Juicy Riddim (2016) – New World

Juicy Riddim comes with eight cuts and a tidy little cross-section of voices, so it feels more like a proper selector’s juggle than a random stack of tunes. New World kept the cast varied: Haze St. Dub opens with the instrumental Juicy Dub, then Johnny Dollah’s Keep On Pushing and Kehv’s Better Days set an uplifting tone before Kristine Alicia steps in with Rise Up. The deepest pull, though, is probably Perfect Giddimani’s Trenchtown, which has that rootsy push and streetwise edge he does so well, while Ras I’s Dread Inna Babylon keeps the conscious mood locked in. Pluto Shervington and Mixed Culture add extra weight and range, giving the riddim a nice vintage-to-modern spread. Released in 2016, it sits right in that mid-decade stretch when clean reggae productions were still finding room for message tunes and singalong hooks.