83 Riddim – No Doubt Records

’83 Riddim – NO DOUBT RECORDS 2007

Kemar “No Doubt” McGregor’s 83 Riddim lands right in that 2007 roots-reggae pocket where militant singjays and conscious lyrics carried the weight, and this one came stacked with names like Richie Spice, Lutan Fyah, Queen Ifrica, Tony Rebel and Chuck Fenda. Richie Spice’s “A No Me Dat” and Lutan Fyah’s “Music Is Love” sit nicely beside Chuck Fenda’s “Heights, ” all three riding the same clean juggling with that steady, uplift-heavy pulse McGregor was getting good at. The whole thing runs as a 14-track set with a version cut from McGregor himself, which keeps the rhythm’s identity front and center instead of letting it get lost behind the vocalists. Heard now, it still feels very much of its moment, when No Doubt Records was turning out some of the more reliable conscious reggae plates of the late 2000s.

83 Riddim Tracklist:

1. Bobby Tenna – Battlefield
2. Chuck Fenda – Heights
3. I-Octane – Poverty
4. Kemar Mcgregor – ’83 Riddim
5. Lutan Fyah – Music Is Love
6. Natural Black – Vulgarity
7. Prestige – Can’t Forget
8. Queen Ifrica – Daddy
9. Richie Spice – A No Me Dat
10. Spanner Banner – Roots
11. Teflon – It’s Been A While
12. Tony Rebel – Caan Go Round Good
13. Turbulence – Ready Now
14. Warrior King – Love Love