This POUNDING piece from TJ Records, at least for me, is highlighted by the fact that, perhaps greater than any other selection on this list, it PROMOTES SKILL. The three greatest pieces on the riddim, tunes from Assassin, Spice and Spragga Benz are three of the best Dancehall tunes I’ve heard in quite some time and when you look at some of the other names on the bill for the riddim - Beenie, Kartel, Aidonia and even Buju and Louie Culture, you can see that it was clear that the eye was (rightly) on bringing out the inherent old school SKILLFUL quality of the riddim and some of the new heads also did quite well.

Must Hear: ‘Back Broad’ by Spice

#7. The Enemy Lines Riddim [Code Red Records]

No Frills. Code Red Records dropped in with the Enemy Lines Riddim, which was (I THINK) their initial release and when they did they definitely got me looking in their direction because of the STRENGTH of the piece. This one, like the Badda Don and MAYBE the DNA riddims really succeeds to me based on the fact that, while it doesn’t try much, it exists as an absolutely beautiful and fitting HARDCORE DANCEHALL RIDDIM. This is the piece you’d expect to hear playing behind a clash - It so easily lends itself to the murdering style of lyrics, but unlike those I spoke about in Stephen McGregor’s vault, it doesn’t create a bigger sound than you’ll normally hear. It’s just hard! Taking the Enemy Lines for a spin were the likes of Aidonia, Beenie Man, Kartel, Mad Cobra, Bugle, Sizzla Kalonji, T.O.K and the star of the show, Bounty Killer.

Must Hear: ‘Bore Tongue‘ by Bounty Killer

#8. The Jam 4/Wobble Riddim [Necessary Mayhem]

Heavyweight Indeed. I was hoping that I’d find someway, somehow to manage to get in a mention of one of my new favourite labels, Curtis Lynch Jr.’s Necessary Mayhem from out of the UK. Most of their work (including what I just saw is their latest piece, the Shaolin Temple Riddim) are relicks of older riddims. However their most recent (prior to the Shaolin Temple), The Jam 4/The Wobble was different, even though it didn’t sound like it. Complete with a very familiar old school set of vibes, this one was/is set to capture a whole heap of old school Dancehall fans and it’s doing so with the likes of Little John, Mr. Williamz and a DESTRUCTIVE Blackout JA.

Must Hear: ‘Heavyweight Chanter’ by Blackout JA

#9. The Jim Screechie Riddim [Equinoxx]

Living Spicy. Here is a most interesting composition which I drew specifically to illustrate the very flexible nature of GENUINE Dancehall music. It’s not also a pulsing/pounding/knocking Dancehall one-drop, sometimes it is . . . Madness. Such was the case when Equinoxx reached with the very colourful Jim Screechie Riddim which, predominately on the strength of a single track, has probably become one of the most popular riddims of the year thus far. The thing is freaky. It lends itself to an almost infinite number of possibilities of mixes and it is just one brilliant fucking good time - Everything Dancehall is supposed to be (the Kamera Trick Riddim wasn’t bad either) (biggup Equinoxx).

Must Hear: ‘Jim Screechie’ by Spice

#10. The Street Bullies Riddim [Big Yard]

Pure Niceness. And finally we turn our attention to a riddim which definitely more than its fair share of damage in its day and, just like on #9 it shows that everything in Dancehall doesn’t have to sound the same. In the case of the Street Bullies Riddim from Big Yard, what it did was to kind of go new school-retro and in doing so created quite a stir a year and a half or so ago. If you look at the names chosen to voice it - Beenie, Shaggy, Kartel, Ce’Cile, Ele and even Red Fox (and Christopher Martin as well), nothing stands out too much, but then, in a very NEW twist, there’s Soca star Alison Hinds, who did very well. Strictly Dancehall, no crossover, no ‘mainstream aspirations’ and a real winner - The way it’s done.

Must Hear: ‘Slow Motion’ by Vybz Kartel