Forward Riddim – Various Artists

Forward Riddim keeps the spotlight on the voice-mixing side of reggae, with four cuts spread across seven artists and a clear ear for French-language streetwise writing. The 2006 set is compact, but it doesn’t feel sparse: Djereason and Skunkhead open with “Jamais Jamais, ” General’p steps in alone on “Babylon, ” and then the combinations get busier as Mr Phan, Skunkhead and Blac trade bars on “Laisse Nous La Nature” before Radikal Strai’k and Class’k close with “Dure Est La Vie. ” That sequence says a lot about the producer’s thinking, moving from duo to solo to trio to another pair so each vocal shape gets its own space on the same rhythm.