Tempo Riddim – Various Producers

King Tubby’s Tempo rhythm comes out of that fertile mid-’80s Jamaican moment when digital reggae was hardening into something leaner and sharper, and this set catches it from a few angles at once: Jammy’s, Penthouse and Firehouse all lean on the same skeletal pulse, but the voices around it give the cut its shape. Luciano’s “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, ” Garnett Silk’s “Complaint, ” and Terry Ganzie’s “King Of Kings” sit beside tougher Deejay style from Buccaneer, Capleton and Pad Anthony, so you get both melody and chat riding the same compressed, forward-driving groove. Riddim-ID traces the pattern back to 1985 and credits King Tubby as creator, which fits the way the whole thing feels rooted in that classic stepper-era craft. It’s a tidy snapshot of how one riddim could travel across labels and still carry the sound of the era.

Tempo Riddim Tracklist:

1. Buccaneer – Chatty Chatty Mouth
2. Capleton – Tempo Riddim
3. Everton Blender – Family Man
4. Garnett Silk – Complaint
5. Jack Radics & Kulcha Knox – Let My People Go
6. King Everold – After All
7. Little Howie – Original Love
8. Luciano – Swing Low Sweet Chariot
9. Lyashanti – Tempo Riddim
10. Pad Anthony – In Deh
11. Terry Ganzie – King Of Kings
12. Thriller U – Good By
13. Wayne Smith – It Gets Me Stronger