Natural Fact Riddim – Cousin Records

Five vocal cuts and a version make Natural Fact Riddim feel like a compact little early-2000s reggae session rather than a bloated compilation, and Cousin Records keeps the focus on singers who knew how to work a clean rootsy backdrop. Al Campbell’s “Over You” has that seasoned, plainspoken heartbreak touch he was so good at, while George Nooks’ “Come A Long Way” leans into the kind of reflective, road-worn delivery that made him such a reliable voice in this era. Anthony Cruz and Anthony Malvo keep the energy moving in the middle of the set, and the instrumental version closes things out the way a proper riddim tape should. Discography listings point to 2004 for these cuts even though the post note tags the set as 2003, so this one sits right around that turn-of-the-year period when Cousin was putting out steady, no-frills reggae material.