Imitation Riddim – First Name Music

First Name Music’s Imitation Riddim lands in that early-2000s reggae pocket where the rhythm does the heavy lifting and the voices have to find their own angle around it. The lineup is a strong one, with Burro Banton snapping into the stark warning of “The System, ” George Nooks keeping things uplifted on “Keep It Up, ” and Junior Kelly and Nadine Sutherland both circling the wise-man message of “Be Wise” from different ends of the spectrum. Queen Ifrica’s “Rude Buoy” and Spragga Benz’s “No Gun Ting” give the set a little more bite, while the version cut closes the circle in the usual tidy way. There’s a slightly bare, echo-chamber feel to the whole thing, which suits the title and the era, right down to the kind of singer-to-singer contrasts that make these 2004 jugglings fun to dig through.

Imitation Riddim Tracklist:

1. Bugu Banton – Better Days
2. Burro Banton – The System
3. Bushman – Higher
4. Cobra – Standing
5. George Nooks – Keep It Up
6. Junior Kelly – Be Wise
7. Nadine Sutherland – Be Wise
8. Norris Man – So Right
9. Queen Ifrica – Rude Buoy
10. Richie Stephens – Galang So
11. Spragga Benz – No Gun Ting
12. Sugar Slick – Without Your Love
13. Tony Rebel – Down Town
14. Version – Imitation Riddim
15. Warrior King – Sabbath Day