Energy Up Riddim – First Name Music

A taut, mid-tempo dancehall cut with a rubbery bounce and enough bass pressure to keep the clash energy up, Energy Up Riddim finds First Name Music lining up a veteran-friendly cast that feels tuned for the stage as much as the sound system. Agent Sasco’s “Instagram Pose” and Capleton’s “Stick On” give it bite, while Busy Signal, Lady Saw, and Spragga Benz keep the riddim moving with that hard, know-your-place authority. The clean-and-raw doubles on a few tracks also point to the label’s ear for radio play without sanding off the rough edges. Coming after First Name’s earlier Energy riddim work from the 2000s, this 2014 set feels like a sharper, leaner update rather than a reset, and the instrumental closes it out with the kind of stripped-down pulse that keeps the whole catalogue useful for selectors.