2011 sees artists again attempting to cash in on Christmas hype, with the most notable examples provided in the Ghetto Christmas Riddim from Black Street productions. The riddim, which uses 'Deck the Halls' in a dancehall style, has cuts from Beenie Man, Bugle, Ding Dong and Vybrant and while it is by no means an all time classic is not a bad musical stocking-stuffer for your Christmas playlist.
Elsewhere in dancehall a couple of big singles from the past few months have been used as riddim tracks to voice multiple artists. Chan Dizzy's '21 Gun Salute' has become the Love Salute Riddim boasting tracks from Chris Martin, Tarrus Riley, Rasco and 'One By One' superstar, Laza Morgan. Personally, my initial excitement over the release of this riddim was extinguished by the quality of cuts and their lack of diversity. With such a strong riddim track producer Russian would have perhaps been advised to have a range of artist styles and lyrical subjects here. Love Salute riddim will appeal to fans of Lovers' dancehall and singers.
The other single which has seen multiple artists voice on the riddim is Charly Black's 'Too Blessed'. Known as the T.G.I.F. riddim, the backing from 'Too Blessed' has been given cuts from Sean Paul, Busy Signal, Patexx, Trevor Off Key and Elephant Man. With the original signal already gaining significant airplay in Jamaica, the T.G.I.F. looks set to be a hit for Coppershot Productions in the coming weeks and months.
After having a relatively quiet 2011 and slipping somewhat into obscurity, Daseca productions have released a new riddim known as the Knockings. Featuring a combination from the McGregor brothers, Stephen and Chino, as well as a tune from fellow Big Ship artist, Laden, the Knockings is Daseca's late attempt to secure one of the hit riddims of 2011. The other tune on the riddim comes from one third of Daseca's production team, Serani, who shows vintage form in a badmind anthem, 'Evil Heart'.
Former Gaza aligned sing-jay, Jah Vinci, has also released a big badmind tune with his effort on the Ground Zero Riddim, 'Badmind Ago Fall'. If there could be any criticism of what is undoubtedly a big tune, it is perhaps that producer Dre Day has slightly overdone the autotune on the supremely talented Jah Vinci's vocals. Another former production giant, Birchill, has also entered the end of year scramble releasing their radio friendly riddim, the Symphony. Boasting primarily party and gyal orientated tunes and impressive artist roster including Busy Signal, Kiprich, Assassin, Laden, Chris Martin and more, this is a riddim which definitely has a lot of potential in the wake of 2011's domination by poppy and anthemic club dancehall.
While still behind bars, the self-proclaimed World Boss, Vybz Kartel, has released what is probably his best tune for some months with 'Money Dun'. In what can be seen as a slight throwback, Kartel DJs in his classic hardcore style to deliver a cry of disenfranchisement with Jamaican society. Producer of many of Kartel's biggest hits down the years, Russian, has recorded his first solo effort. While previously appearing as a featured artist alongside Vybz Kartel and Gappy Ranks, 'Brown Yute Deh' is his first venture into a tune solely featuring the Head Concussion producer. Russian follows in the footsteps of Stephen "Di Genius" McGregor, Seanizzle and Supa Hype who have all made the smooth transition from production giants to recording artists in their own right.
There's plenty of new music for fans of roots this month with Cashflow making a rare foray into producing a reggae riddim. The results indicate that perhaps they should attempt the genre switch more frequently with the Faithful Riddim providing some brilliant tunes from the likes of Ginjah in a combination with Singer Jah, Khago, Chris Martin and many more. The pick of the bunch comes from 2011's runaway success, I Octane, with his tune 'Topic of the Day' which discusses the rising cult of illuminati in Jamaica. In other roots releases, a wicked combination from Junior X and Alborosie called 'You Save Me' has recently been released
In chart happenings this month there is very exciting news for New Zealand-based producers High Stakes Records, with Popcaan his tune on the Lost Angel Riddim to the number one spot. 'Only Man She Want' has made rapid progress to the top in the past six weeks and has now reached the top to give Auckland lads Simon Howden and Tiopira McDowell the ultimate Christmas gift. On the reggae chart Chris Martin's 'Cheaters Prayer' on the Cardiac Strings Riddim from CR203 music has climbed two places to reach number three this week and the Summer Fling riddim continues its popularity months after the conclusion of summer with two songs in the top ten on the dancehall chart.
Matt Coughlan
Matt Coughlan is a Melbourne-based radio and club selector known as
Armagideon Time, who also writes a blog about contemporary Jamaican
music, Kingston
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