Drive Riddim – Various Artists

Drive Riddim is a lean little 2010 soca set, and that’s part of the appeal: instead of the sprawling compilations some labels were pumping out, this one keeps it down to two cuts, with Beenie Man’s “Temper” rubbing shoulders with Machel Montano, QQ and Ding Dong on “Drive. ” The Montano track is the livelier hook here, all anthemic energy and crowd-ready lift, while Beenie Man brings a sharper dancehall edge that gives the riddim a bit of bite against the soca framework. It’s a quick snapshot of where the sound was heading in that moment, with cross-Caribbean star power doing the heavy lifting. The release runs just two tracks long: “Temper” and “Drive. ”