Fire School Riddim – Sistema Estudio

On Fire School Riddim, Blackshine’s “Le Cole Do Fyah” sets the tone with a lean, militant pulse that feels more roots-forward than glossy, and the rest of Sistema Estudio’s 2013 juggling keeps that heat moving across a pretty wide circle of voices. Jah Red Lion turns in one of the sharper cuts with “Your Life, ” while Jah Jah Bless and Mojo Herb, Pampi Judah and Yeh Man each lean into the chant-heavy side of the riddim, and the Spanish-language entries from Jah L, Ras Jahonnan and Fire Juarez give it a distinctly Latin American stamp. There’s a nice mix of islands and scenes here too, from Jamaica and Chile to Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Dominica, Ghana and Réunion, which fits the way early-2010s reggae was spreading through smaller regional hubs as much as the usual centers.