Nail Dem Riddim – Nuffy Records|Blackspade Records

In 2014, when dancehall was leaning hard into raw street phrasing and clash-ready one-drop punch, Nail Dem Riddim came in with exactly that kind of energy. Andrew “Nuffy” Nelson and Black Spade lined up a young, mixed cast and, by his own description at the time, wanted the project to help push the next wave of artistes; Stein’s “Buss My Gun, ” Kalado’s “Baby, ” and the title cut from Gage were among the tracks that drew the most attention. The riddim’s name came from slang that had been circulating around a recent clash series, which gives the whole thing a sharper local edge.

The sequencing also tells its own story: the early stretch leans on commercial-friendly cuts and edited/raw pairs, then shifts into looser solo entries and closes with heavier selections like “Touch Yuh Ankle” and “What A Day, ” as if the producer was pacing the energy for sound system play.