Romance Riddim – Waggyras Records

Compared with the tougher, steppers-leaning Waggyras cuts that have popped up elsewhere, Romance Riddim leans into a softer, lover’s-rock mood, giving the label a more sentimental frame without losing the compact one-riddim feel. Released on July 9, 2013, it runs ten tracks deep and keeps the spotlight on familiar voices like Jah Cure, Pressure Buss Pipe and Da’Ville, with Balaguero’s Spanish-language turns adding a different colour to the set. Roger “WaggyRas” Binns said the project was meant to pay tribute to reggae’s softer side, and that intention comes through in the sequencing: the early stretch stacks the bigger names up front before letting the newer voices and the Balaguero remix close things out with a slight Latin tilt.