Straight Up Riddim – Zhekeiza Records

Straight Up Riddim opens with No Pretenders from Promise No Promises, and that’s the cut that gives the whole Zhekeiza Records set its edge: terse, hooky, and straight at the mark. The 2019 four-track package keeps the focus tight, with Melody Kid’s Badmind People bringing a sharper, more cautionary turn and Tmar’s Love To Love You leaning softer without losing the yard feel. There’s no crowding here, just three vocal takes and the instrumental laid out cleanly over a dancehall riddim that keeps its movement compact and unfussy. Promise No Promises makes the strongest first impression, though, and it’s hard not to hear No Pretenders as the track that sets the tone for the whole release.