Gangster City Riddim – Adidjahiem Records / Notnice Records

Just under the surface here is one of those lean, militant Notnice-era juggling cuts that leans hard on a spare, brooding bassline and a clipped one-drop bounce, with the vocals riding the pocket rather than trying to overpower it. The 2010 set keeps the focus tight: Merital Family’s “Pray, ” Popcaan’s title cut, Shawn Storm’s “My Life, ” Tommy Lee’s “Holding Out The Pressure, ” and Vybz Kartel’s “Thank You Jah, ” which feels like the anchor tune in the lineup. Adidjahiem and Notnice were deep in that Gaza connection at the time, and the riddim sits in that early-2010 dancehall moment where the rhythm bed is dark but not frantic, leaving plenty of room for the deejays to work the cadence. It’s a compact five-track run, and the low-end pulse is what ties the whole thing together.

GANGSTER CITY RIDDIM – ADIDJAHIEM RECORDS / NOTNICE RECORDS 2010

Gangster City Riddim Tracklist:

1. Merital Family – Pray
2. Popcaan – Gangster City
3. Shawn Storm – My Life
4. Tommy Lee – Holding Out The Pressure
5. Vybz Kartel – Thank You Jah