Madd Indian Riddim – Various Artists

Back in 2004, when dancehall was leaning hard on playful hooks and cheeky one-riddim concepts, Madd Indian Riddim kept things tight with nine cuts and nine different voices, giving the selector a quick run through names like Creeper, Frisco Sprat, Geenie, and Viper Killa. The energy is brisk and street-level, with titles like “Wine Like An Indian, ” “Wire Waste, ” and “Army Dance” hinting at the kind of party-ready patter this type of riddim lived on. Lava Man’s “Get U Girl” and Thunder Cerbe’s “Righteous Mas” add a little more character to the set, but the instrumental itself is what holds the frame together, moving like a lean, percussive dancehall workout. It closes on “Army Dance, ” after the version, which leaves the whole thing sounding like a compact sound-system session rather than a padded compilation.