New Level Riddim – Levels To Life Productions

Seven tracks and eight cuts, if you count Flamzz’s clean and raw versions, give New Level Riddim the shape of a compact dancehall showcase rather than a sprawling compilation, with Breeza, Jhadai, Kash Promise Move and Kaii Promise Move carrying most of the weight. The production from Levels To Life Productions leans into a crisp, forward-driving bounce that leaves space for direct-to-the-point voicing, and Kash Promise Move’s “Talking To Myself” gives the set one of its most memorable hooks, while “Build Fi This” with Colo Colo and “Grand Finally” by Santos3rd keep the energy moving. Levels To Life, a New Jersey-based outfit founded by two Jamaican migrants, were still a fairly young label when this dropped in August 2021, and the project helped push them further into the dancehall conversation. The release runs eight songs and clocks in at about 24 minutes.