Noni Riddim – Energy Beat Music

By 2005, dancehall was deep in its mid-2000s swing, and Noni Riddim sits right in that pocket with eight cuts from Energy Beat Music and a tidy mix of star power and local fire. Beenie Man linking with Kevin Lyttle on “Dancehall Champion” gives the set its clearest crossover hook, while Capleton’s “Girl Dem Look Good” and Macka Diamond’s “Carry Mi Out” keep the energy rooted in straight-up dancehall attitude; on the other side, Kiprich’s “Hustler’s Anthem” and Don Mafia’s “Nah Go Down (Raw)” lean harder into the streetwise side of the rhythm. The production, credited to Richard Burgess under Energy Beat Music, has that brisk, driving feel that suited the era’s sound-system bounce, with enough room for voice and personality to carry each tune. The tracklist closes with Tamone’s “Done With The War. ”