Marching Band Riddim (2017) – N.E.W Production Inc.

In 2017, when dancehall was leaning hard into streamlined, hooky one-riddim projects, N. E. W Production Inc. ’s Marching Band Riddim came through with a sharp, militant swing and a tidy set of voices around it. The pace is tight and percussive, with the kind of clipped drum pattern and brassy forward drive that makes the title make sense, while Silent Shotta, Wicked People and Leather Band each land differently against the same frame. Silky Smooth’s We Survive keeps the energy rolling without losing the grit, and the project closes with N. E. W Production Inc. ’s instrumental, which lays bare the riddim’s snappy, parade-like pulse and lets the arrangement do the talking.