Strong Grip Riddim – Romii

Romii’s Strong Grip Riddim sits in that sturdy 2018 run of compact dancehall sets, and it keeps the focus tight with just seven cuts across six artists. Bugle’s “Apologies Accepted” brings the sharpest hook in the bunch, while Valiant’s “Road Code” and Essae Jv’s “Dreams” lean into the kind of direct, hard-edged phrasing that suits a riddim like this. The production has a clipped, no-frills bounce rather than anything glossy, so the voices do the heavy lifting over a steady groove that leaves room for each singer to land their line. Essae Jv gets a second pass with a raw version of “Dreams, ” which helps underline the tune’s structure rather than changing it up, and the project closes with Romii Records’ own “Strong Grip Riddim, ” keeping the instrumental at the centre of the set.