Hand Cart Boy Riddim – Crystal Ball Productions

The Hand Cart Boy Riddim lines up nine cuts around a late-2004 roots session, with Crystal Ball Productions pulling together a set that leans on conscious voices and a warm, straightforward reggae groove. Anthony B opens the proceedings with “One Spliff, ” while Luciano’s “Hail The Comforter” brings the kind of steady uplift you’d expect from him, and Perfect’s “Hard Cart Bwoy” is the tune that really lodges in the memory. There’s also a nice touch in the Conrad Crystal and Sugar Roy pairing on “Education Wise, ” which keeps the riddim’s reasoning-center intact without getting too heavy-handed. The same rhythm was also picked up under the broader Hand Cart Boy name that year, and it’s one of those 2004 sets that captures the era when roots singers and singjays were still happily sharing the same lane.