Links Riddim – Discipline Records

By 2015, Discipline Records had this one sitting squarely in the dancehall lane, and the Links Riddim keeps the focus tight with just six cuts in 18 minutes. Ed Robinson opens with “Bitti Loonys, ” while Gucci Flava and Egg Nog lean into the sweeter side on “Love Come Down, ” then Danny English and Tuffy Melody turn sharper on “Badmind People. ” The production has that compact, mid-tempo swing you hear in a lot of mid-2010s Jamaican juggling: clipped drums, a rolling bass line, and enough negative space for the vocals to sit right on top. Tuffy Melody’s “Hard Worker” and Egg Nog’s “Music Is The Answer” keep the tone direct and unshowy, and the bonus “raw” version of “Love Come Down” points to a riddim meant to work in both clean and street settings.