Staminizer Riddim – Atlantic Records

A cool mid-2000s slice from Atlantic Records, this Staminizer cut runs on a tidy six-track lineup with Juvinile’s “Mi Know, ” Bently’s “Bubble Song (Raw), ” Reel Steel’s “Real Man, ” Tatta Blacks and Khellee pairing up on “The Morning Time, ” and I Warrior closing things out with “Gone Away. ” The riddim itself sits in that straight reggae pocket, but there’s a lean, forward-driving feel to it that gives the voices room to work, especially on the more rooted turns from Reel Steel and I Warrior. It’s the kind of compilation that keeps the focus on songcraft rather than excess, and the 2009 stamp places it right in a period when labels like Atlantic were still putting out compact VA sets with a local dancehall edge. Six tracks, seven artists, one neatly packed riddim.