Fire Avenue Riddim – Young Veterans Music

Young Veterans Music returned to roots juggling territory with Fire Avenue Riddim, a 2018 release that sits comfortably in the Kingston label’s run of modern reggae productions. The imprint was founded by Sheldon Pennicott and Ricardo Hart and had already earned a reputation for polished sound-system-minded work before this set arrived. Fire Avenue keeps that standard: warm bass, clean drums, and a bright, uplifting pulse that leaves room for the singers and chanters to stretch out without crowding the groove.

Capleton opens the set with “Rasta Run This, ” setting the militant tone in his usual fiery style, while Luciano’s “How Can I” brings a smoother, more devotional edge. Pressure’s “Nah Stop” adds a tougher island-rooted chant, and Anthony B’s “Jamaica Land” gives the rhythm one of its most direct cultural statements. Fantan Mojah’s “No Time For Them” and Ginjah’s “Many Mountains” stay in that conscious lane, with the former sharper and more urgent and the latter carrying a more meditative lift. The collaboration between Kandi and Ras Shiloh on “Babylon Yard” adds another layer of roots harmony, while Young Veterans closing with “Fire Avenue In Dub” gives the whole project a dubwise finish.

The lineup is rounded out by Shunga, Fyakin, Zamunda, Qraig, and Hikaliba, which makes the riddim feel less like a vanity compilation and more like a proper juggling session. It is roots reggae with enough polish for streaming-era ears, but still grounded in the spiritual, social, and anti-Babylon themes that give the genre its weight.