Mp3 Riddim – Mash Works Studios

Out of Trinidad’s 2017 soca circuit, Mp3 Riddim lands with that fast, jab-heavy energy that was all over Carnival-season party music at the time, and Mash Works Studios keeps it tight with six cuts and seven voices. The names that jump out are 2 Blaxx on “Break Loose, ” Fragile on “Classy Jab Jab, ” and Muddy with “Play De Jab, ” while Ghage Maddis and The Service push the same rough-edged jab vibe from different angles. LUNI PARK and ELECTRIFY’s “Planet of the Jab” sounds like the wildcard here, the kind of cut built for fetes where the bass has to hit hard and the crowd knows the road move before the hook lands. It’s a compact little snapshot of how jab soca was carrying the season in 2017: percussive, playful, and aimed straight at the road.