Wicked Riddim (2002) – Xtra Large Productions

Baby Cham’s “Wha Dat Fa” is the sharpest cut on Wicked Riddim, and that opening alone tells you plenty about the mood Xtra Large were chasing in 2002: terse, street-level dancehall with just enough space for the snare to snap and the bass to sit heavy underneath. Chico’s “Hands Up” keeps the same pressure on the flip, so the whole thing plays like a quick two-shot rather than a sprawling juggling exercise. Xtra Large had already spent years shaping dancehall’s harder early-2000s edge, and here the formula is leaner than some of their busier work, with Dave Kelly’s production fingerprint keeping the groove tight and unflashy. It’s a small catalogue entry, but an important one, sitting right alongside the label’s crueller, club-ready singles rather than its more expansive riddim sets.