Bad Enermy Riddim – Various Artists

Out of the 2012 dancehall crop, Bad Enermy Riddim feels like a lean little scene snapshot: five cuts, five voices, no excess. The tracklist keeps to the raw side of the genre, with Jiggaz, Manna Gangsta, Millitary Sk, Shumba Brugy and Takee D Cent all working the same hard-edged instrumental in slightly different directions. Jiggaz’s “Vauudze” and Millitary Sk’s “Mad Over We” set the pace with the kind of clipped delivery and pressure-cooker energy that suited that era, while Manna Gangsta’s “Ma14” and Shumba Brugy’s “Haa” keep the tone gritty and streetwise. There’s a compactness to the whole thing that gives it a local, almost tape-promo feel, and Takee D Cent’s “Cross Fire” closes it with the sharpest burn on the set.