Diseases Aka Mad Mad Aka Golden Hen (1967-2000s) Release Details
- Style: Reggae
- Total tracks: 121
- Unique artists on riddim: 106
- Key artists on this riddim: Admiral Bailey, Alton Ellis, Assassin aka Agent Sasco, Bobby Crystal, Bounty Killer, Burro Banton
- Browse this riddim in year & database lists: 1960s-80s Reggae Riddims
DISEASES RIDDIM aka MAD MAD RIDDIM aka GOLDEN HEN RIDDIM (1967-2000s)
Diseases, Mad Mad, Golden Hen — whatever name you know it by, this riddim has one of the longest and most durable lives in Jamaican music. It starts with Alton Ellis’s 1968 “Mad Mad” on Studio One, then gets reworked into the harder, more skeletal dancehall shape that Henry “Junjo” Lawes helped push into the 1980s. The later Golden Hen update is tied to Keith Gorgon, and the whole family of versions keeps that sharp horn figure and martial pulse in circulation. It is a rhythm that has never sounded like background music; it sounds like a warning.
What makes this one so potent is the way it carries both old-school roots and street-level tension. The groove is spare, urgent, and instantly recognizable, with the low-end left to pound while the melodic hook keeps circling back like a siren. That gives room for different eras of deejay and singer work to hit from different angles. Admiral Bailey’s “When Me Gone” and Anthony Johnson’s “Nah Lick Shot” push the warning-shot energy, while Bounty Killer’s “Kill Or Be Killed” and Assassin’s “We Ah Kill From” ride the rhythm with heavier, more aggressive modern dancehall force. Capleton’s “Cherish No Wrong” and Burro Banton’s multiple cuts keep the militant tone alive, and Alton Ellis’s original “Mad Mad” remains the foundation underneath all the later versions.
That is the real story here: a riddim that moved from rocksteady origins into the dancehall era without losing its sting, then stayed useful because every generation could find a new way to sound dangerous over it.
Diseases Tracklist:
- Admiral Bailey – When Me Gone
- Alton Ellis – Mad Mad
- Anthony Johnson – Nah Lick Shot
- Apache Scratchy – Drought
- Assassin – We Ah Kill From
- Bobby Crystal – Take Ah Bow (Rmx)
- Bounty Killer – Kill Or Be Killed
- Brando – Be Kind
- Burro Banton – Boom Wah Dis
- Burro Banton – Hot Blood
- Burro Banton – Washington Session
- Capleton – Cherish No Wrong
- Capleton – Somebody
- Capleton – Believe It
- Captain Barkey & Wickerman – Wicked
- Chaka Demus – Superlative
- Charlie Chaplin – Dem Mouth
- Chicken Chest – Raggamuffin Selector
- Cocoa Tea – After The War
- Cocoa Tea – I Lost My Sonia
- Cutty Ranks – Blood On The Corner
- Clark Meets Yankee B. – Ganja Man Live On
- Daddy Freddy – Get Fat
- Danny Vergo – Tick A Tack (Champion Sound)
- Daweh Congo – Herb Tree
- Dcyr – Ants
- Derrick Irie – Nice To Be Good
- Echo Minott – Love Problems
- Ed Robinson – You’Re A Fool
- Elephant Man – Golden Hen
- Elephant Man – Seilassie A Di King
- Errol Scorcher – Wife And Sweetheart
- Fantan Mojah – Corruption
- Fiona – Baby
- Fiona – Come A Little Closer
- Frankie Paul – Your Love Is Amazing
- Garnett Silk – Run Soundboy
- General Tk – Soldering
- General Trees – Calling All Higglers
- George Nooks – Lonely Night
- Golden Hen – Instrumental (Version 2)
- Golden Hen – Instrumental (Version 1)
- Grinds Man – M249
- Half Pint – Soul Mate
- Harry Toddler – Nuh Fraid A Dem
- Ian Sweetness – If Ah Sound Bway Diss
- Jack Of Diamonds – Vegetable Party
- Jack Of Diamonds – Wheelie Walkathon
- Jack Radics – Try Your Best
- Jah Mason – Listen
- Jah Screw – Rocking Dolly
- Jah Walton – Worship Jah
- Johnny Osbourne – 1 1,000,000 In One
- Johnny Ringo – Bad Boy A Fi Fit
- Johnny Ringo – Highway Robbery (Stick It Up)
- Johnny Ringo – Two Lesbians Hitch
- Joseph Cotton – Soup A Soup (John Stylee)
- Josey Wales – Gateman
- Junior Cat – Dj Originator
- Junior Kelly – Cold Cold
- King Kong – Me Get Wild
- Lieutenant Stitchie – Labba Labba
- Little John – Foreign Mind
- Lord Sassafrass – Poccomania Jump
- Luciano – Warning
- Lukie D – Are You Sure
- Lutan Fyah – Teach Us To Die
- Lyrical – Body Come Down
- Malibu – Champion Bubbler
- Merciless – You Can Stay Deh
- Michigan & Smiley – Disease (Original)
- Michigan & Smiley – Jah Lick We
- Mikey General – Nothing Last
- Perfect – Hand Cart
- Nerious Joseph – No Money
- Nicodemus – Boneman Connection
- Pad Anthony – Fix Her Buisness
- Pampi Judah – Royal Love
- Papa San – Crutch
- Papa San – Insect Session
- Penny Irie – Him Soft
- Perfect – For Sure
- Peter Metro – Green Card
- Power Man – Stone
- Power Saw – Golden Dub
- President Brown – Devil’S Game (Rmx)
- Ranking Dread – Gate Man
- Ranking Toyan – Stylee
- Ras Ghandi – Remember Back Them
- Risto Benji – Gun John Crow
- Roland Burrell – Johnny Dollar (Version 1)
- Roland Burrell – Johnny Dollar (Version 2)
- Sammy Dread – Mad As Can Be
- Sanchez – Do It Fi Love
- Shaggy – All Virgins
- Shaggy Wonder – Mi Love Mi Lada (Sampler)
- Shinehead – Rough & Rugged
- Sister Nancy – Coward Of The Country
- Sizzla – Grin And Laugh
- Sizzla – Righteous Love
- Spragga Benz – Gimme Mi Di Bible
- Sugar Minott – Wake Up
- Tapper Zukie – Mr Bubbler
- Tenor Saw – Golden Hen (Echo Mix)
- Terror Fabulous – Curst
- The Black Crucials – Lady Lady
- The Positives – One Stop Driver
- Tippa Irie – Is It Really Happening To Me
- Tony Tuff – Cant Keep Away From Yourself
- Toyan – Hot Bubble Gum (Con Version)
- Tristan Palmer – Love Each Other
- Turbulence – Does It Really Matter
- Uglyman – Fisherman Style
- Vybz Kartel – Routine
- Warrior King – Firm Faith
- Wayne Fire – Leave It
- Winston Hussey – You Face Look Good (Con Version)
- Yellowman – Soldier Take Over
- Yellowman – Zungguzungguguzungguzeng
- Yellowman & Fathead – Mash It Up Now
- Red Dragon – Bad Bway Skeng
