Hear My Cries Riddim – Various Artists

Muted fire. Hear My Cries Riddim gathers 11 cuts from 12 artists, and it plays like a roots-heavy studio set rather than a flashy showcase, with Khari Kill, Ziggy Ranking, and Daniel Bless among the voices riding the same stark foundation. The phrasing stays conscious and lined with struggle songs, from “Wicked Aint No Friend” and “What A Pity” to Bless’s “Guns In Abundance, ” the tune that first drew attention in Trinidad before this 2007 release circulated more widely. There’s a bonus cut at the end in “House Top, ” which nudges the sequence past the main run. The riddim was cut out of Finland House in St. James.