Pleasure With Pain Riddim – Ireland Records

By 2019, dancehall was still deep in the era of compact, vocal-heavy juggling riddims, and Pleasure With Pain Riddim sits neatly in that lane with seven cuts from Ireland Records and VPAL Music. The production has a lean, mid-tempo pull, with a steady one-drop-influenced pulse under sharper digital drum programming and a thick bass line that leaves plenty of room for the deejays to work. Hot Frass opens things with “Calling You, ” while Av and nte’s title track and TK’s “Want It Rough” push the mood in a more blunt, street-facing direction; Ireland Boss and Real V. I. close the set with “Teach Him Girl, ” which lands with a bit more chant-like bite. It’s a tight, no-frills selection, and the raw version included on the album points to a project designed for selectors as much as casual listeners.