Clean Sweep Riddim (2008) – Boardhouse Records

By 2008, Boardhouse Records had packed Clean Sweep with the kind of heavyweight dancehall voices that could turn a juggling into a headline, and Beenie Man’s “Obama” alone comes in both edit and raw versions while Assassin, Bounty Killer, Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel keep the pressure up across the set. The riddim sits in that sharp, mid-2000s dancehall pocket—hard drum programming, lean bass, and enough space for artists to cut through with straight talk and swagger—so even the more playful cuts like Boom Dandimite’s “Craab Up” and Merciless And Tella’s “Hardcore Love” land with bite. Boardhouse, the label behind the earlier “Look Gal”/“Nuh Linga” run, was clearly in its groove here, and the release closes on “Version – Clean Sweep” after 28 tracks from 28 different artists.