Rio Riddim – Head Concussion Records

Out of Jamaica’s 2011 dancehall run, Rio Riddim feels like one of those producer packages that caught the year’s heat in real time: Tarik “Russian” Johnston’s Head Concussion Records lines up Erup and Keida, Gyptian, Voicemail, Konshens and a sharp Vybz Kartel double-shot, with Kartel’s “Warn Him” in both radio and raw forms. The rhythm sits in that slippery, late-night dancehall pocket around 90 BPM, and Gyptian’s “Wine Slow” slides over it with the kind of loose, flirtatious swing that keeps the whole thing moving. Jahmiel’s “Leaving You Lonely” adds a younger voice to the mix, while “Baby Girl” gives Erup and Keida an easy chemistry. A tidy nine-track set, and the duplicate Kartel cut at the end is a nice little reminder of how these riddims were circulated then.