Security Riddim – Al.Ta.Fa.An. Records

Al. Ta. Fa. An. Records put Security Riddim out in 2004, and the line-up tells you straight away this one was aimed at serious roots heads: Richie Spice links with Chuck Fenda on “Cyaan Control, ” Gentleman cuts “Strange Things, ” and Luciano, Sizzla, Junior Kelly, Chezidek and Lutan Fyah all step in across the same rhythm. The release runs nine tracks in all, ending with the instrumental version, so you get the voices and then the bare cut underneath. There’s a definite conscious edge running through the titles too — “Self-Reliance, ” “Only Jah Knows, ” “Much More, ” “Terrible Now A Days” — the sort of phrasing that marked early-2000s roots reggae with a harder social tone. “Security” is the final version cut on the set.