Panty Raid Riddim – Awful Music

Awful Music’s Panty Raid Riddim comes across as a sharper, more playful slice of early-2000s dancehall than the label’s tougher name might suggest, even if the subject matter stays firmly in the bedroom lane. The line-up is deep without feeling crowded: Assassin opens with the clipped intensity of “Test The Strength, ” Lady Saw cools it down on “Two Night, ” and the Spragga Benz and Vybz Kartel duet “Bedroom Slaughteration” gives the set its nastiest hook. Bushman, Sizzla, Elephant Man and Wayne Marshall keep the pace moving, while the version sits right where you’d expect it, all rubbery drum programming and a lean bassline with enough bounce for jukes and radio alike. It’s a 2003 dancehall cut that runs on quick-chat vocals, sly innuendo and a mid-tempo groove that never really lets up.