Greatest Riddim – Various Soca Artists

Greatest Riddim leans hard into a bright, choppy soca-dancehall pulse, the kind of rhythm that bounces more than it stomps. The instrumental cut sits right in the middle of a compact lineup, with Juicy Bitts’ “Juicy Bitts, ” Certain Boy’s “Ghetto Flex, ” H2o Phlo’s “Soca City, ” Jabbi’s “Look Here, ” Klass’s “We Dancing, ” and Ziggy Ranks’ “Leave It Alone” all riding the same airy, carnival-minded groove. The Three Suns double up with “Again And Again” and “Again And Again 2, ” which gives the set a little extra lift and makes the riddim feel more like a party sequence than a loose compilation. Put out in 2006, it lands in that moment when soca-forward dancehall productions were pushing for slicker melodies and faster motion without losing the street-level pressure.