Buss Box Riddim – Q45 Productions

Q45 Productions dusts off one of its sharper dancehall templates here, with Desmond and Rupert Blake steering a 2020 juggling that sits squarely in the modern hardcore lane but keeps the old-school sound-system pressure intact. Buss Box Riddim hits with a dry, punchy drum pattern, a chunky low end, and enough empty space for deejays to work the pocket, which is exactly why it fits voices like Bounty Killer, Bugle and Wayne Wonder so well.

The strongest pull comes from the pairing of Bugle and Bounty Killer on Ghetto Life, a cut that matches Bugle’s sharper melodic delivery with Bounty’s gravelly authority. Wayne Wonder is the other big name on the set, turning up twice with Still Fresh and Blessings, and that stretch gives the riddim a smoother, more melodic counterweight to the rougher dancehall cuts. Suku from Ward 21 also appears on Blessings, which adds extra weight because Ward 21 have long been one of dancehall’s most recognizable production and performance crews. Delly Ranx’s Dont Kill, Mr Chicken’s Hide n Dweet, Bigg Rounds’ Up to the Sky and New Kidz’s Unity fill out the juggling with straight-to-the-point dancehall energy.

The release landed in February 2020 and was issued as a Q45 Productions project, with the catalog showing seven tracks. It sits neatly in the lineage of Q45’s earlier rhythm work: blunt, rhythm-first, built for selectors, and carried by artists who know how to cut through a bare-bones dancehall canvas.