Badness Riddim (2010) – Friendly Fire Music

Badness Riddim keeps its focus on a clean one-drop groove, and Friendly Fire Music frame it as the first release from the Friendly Fire Band, cut in Birmingham and issued in 2010. The tracklist leans into roots-conscious writing and conscious dancehall phrasing, with Lion Art’s “Badness” and Murray Man’s “Dreada” anchoring the set, while Jah Marnyah, Juggla, Collie Weed, and the Peter Spence and Bongo Chilli combination keep the pressure on with uplift and warning in equal measure. The extra remixes by K Jah and Lionfire push the riddim a little further out without losing its backbone, but it’s Lion Art’s original cut that leaves the sharpest mark here, setting the tone for the whole session.