How It Feel Riddim – DJ Frass Records

DJ Frass Records put this one out in 2014, and it sits right in the middle of that year’s dancehall push toward sharp, digital sounds and quick-fire hooks. DJ Frass, led by Andre Gordon, had already built a name as a Jamaican hitmaker, and by this point his imprint was becoming a reliable home for street-ready singles that could move between radio, bashment, and the dance. This riddim arrived as a six-track set with an instrumental/version tucked underneath the vocal cuts.

The sound is taut and punchy, with a clean, clipped bounce that leaves space for the voices to do the heavy lifting. It has that mid-2010s dancehall pressure: crisp drums, a nagging melodic figure, and enough room for both raw and clean presentations. The mix makes the riddim feel made for clash settings, but it is polished enough to travel well outside the local dance.

Mavado’s “Ben Ova” is the heaviest pull here, riding the rhythm with the kind of commanding, cutting delivery that made him one of dancehall’s most dependable anthem-crafters. Alkaline’s “How It Feel” plays the title role and gives the riddim its main identity, with his cool, locked-in phrasing sitting neatly on top of the pattern. Vanessa Bling and I-Octane’s “Cyaah Do It” adds a different energy, pairing her sharp presence with I-Octane’s smoother attack for a more melodic contrast.

As a project, How It Feel Riddim works because it keeps the arrangement lean and lets each artist attack the same space from a different angle.