Roots Riddim – Outta Nothing

Outta Nothing Production’s 2019 Roots Riddim lands in that sturdy late-2010s reggae pocket where the message stays front and center and the arrangements keep a clean, rootsy pulse underneath. The seven-track set keeps the lane focused, with Andrew Paul’s “True Love” opening things on a warm, devotional note before Shakka Pee, Bully Frass, Lexie, Avadan, Symple Ras and Nique each step in with their own take on love, trust, and survival. Most of the voices lean conscious rather than slick, which suits the title and the production name alike, but Bully Frass’s “Jah Walk with Me” and Symple Ras’s “Nuh Trust Dem” give the riddim some of its sharper edges. Nique closes it out with “It Ain’t Easy, ” a fitting final turn for a project that keeps its gravity in the lyrics and its backbone in the bass.