Billy Jean Riddim (2015) – Run Things Records

Run Things Records laces the Billy Jean Riddim with a taut, clash-ready reggae pulse, all skanking guitar, deep bass and enough forward motion to make every cut feel like a challenge call. Luciano opens the set with “Nuh Sound Test, ” bringing conscious authority to the juggling, while Pinchers and Junior Cat lean harder into the sound system language with “Sound Bwoy Yuh Cah Hide” and “Send Sound Come. ” Capleton closes it out in his usual firebrand mode on “Dubplate A Bust In A Dem Head, ” which feels like the natural headline moment here. First issued in 2015, the four-track set sits right in that mid-2010s run of rootsy digital riddims built for selectors and dubplate culture, where the vocal hook had to land fast and the bass had to do the rest.