Dutty Ras Riddim – Various Artists

Dutty Ras Riddim has that raw early-2000s dancehall pull, with a lean, yard-tough pulse that leaves plenty of room for the voices to jab and chat over it. The set moves from the conscious tone of Brethren Elroy’s “One Hand Wash The Other Hand” and Mystic’s “Cry No More” into rougher talk from Gilley Priest, Venture U and Ziggy Blessed, while Ras David doubles up with two cuts that keep the riddim’s street-level energy in view. The track everybody will circle is Vybz Kartel and Tasha’s “Forever Gangster, ” which lands right in the middle of the project’s harder-edged flavour. Coming out in 2004, it sits neatly in that era when dancehall was leaning into stripped-back, militant rhythms and sharp one-drop attitude from a mix of rising names and future heavyweights.