Rasta Cowboy Riddim – Chopper Productions

A rugged, live-band reggae cut with a cowboy tilt, Rasta Cowboy Riddim carries that early-’80s Channel One feel—dry drums, deep bass, and enough space for the vocals to bite through. Chopper Productions kept the line short and sharp here with Bobby Melody’s “Original Melody, ” Courtney Melody’s “Watching You, ” and Lionel Ganja Barrett’s title cut, with Courtney Melody’s outing doing the heaviest lifting. The rhythm has that rough-hewn, rootsy edge that sits a little apart from the sweeter Chopper material people may know from the label’s later lovers turns, which gives it some real character. As a three-tune set, it lands like a compact snapshot of the producer’s catalogue, tucked neatly into that 1960s-80s reggae riddims corner where the deeper one-rhythm digs live.