Stripdown (Strip Tease) Riddim – Vp Records

VP Records had this one out in 2004, cut around Christopher Birch’s production and issued in the label’s Riddim Driven lane, where one rhythm gets carried by a roll call of voices rather than a single star vehicle. Birch was one of the key hands behind early-2000s dancehall’s glossy, high-definition sound, and this riddim sits comfortably in that space: bright, rubbery, and made for fast juggling.

The Stripdown groove rides with a sleek bounce and plenty of room for each deejay’s character to land. Bounty Killer’s Beauty Queen brings his rough-edged authority, while Lady Saw’s Strip Tease turns the title’s tease into a bold, knowing performance. Shaggy’s Man A Man and Elephant Man’s Spy push the tempo and the attitude, giving the riddim two very different but equally effective voices from two artists who knew how to work a dancefloor.

Cecile, Macka Diamond, Kiprich, Bling Dawg, Blacker, Danny English, and the Gold brothers round it out with the kind of tight, cheeky lyrical work that made early-2000s dancehall so nimble. Tony Gold and Brian Gold’s On Your Own adds a smoother melodic edge, which helps balance the more overtly hardcore cuts. The year matters here too: 2004 was the same period Lady Saw issued her Strip Tease album, so the riddim landed right in the middle of a moment when VP was pushing dancehall’s party swing hard.