Stepfather Riddim – Young Blood Records

Young Blood’s Stepfather riddim comes in sharp and streetwise, with a compact 10-track run that leans on big-name energy from Beenie Man, Admiral Bailey, Captain Barkey and Sasha. The cut most people will lock onto is Beenie Man’s “Somebody, ” but Admiral Bailey’s “Any Man You Wan” and Razor’s “Steam Fish And Ocra” give the set its rough edge, while the title tune ties the whole thing together with that sly, bawdy dancehall bounce. Chad Simpson’s production under the Young Blood name sits neatly alongside the label’s early-2000s output like Soul Food and Gideon, where the focus was on punchy riddims and tunes that could move fast through a dance. Stepfather fits that part of the catalogue exactly: no excess, just a tight one-riddim package built for the sound system.