Marching Riddim – Real People Music

Anthony B’s “My Day Will Come” gives Marching Riddim its strongest opening statement, and the rest of Real People Music’s 2021 juggling keeps that militant roots feel moving without losing its song-first focus. Blvk H3ro’s “Reggae Music” and Jah-Lil’s “Human Race” carry the conscious thread, while Jerone and Evie Pukupoo’s “The Search Is Over” pushes the heaviest social message on the set. Real People Music had already shown an ear for sturdy, message-led combinations on the earlier Buff Baff Riddim, and Marching feels like a sharper, more percussive step in that direction, with the instrumental underlining the horn-led stomp and bass weight that hold the whole thing together. It sits neatly in the label’s catalogue as one of the more focused roots compilations they’ve put out.