Looking Forward Riddim – Mad Koolia / Jammin Media Music Group

Jammin Media Music Group’s 2021 Looking Forward Riddim sits neatly in the label’s early-2020s reggae run, and this one keeps its focus tight with seven cuts from seven artists, including Empress Maffie Gee on “Gaba Kitla Ba Mphetsa, ” Blakka Yut on “Bayasxaka, ” and Jah Link on “Never Thought I’d Leave You. ” The production has a steady, roots-leaning lilt rather than any heavy studio trickery, so the voices do most of the talking, with El Supreme aka Mojelo’s title tune and Chantty Natural’s “Kiba Kiba” carrying that reflective, forward-looking mood suggested by the name itself. Daddy Spencer’s “Ungowam” and Ligalyze’s “I Miss You” add a more personal touch, and the set runs as a compact seven-track various-artists release issued in 2021.