Fever Riddim Aka Cover Me Riddim – Pickout Records

Tight 1987 energy. Pickout’s Fever, also known as Cover Me, is a lean little dancehall set with only five cuts, but it still packs a sharp cross-section of the era: Hopeton James, Japanese, Ninjaman teaming with Tinga Stewart, Pliers, and the Wayne Wonder/Fretty combination on “It’s Over Now. ” That title track feels like the pull point here, with Ninjaman’s rough edge sitting against Tinga Stewart’s smoother delivery, while Wayne Wonder and Fretty keep things sweeter and more melodic. Compared with Pickout’s later outings, this one has a more stripped, early-digital bite rather than the fuller, band-backed polish the label would lean into in the 1990s. It sits neatly in the producer’s late-’80s catalogue as a compact Kingston dancehall statement, built for sound system play rather than long-winded packaging.

Fever Riddim Tracklist:

1. Hopeton James – Got To Be There
2. Japanese – Baddest Hat Man
3. Ninjaman & Tinga Stewart – Cover Me
4. Pliers – Her Love Is Burning
5. Wayne Wonder & Fretty – It’s Over Now