Head Phone Riddim – DJ Smurf Productions

In 2013, when dancehall was full of stark, digital jugglings and hardcore street talk, DJ Smurf’s Head Phone Riddim arrived with a tight six-track run that keeps the energy clipped and direct. Mavado’s “Walk Out (Raw)” and I-Octane’s “Nah Hear” set the tone with blunt, warning-shot vocals, while Shawn Storm and Twin Of Twins push the rude-boy edge further on “Tell You This” and “Up Wid Di Money, ” with the latter getting both raw and edited versions. The cut that really locks in the project’s mood is Vershon’s “Gangster Party (Raw), ” which rounds out the riddim with the same tense, no-nonsense pulse that runs through the whole set.