Better Dub Riddim – Mr G Music

Mr G Music’s Better Dub Riddim arrived in 2017 as a polished reggae juggling with a strong dancehall edge, the kind of project that lives on melody, message and singer chemistry as much as on the actual riddim. The release came out under MR G PRODUCTIONS and circulated in October 2017, with ten cuts spanning a little over half an hour.

The lineup gives the project its shape. Jah Vinci opens with Not Good Enough, while Bugle turns in Truth And Rights and Chris Martin teams with Romain Virgo on Leave People Business, a pairing that gives the riddim one of its most memorable moments. Richie Stephens brings Make Money, Lukie D rides Granted, Ginjah cuts Blessed, and Da Shocker throws in Graba Spliff. Mr G himself appears with Happy Birthday Mummy, and Chris Howell’s Brandy helps widen the set’s tonal range.

What makes Better Dub Riddim work is the balance between rootsy weight and contemporary dancehall shine. The riddim carries a clean, mid-tempo pulse with enough dubwise space for the voices to breathe, while the songs move between uplift, hustle talk, social commentary and affectionate personal writing. Bugle’s conscious angle and the Chris Martin/Romain Virgo combination feel especially well matched to the groove, but the whole set has the kind of singer-led discipline that keeps a juggling moving.

As a project, it sits comfortably in Mr G Music’s catalog as a roots-conscious, radio-friendly release that could travel from sound system play to casual streaming without losing its centre.