Riseup Riddim – Pure Hits Music Records

In 2021, when roots reggae was leaning hard into sober, reflective songs for uneasy times, Pure Hits Music Records dropped Riseup Riddim with seven voices carrying the same straitened pulse. The cut has that grounded, mid-tempo swing you’d expect from a conscious one-riddim set: warm bass, lean drums, and enough space for the singers to keep the focus on prayer, endurance, and survival. AbiYah Yisrael’s “Sweet Dreams, ” Yemeret’s “Fear No Foe, ” and Teedeh Emmanuel’s “Crisis” all fit that mood, but the project stays consistent all the way through without sounding repetitive. Shocking Murray’s “Let Go Evil” keeps the message direct, and the closer, Icientcy Mau’s “Journey Continues, ” leaves the whole sequence on a forward-looking note that matches the title’s push to rise up and keep moving.