Good Tymez Riddim – Fresh Ear Productions

By 2010, dancehall was deep in the era of sharp, radio-ready juggling riddims, and Good Tymez Riddim sits right in that pocket with a brisk, clean cut from Fresh Ear Productions. The set was tied to Arif Cooper, the Fresh Ear founder and a major Kingston producer and DJ, and the familiar voices around it help sell the tune-up: Charly Black’s “Nuh Live No Where, ” Ce’Cile’s “A My Man, ” Gappy Ranks’ “Beauty Queen, ” and Vybz Kartel’s “Have A Good Tyme” all land with different shades of swagger. That track in particular gives the riddim its hook, while the other cuts keep the mood glossy and streetwise rather than ragged. Sequenced like a proper juggling, it moves through love talk, flossing, and boastful badman energy before closing on the instrumental, which makes the producer’s hand feel deliberate rather than thrown together.